Last Monday would go into the annals of democracy and our history as a sad day. It was not an Atubiga or the allegedly senile Papavi who ridiculously misled a whole band of youth in the Volta Region to rebel against the sovereignty of Ghana as some traditional authorities looked the other way.
And, it was not a case of Teshie youth, during a Homowo festival, expressing dissent at traditional leaders for their poor governance systems that tolerate women and men looking into one another’s eyes and doing it along the quiet beach stretch – ‘bentua’ in hand, sometimes.
This was an incident that involved serious matters about the sovereignty of the nation and the constitutional authority of our Supreme Court. And it is also about the rule of law and its other twin brother which is law and order. We cannot have one without the other.
The big gavel
Little wonder that the angry Supreme Court Justices dropped, with a huge thud, their gavel of disappointment on the peccadilloes of a major player on the political scene, a major player in the nation’s legislature, who had elected to mess the sanctity of the courts.
That the nation had seen such an instance before, and that many failed to learn from it, was enough reason why some had themselves being embarrassed as politicians and also as leaders in governance who should be setting examples in being civil and responsible.
Sowing to the wind
While the court was treated to some fun away from the stress and suspense characterizing the running proceedings, it becomes relevant treating ourselves in retrospect on the quotation by Tsatsu Tsikaka in making a statement which he sought to lace with sowing and reaping from the Bible.
NDC politics, particularly since the opposition party came under the leadership of Mahama, appear to have become dirty and violent. Particularly during the 2012 election petition, we experienced some of these excesses that bordered on criminality. Some media boys, without any serious station in life, had the guts to threaten Supreme Court judges in lurid lingo.
Of course, there were others who were corrected by the Justices in 2012. And we thought we had all learnt our lessons.
Scapegoat Dr Ayine
Unfortunately, on Monday, February 22, 2021, it was not any of the NDC’s barking dogs in Parliament or those in communications on the streets. It was not those who were sent from the NDC kingpins after the general elections to the precincts of the Electoral Commission. It was a member of Ghana’s legislature and former Deputy Attorney-General, among other credentials.
Sad, but that is the kind of politics those in the NDC, particularly, have been advocating up till this time. And it is all because they want to satisfy the inordinate appetite of one man with a mission to govern Ghana and the NDC by force.
For now, it is Dr Ayine who is the obvious scapegoat for the dead goat. It is, however, the opinion of the Daily Statesman that our leaders of today, at all levels, need to do better by leaving the next generation a legacy of truth and morality in every sphere of national life.
We cannot do the things that were tolerable in the days of the PNDC and get globally plausible results. We cannot all turn barking dogs in politics when we all know that argument or debate is the accepted norm, instead of force.
After having his nose rubbed in the mud, we believe Dr Ayine will lead in advocating decency in his party as we all get used to the truth that Ghana or governance, for that matter, will only thrive on policy, the rule of law as well as law and order.
We must crucify chaos and imbibe honest debate. That’s the way to go, according to the Supreme Court.
