I Can't Think Far - Bishop Gideon Titi-Offei.

From Bole Bamboi to Kyebi: I can’t think far


Bishop Gideon Titi-Offei


From Bole Bamboi to Kyebi, from Kyebi to Bole Bamboi, it is far, yet I can’t think far

I can’t think far because they say your vote is your right but in actual fact your vote is their rise. The rise that takes them far away from you, too far to reach them.

I can’t think far because they say your vote is your voice but in actual fact your vote gives them a voice. A voice that speaks for them not for you.

I can’t think far because they say your vote is your power but in actual fact your vote gives them power. The power that gives them position and the position that gives them possessions leaving you penniless.

I can’t think far because they say your vote is your future but in actual fact your vote is their fortune. They get appointed and you get to pay their salaries, they get the houses and you get to pay their rent even through you are homeless, they get the cars and you get to buy the fuel. They get electricity and you get to pay the bill even though you live in ‘dumsor’.

I can’t think far because they have pot bellies and you have potholes. They have pot bellies because they borrowed in your name and chopped it in their name. Now you have to vomit your intestines out to pay for them.

I can’t think far because you are hungry but not angry. Their dustbins eat more that your stomach and their dogs more than your children.

I can’t think far because they can’t feel your pain yet you pay them with your vote. They schooled abroad, you schooled around. You walked to school they were chauffeured to school. You grew up in one world they grew up in other world so you can’t build a world together.

Who are you? You are me, I am you, we are us and they are they. You and I will trek from Bole Bamboi to Kyebi and from Kyebi to Bole Bamboi to attend their rallies whiles they come in their chauffeured driven V8s intoxicated by power to make powerful promises they do not have the power to keep. I just can’t think far.

Who are we? We are the ones who will go on the street to fight for their interests whiles their children watch us on TV with keen interest in the comfort of their comfortable homes. They will attend our funerals not as mourners but as politicians and play politics with our mothers’ lost. Our mothers will wail, their mothers will wheel them abroad. I just can’t think far.

Who are they? They are they and we are we. They have never been us and we have never been them. As far as Bole Bamboi is from Kyebi and Kyebi is from Bole Bamboi, that is how far away they are from us. Our world is not their world. We played with bamboo toys, the played with Lego, we played ‘gutter to gutter’, they played Snake and Ladder. We don’t understand them, they don’t understand us, yet they say we must stand with them. I just can’t think far.

Who are they? They are those who together ruled mother Ghana for 59 years and ruined our lives. When they compare themselves to themselves they say they ruled well but when we compare ourselves to ourselves we know the they have ruined our wells. I just can’t think far.

We die, they dine, we are the victims of their victories yet we are not angry. I just can’t think far.

We are hungry but not angry enough to agree to hold them accountable for not being accountable. I just can’t think far.

Yes I can’t think far but I can see far.
I can see the new you and the new me and the new us . When I walk on the streets I see the new us questioning their quest to lead us. I see the new us probing their promises and policing their policies.

This is our opinion, it burns like onions but flavours the discourse.

Exodus 18:21 NIV
But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain…

By: Bishop Gideon Titi-Ofei

'My Running Mate Does Not Know Her Date Of Birth'- Akua Donkor

Founder and leader of the Ghana Freedom Party (GFP) says her running mate, Patricia Asante is 42 not 32-year-old as it is being speculated in the media.

According to Akua Donkor, the uneducated farmer made a mistake when writing her date of birth on the nomination forms at the Electoral Commission (EC).

The presidential aspirant on Monday, October 3, 2016 named Mr.s Asante as her running mate for the December 7 presidential and parliamentary elections.

The Junior High School (JHS) dropout said she is 32-years-old and ready to partner Akua Donkor to contribute her quota to change Ghana.

But her age has sparked controversy since her age does not qualify her to occupy the position.

In a rebuttal, Akua Donkor on Adom News said her running mate cannot be blamed for the gaffe since she cannot read or write.

She explained that, her [Patricia] father died very early so does not know her actual date of birth “but I can tell you she is more than 40 years”.

Akua Donkor said her running mate could not complete her basic education, but maintained that, it will not hinder her from delivering as a future vice president of Ghana.

Ghana Shortest Association - We will Vote Against President Mahama and NDC.

The Ghana shortest association has vowed to vote massively against the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the upcoming general elections. 

