By Issifu Seidu Kudus Gbeadese
I have read a very short submission from my big brother, Braimah Amati Lord-Ken, a US-based Gonja fine brain, on the above subject. Just like I have always stated, everyone’s opinion is sacred and ought to be expressed as such. I have grown to like Ken’s love for Gonja and his largely objective posturing when it comes to issues of Gonjaland and especially the politics in the land.
That said, I think I will agree with him in principle, but practically, I totally disagree with the submission by Ken to the effect that the current generation in Gonjaland has their star in Abu and for that matter, he must be protected. I am beginning to feel this is a calculated choreography from the NPP to emotionally blackmail the people of Gonja for their own gains. The reason is that, this assertion maintained by my good brother, Ken, has not come in isolation. Over the last couple of weeks, especially after the ban was placed on Abu in Gonjaland, many of his appendages started with this emotional blackmail.
Indeed, many of them even reached out to some of us to tone down on our criticisms of Abu, especially about his failure to lead the charge to deliver the Damongo water project. They advanced this same argument that whereas Dagombas are nurturing Haruna from the NDC and Dr. Amin Anta from the NPP, we, in Gonjaland must come together to support and nurture Abu from the NPP so that he will also rise at equal wavelength with H.E John Dramani Mahama in the very near future. This is not bad in principle, for I hold the solemn belief that nothing happens in politics if it wasn’t design to happen. But I would not allow myself to be hoodwinked and bundled into this blackmail, when the same person we are discussing doesn’t believe in the Gonja agenda.
In as much as I will subscribe to any such deliberate agenda from Gonjas as a people, I would not be susceptible to any backdoor blackmail. Does Abu believe in Gonjaland agenda? What has he done to advance same just like Haruna Iddrisu and Dr. Amin Anta are doing in Dagbon? Has he not strategically placed himself to be used by Akuffo-Addo to undo President Mahama’s bid in the past and even in this 2024 elections? We have eyes that can see the unseen, ears that hear from the dark and of course brains that can think and sift between good intentions and selfish desires.
At what point did we see the need to support our own? I have said it before, if there is any place in the entire North where John Mahama had been wrongfully vilified and still being attacked, it is none other but Bole and Damongo. We are here, when the NPP boldly spit on our faces with the remarks that they cannot condone tribal politics. In fact, Abu’s own remarks at the Bolewura’s palace during their last visit after his ban, he repeated the same remarks. Abu said, the fact that John Mahama is a Gonja doesn’t mean all of us should support him. And that the only ingredient we use to cook the political soup is development and not tribalism. What does he mean by these remarks at instance of the people of Bole, the Bolewura and Dr Bawumia?
My senior brother Ken, did you hear Abu make the above remarks? Indeed, during his last acclamation leading to his candidature for his party in Damongo, Abu declared Savannah region as the battle ground for the 2024 elections. And that, all though John Mahama is from the region, they will snatch more seats in addition to his in order to make the NPP the majority from Savannah Region. Yes, you may want to say we should pardon him, because it was just political talk, but Abu’s own activities prior and post his declaration point to his resolve to undermine President Mahama, disgrace him and effectively undo his next coming as President.
I was thinking that my brother, Ken, would rather admonish Abu to tone down especially, with his underhand dealings to expose Gonjaland to ridicule through their well-hatched agenda of making the world to feel President Mahama indeed, did nothing for Gonjaland when he was President.
We were here when the issue of the renovation of the Jakpa Palace became the most discussed topic in Ghana. How was that? Lawyer Abu Jinapor schemed through to make it sound like the former President could not even renovate his own father’s house, so how can he manage Ghana? In the bid to crystallize this agenda and to put the icing on the cake, they made it news that Dr Bawumia was committed at renovating the palace. True to it, Abu and his henchmen got the palace re-painted and his boys in Damongo took pictures of the Palace and flooded them on social media to make the point that instead of John Mahama, Dr Bawumia has come to the aid of Gonjas by building their own overlord, a palace. Does this posture afford us the opportunity to foster a United front towards the future? And let nobody tell me that Abu didn’t have a hand in all of these.
Even when President Mahama started a completely new palace project, Abu, our only Cabinet Minister and the MP for Damongo, has made frantic efforts to undo President Mahama’s gesture. In view of this, they are at it again to renovate the old structure just by what President Mahama is building and they intend to commission it sometime after President Mahama hands over the new palace to the overlord. All of these are calculated at undermining President Mahama and of course the Gonja agenda Mr Ken is genuinely preaching.
