If there is something which the Ghanaian so much detests with the depth of the soul, then you can talk of arrogance or appropriately the arrogant. Just recently, as we all were enjoying the progress of the Black Stars at the World Cup in our beloved South Africa, many were those who were critical of the hair style, and some general demeanor of some of our gallant soldiers of the ball amidst the thriller and the ecstasy. Thus the typical Ghanaian so ‘hate’ arrogance to the core that he would not fail to notice and criticize anything perceived as that no matter the situation.

Why This Hatred toward Arrogance?

If you asked me I would tell you one thing – certainly not because of the fact of the vanity of arrogance and the arrogant, but for two or more wrong reasons. First, (hate it or love it; believe it or not), your typical Ghanaian is very arrogant himself! Therefore he does not see eye to eye with anything perceived as that – the arrogant is a rival in competition to the typical Ghanaian. It is just the fact of life, two like-sided don’t meet - positive doesn’t meet positive. A puffed up son of an egoistic father just don’t see eye to eye. Two conceited girls don’t make good friends; neither do quarrelsome duo coexist peaceably in a house – that is just the way it is! Thief man makes out thief man quickly; and puts in counter measures to repel the incoming one, even when the other is not on the job then. Conclusions, majority of Ghanaians are vainglorious; and like magnet, even as the north repels the north, so does the prideful Ghanaian repudiate any perceived prideful element.

Secondly, the understanding of the Ghanaian of vain pride or arrogance is very flawed. As far as your typical Ghanaian is concerned, any conduct, appearance or utterance that is not in line with his peculiar traditions or narrow knowledge of life is wrongly and strongly perceived as arrogance. To the Ghanaian assertiveness is pride; being outright and truthful is disrespectful; being true to one’s inner self is perversion. Thus many were those who dislike some of our World Cup heroes for their hairdos, and such stuff. Early this year a Schoolmaster had the audacity to embargo the salary of a hardworking teacher in one of the northern regions, just because he was wearing dreadlocks. When this expressive teacher petitioned the GES, he was told to cut the dreads as demanded by the schoolmaster, even in this era of the 1992 constitution which guarantees our freedom of expression (or maybe in our Ghanaian narrow-mindedness the above freedom only grants freedom of propagation of lies and the concurrent mouth diarrhea of many of us, and the stupid prominent. I’m hated by fellow Ghanaians for the way I walk, and more so for telling the truth. If you gave the Ghanaian something by the left hand, you are said to lack wisdom and respect, even though the other may be occupied. If you fail to put your hands behind your back when talking to a superior, in position or age, you are too proud for yourself. Simply, to the Ghanaian anything other than subservience is repugnant; thus self-assertiveness is arrogant, and frowned on. The other side of the case is also true with the typical Ghanaian wrongfully calculating humility only by outward demeanor and appearance – he would prefer a stupid but handsome leader to an ugly but wise king.

The Case of Mills and Nana Akuffo-Addo (Application)

What have this Ghanaian character of being arrogant; and thus hating anything perceived as arrogant; and the fact that we have wrong understanding of arrogance, and thus humility as well, served us? In the case of the 2008 presidential elections, we had two interesting characters, who are so apt to apply to our conception of arrogance, and humility. The duo under scrutiny are the plain Nana Akuffo-Addo; and the exquisite soft-spoken Atta Mills. Nana Akuffo Addo, a man who appears assertive, candid, and no-nonsense. An ardent politician with a rich socio-political background; a man successful in his trade, and thus wealthy, comes to town speaking boldly of pertinent policies and to vital issues and what he can do for Ghanaians, given the mandate for the presidency. A man who has something to show for what he says; and thus funding his campaign generous to show his wherewithal; having a caring and sharing spirit; but all that the envious, evil-minded, and the arrogant Ghanaian populace could think of and see is arrogance, because if it aren’t for them it is no good! or because he could not identify with our destitute and helpless self as Ghanaians? Thus we reject him out of envy, because to us we could only see as far as doing him a favor, but not the other way round. Why add the presidency to a podgy spoilt rich son of a politician to make him even better than we are? Folks, that is our stupid way of thinking - love it or hate – look yourself in the mirror, typical stupid Ghanaian, it is you here I’m talking about! Wise up!!! Or die fooling yourself!!!

