John Mahama
Ghana, as a country united in her diversity, has survived all these years without exploding like other countries in the sub-region due to the level of tolerance among the citizenry.
Ghanaians tolerate our tribal, religious, political and social differences without hitting on each other.
Although occasionally, for some reasons, political and ethnic sentiments had been whipped up by some elements to favour certain groups, this had often been left for young politicians and, in recent times, as social media ugly noises.
The observation had been that it rarely happened that people at the highest echelon of the leadership ladder would denigrate one group in the open.
That is not to say same may not occasionally happen when groups meet privately. However, mindful of ugly incidence such as the Rwandan genocide, such private discussions, ugly as they maybe, always remain private.
Opening the box
And so for a former President and a person hoping to re-occupy the highest seat of the land to openly endorse and amplify a blatant insult and attack on a group of people, without shame and even have the gut to go ahead to defend same, leaves so much to be desired.
The people of Rwanda lived peacefully until one day some class of people decided to look down upon the other.
As Odewale would put it in Ola Rotimi’s ‘The God’s Are Not to Blame’: “’I can bear insults to myself, but to call my tribe bush, and then summon riff-raff to mock my mother tongue! I will die first”.
Every human being has a level to which he can remain tolerant. However, even the elastic object, when overstretched, reaches its inelastic point.
Condemnation
That is why we find it strange the loud silence by well-meaning Ghanaians and the weak attempt by some so-called neutrals and think tanks to justify the unpardonable gaffe by the former president.
As President Nana Akufo-Addo stated during his encounter with the Catholic Bishop’s Conference at Jubilee House last week, we all expect Ghanaians to condemn the unfortunate comments without delay.
It cannot be right that respected voices of the country, the clergy, the traditional leadership, the civil society organisation, among others, will go to sleep and pretend that all is well when all is not.
Bandwagon
What country are we seeking to build when we start putting all people in one basket and start using unprintable words on them?
Imagine what will happen if people start referring to others as ‘wicked Gas’, ‘stupid Gonjas’, ‘Ewe thieves’, ‘Mamprusi armed robbers’, ‘Kwahu murderers, among others.
We know that the NDC, bereft of any convincing campaign message, and struggling to sell its weak candidate, and as such drowning deeply into defeat, will clutch at every straw for survival, but we do not believe this is the time to say that it is politics and this is how politicians behave so it should be left to go.
It is about time we called a spade a spade and not a big spoon. John Mahama’s unthinkable crime cannot be equated to the crimes of others politicians.
People must speak and condemn John Mahama as John Mahama and not as a Gonja, Northerner or a politician.
Adongo’s unfortunate insult on Akyems may be forgiven, but for John Mahama, a former President, to amplify it, add even more insulting words to it and still shamefully try to defend it is unthinkable. Such divisive mindset should not be allowed to triumph in the face of our fragile political atmosphere.
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