My brother Ken is from Bole, and so, I am very certain that he has the love for his people. As we speak, the gold deposits in Bole have been mortgaged by Abu to strangers at the expense of the youth in Bole. At the last Gonjaland Youth Congress in Damongo, the Gonjaland Youth Association (GLYA) President, at paragraph 32 of his speech, bemoaned the lack of consultation with key stakeholders as required by the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (ACT 703), which Abu is required by law and good intentions to work with, in respect of the mining concession handed the foreign company. In fact, in his speech, the Former President, on the same platform repeated the concerns raised by the GLYA President. Abu, out of whatever on the same platform, rubbished the concerns raised by both President Mahama and the President of the Gonjaland Youth Association. Subsequently, we heard the interview granted by the MP for Bole, Hon. Yussif Sulemana Ori, to the effect that there was no due diligence done and effectively no stakeholder engagement was carried out as done elsewhere before granting the mineral concession to the foreign companies. What should our youth eat?
Indeed, subsequent to all these, we witnessed the brawl between the Vice Chairman of the NPP in the Bole Constituency, the Police and other agents of the concession. Unfortunately, this led to the beating to pulp, of my good friend, Suraj Mahama, the NPP constituency secretary. I want to humbly ask a question, was the Yagbonwura and other key stakeholders in the land consulted and engaged prior to the granting of the concession? Has there been an alternative livelihood programs and retaining the rights to persons with the surface rights to the lands given on concession as contained in section 72 of the Minerals and Mining Act? How about ensuring local participation pursuant to section 50 of the same Act 703 of 2006?
The last straw that broke the camel’s back is the issue of comparing Abu to President Mahama. We read from Abu’s recruited defenders, who are trained to taint the name and image of President Mahama. Each passing time, these agents of Abu, make the silly claim without any reservation, that Abu has done more in terms of development of Gonjaland than President Mahama. The coke forcefully with this silly remarks without the tacit approval of Abu. Although, this sounds ridiculous, but shouldn’t we take those remarks serious?
They mince no words when they come after President Mahama especially, when Abu is under scrutiny. In fact, Abu’s aide, one Manuel Quaye, have had occasions when he undressed Former President Mahama and made very damning remarks about him. In the heat of the moment, when Abu’s ban became a reality, this same Manuel Quaye was the one who put together dirty headlines agaisnt the Yagbonwura. He mistakenly posted what was meant for an NPP on the Damongo Youth Parliament platform. One of such headlines suggested that the reason why the Yagbonwura banned Abu was because the former requested a Land Cruiser from the latter, which hasn’t been delivered. We saw the publications on Ghanaweb the next day with that headline. And we speak, such a publication is still on that website.
What partly got Abu his current standing in the NPP was his penchant and love for attacking President Mahama. In fact, Abu was part of the plan to undo President Mahama’s second term in 2016. He, together with some Northern brothers and sisters were put together to sell Former President Mahama out with their incessant attacks and describing him in all forms. I still can remember his description of President Mahama as the most corrupt at All Nation’s University College in Koforidua. At the time, his own blood brother was an appointee of President Mahama. Should we also say, he was envious of his own brother at the time as my brother Ken wants us to believe?
Today, Abu is fighting everyone in Gonjaland including Chiefs and the big faces who matter in our politics. We cannot bury our faces like the proverbial ostrich to the silent in-fighting between Abu and Dr Clifford. Did Abu not asked for Dr Clifford to be removed from the NPP National Council and replaced him? Is that one too envy? Should we be seen promoting each other or pulling dirty strings from behind?
How many times have you read in the news that the NDC in North-East Region issued any statement or make any news to paint Dr Bawumia dirty after the visit of President Mahama to that region? The NPP in Bole, in Damongo and in fact, in Savannah does it with ease. The very moment Dr Bawumia visits Savannah, in order to show their unalloyed loyalty to him, they will definitely find something to send President Mahama to the cleaners. When Abu made the promise to construct an Astro turf for Bole, it wasn’t made out of good intentions, but to subtly attack former President Mahama. And the NPP members subsequent writings and posturing confirmed this.
I am not against promoting the Gonja agenda in principle, but it must not start with Abu, but H.E John Dramani Mahama. It takes a more than just financial resources to get called to the apogee of politics. And if anybody should be learning, it is Abu and his appendages.
I will conclude by asking, between getting President Mahama at the seat of government and preparing Abu for the future in the midst of these political uncertainties, which one is the easiest and achievable? If the NPP in Savannah region continue to pull the strings in order to get President tainted, we, at the other side will not lend our emotions to be blackmailed by any future agenda. If the people of Gonja want to have an agenda, it must be now with President Mahama or never in the future with anybody.
16th August, 2024