Then comes a sickly man (this is no insult, folks, it is a state of being; unless it is shameful, and morally evil to be sick!), in the person of current President Mills; already soft-spoken, but the tempo had even dropped further ‘drastically’ because of his ailment. Notwithstanding, this soft-spokenness is speaking big things like the BEAST OF THE BOOK Of REVELATION – things that are chronologically pragmatically unrealistic looking at our current resources as a nation – fat and lofty promises. And yet he had nothing to offer but just virtually give every state utility and service for free, by ‘drastic’ reductions of tariffs and charges. His campaign stinks of poverty, because all that the poor professor can show for success in his field is not-for-life, but useless academic thesis and such paperous stuff. However, to the Ghanaian poverty is modesty and thus virtue; soft-spokenness, and I’m-dying-the-next- minute appearance is humility, and saintly; to the Ghanaian vain words are sweeter; and if it is not for free, it is no good. He promises money in the pocket (no one asked where it is coming from?); and yet he could not help Ghana to run the best of tax systems and economy having been in charge before with useless professorship. But we had seen it before as Ghanaians – his holy mentor, His Justicsness Flt Lt Jesus John Agyewodin Rawlings come, a pauper promising to level the rich and the poor (like a typical envious Ghanaian, to be rich is evil, and destitution and asceticism is virtue; and thus make all poor to bring about the Ghanaian type of ‘freedom and justices’), and we hailed him; and true to his word he made all poor, but himself – now among the rich of the world! Yet the Ghanaian would not take a lesson – why? For the Ghanaians is still evil himself, therefore he can bear nothing which is good – evil can only produce evil!

So in the end Ghanaians drop the candid and policy speaking proud looking Nana Akuffo-Addo, who had something to show for what he says, just because he is not humble in the terms of the blind hypocritical, and puffed-up himself Ghanaman. They pick the soft-spoken unproductive professor of law and economics who is lawless and economically lame; and yet prate big freebies like he created and owns the world economic system. And what does he show for all the big talk? The Insult of an Arrogant Man!

Having trumpeted ‘drastic’ reduction to every charge and tariff reduceable, what do we get? First, an unlawful hike in the charges of fuel, which is thus declared unlawful by the courts; but still in place, and unaccounted for. We get next electricity, water and other utility tariffs increments in the hundreds, and notwithstanding, in reality they charge even more than what is put out to the public (would it be an insult if I said ‘thief stop stealing because God would punish that’?). Big to small scale, and individually enterprises are folding; and people losing jobs because of these rather ‘drastic’ and thieving hikes of tariffs. Yet utilities are sporadic in coming - fuel shortages; indiscriminate water and electricity cuts; ran down health services; and the rest. Our pockets are dried even more because after all the noise on inflation reduction, the Cedi buys less to nothing by the day. Now let Ghanaians feed on the true or pseudo-humility of President Asomdwehene Mills for our daily sustenance!!!

Now the insult to the injury is that Mills and NDC keep on telling us we are prospering, our stomachs are ever-full now, and such lies, (or maybe they measure by their own experience – certainly those formally hungry NDC politicians are better of now - million times) He continues to make more vain, mouth-waaaa-promises. Please somebody tell Mills we would be better off if he would stop his insults on our intelligence by pilling more lies (maybe he himself is fed with lies by his minders or hallucinating ; that would be the result of rewarding a man with a strenuous job just because he looks sickly humble – pseudo-humility).

Conclusion

Do not fault me ‘why do you do politics?’, because even if I did, my God of Jesus Christ does not forbid me, but bids me to - just that maybe you do not understand ‘politics’, even as you misconstrue ‘arrogance’ and ‘humility’; more so if I were campaigning for a particular party or person, as you might mean by ‘doing politics’, I would have always made myself falsely palatable by pandering to Ghanaians, rather than telling your unhelpful character to your face for change. I only profess the truth, but truth not applied to life is vain – some may call it lame duck. Ghanaians must wise-up by reading, meditating and practicing the Word of God for our own good. Praise be to our God of Jesus, the Christ. God bless you.

Ebenezer Boamah

Email: ebenbo@yahoo.com (The author is a man of God whose mandate is to national interest of all spheres, because the spirit is not void of the flesh).