The article by Ebby Koney, Esq. (Ghanaweb September 14, 2005) is a good example of intellectual dishonesty. Thankfully, Mr. Koney described himself as the ?Outgoing Chairman of North America NDC? therefore the motive for his reasoning leaves little to doubt. It is spurious political diatribe and nothing more.
Simply put, Ebby pretends to be writing a well-researched piece about Ghana?s socio-economic development from independence in 1957 to 2005. He quotes a mysterious Oscar from Kenya who gives good marks to Nkrumah and Rawlings (no surprise from the outgoing NDC Chairman) and damns Ghana?s current President Kufuor before he has written two sentences! Hon. J.H. Mensah is thinly disguised as the ?Ubiquitous Mr. M? and goes on to be blamed for everything that Ebby thinks is wrong with Ghana?s economy since Dr. Busia was Prime Minister. The worst is still yet to come. Professing to be a convert of Max Webber and then contradicting himself with liberal quotations from political economists, whose theories are no longer relevant, Ebby devotes his entire article to directly compare Kufuor to Nkrumah with his conclusion that Kufuor falls far short.
Now let?s see. Nkrumah was Ghana?s Head of State from 1957 to 1966. Kufuor assumed the helm in 2001. There are thirty ?five years between Nkrumah and Kufuor; there have been nine different leadership changes between this period with one name-alone occupying three separate incarnations for nearly twenty of the thirty- four years and Rawlings only gets a footnote in this five-page article. Go figure. This is scurrilous as it is a sham of intellectual pretence. For those of us in the US where Ebby resides, this is akin to comparing George W. Bush to Gorge Washington and calling the article ?a comparative research of US economy under all its Presidents? and hardly mentioning the forty-two Presidents between them. Come on, Ebby, please say what is on your mind and do not couch them with pseudo- erudition to prevent others from seeing through you. You did not succeed.
For whatever our shared country is, all its leaders and citizens have played their part and a fairer story would be a time-line study that takes international and local circumstances into account under all its leaders. High and low marks will be recorded for each and readers can draw their inferences. Ghana in 1957 is not Ghana in 2005 and a linear leap of faith cannot be made because the world of 2005 is also not the world of 1957.
I eagerly await part two of Ebby?s article that promises to discuss the ?impact of Rawlings-nomics on Ghana?s economic development? Coming from the Outgoing Chairman of the NDC, I am ready to take bets on the conclusions. By the way, Ebby, with all the intellectual posturing, why did you not explain what ?Mojo? is that Kufuor has lost for Ghana? Perhaps if those of us little people know what this American slang, that is the theme of your treatise, means we can decide for ourselves who really lost ?Ghana?s Mojo?.
General Secretary ? NY NPP - ----- 9/15/05
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