The association especially those in the Kumawood movie industry say the ruling  National Democratic Congress (NDC) has absolutely no respect for them. 

According o them, Vice President Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur and Nill Lante Vanderpuye clearly have indicated that they have no admiration for them hence their decision to vote against President Mahama and his NDC Party. 

The Vice President recently during his campaign tour in the Eastern region sated that short people need to be elevated to appreciate the performance of Mahama’s administration. Amissah-Arthur, who had noticed that some people in the crowd he was addressing in the Eastern region had lift a woman and according to him when asked why she was lifted he was told the woman could not see him because she was short. 

The association further noted they will rescind their decision only if the NDC officially issues an unqualify apology to them. 

But spokesperson of the association Paul Sarpong known as Paul Gee tells Abusua news ”Amissah Arthur has proven beyond reasonable doubt that short people are not part of the human race so they don’t need our votes’’ 

He added "we will advice ourselves by voting against them trust me come December 7.”

A Man Raped by Three Women.

Durban - A Hluhluwe man has said he will not be able to forgive the three women who raped him. A video of the incident appeared on social media and has since gone viral. The man, whose name is known to the Daily News, said he was at home when a woman whom he knows called him over, saying she needed help with an electrical problem at her home. “I went into her house and when I got there, I saw another girl in the room. I did not pay any attention to her. Then another girl who was hiding behind the door closed it, that’s when I realised that something was wrong.” He said after they closed the door behind him, they told him they wanted to sleep with him. “I initially thought they were joking,” he said. However, he soon realised they were serious when he was attacked. He said he tried to defend himself but his arm was weak since he had injured it in an accident years ago. He said he was let go and he went home and took a shower. He said the incident had left him feeling confused. “I told my older sister about what happened but she thought I was joking.” It was only after a video appeared online that she took what he said seriously and encouraged him to go to the police. He said he feared going to the police because he thought they would not take him seriously. “When I told them what happened they were shocked. The three women were arrested the same day I reported the matter.” The alleged rapists were people he knew and grew up with in the area, he said. “I’m very angry,” he said of the assault. One of the families of the alleged rapists went to the man’s home to try to make amends, he said. “My brothers and sisters were not having any of it,” he said. He was looking forward to the trial and wanted the women to be severely punished. “People like that should not be part of society.” What made it more difficult to move on was that the video was on social media and people had come to ask him what happened. “It is something I never thought would happen to me. There is not much I can do but try to move on.” According to Reese Mann, executive director of the South African Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse (Samssa), one out of six males before the age of 18 were sexually abused. Mann said 19.3% of all sexual violations reported to police involved male victims. “Male victims of sexual abuse are less likely than their female counterparts to report incidents of sexual abuse, because police and the judiciary don’t take it seriously,” Mann said. Mann said a widely held myth was that if males got an erection and/or, ejaculated during the sexual abuse, they must have enjoyed it. “A man being raped can still get an erection because it is in the physiological make-up of males that if they are caressed long enough they end up getting an erection,” said Mann. He said there was also the myth that men should be capable of protecting themselves against sexual abuse. “There are three stages that any victim of sexual abuse goes through, and they are called the three Fs. “They can fight back, they can flee or they are just overcome by fear and the force exerted by the perpetrator, in which case they just freeze,” said Mann. Police spokesman, Lieutenant-Colonel Thulani Zwane, confirmed the incident and said the women had appeared in the Hluhluwe Magistrate’s Court last Thursday and were expected to appear again on Tuesday for a bail application. He said they were being held in custody

Who Killed Nancy?

WHO KILLED NANCY

David Easton once opined that politics  generally, is the authoritative allocation of resources and values. To wits, the exertion of acceptable values and norms (that may be rooted in culture, historical antecedents, precedents and conventions), the custodianship and equitable distribution of the National cake rest with the players in whom the sovereignty of the people is vested. In a nutshell, "who gets what, when and how". To a very large extent, the success or otherwise of the people, fortunes and stability is dependent on key decisions taken by the powers that be (in the helm of affairs). All of the aforementioned ideally is supposed to be rendered in trust, utmost good faith and ultimately in the supreme interest of the people in line with the agency theory and the concept of social contract.

 The Ghanaian political dispensation however does not holistically follow the modules and expectations of an ideal case of a growing democracy and has different and seemingly unpredictable dynamics amidst the strides dating back to 6th March, 1957.
Ghana's geo-politics has witnessed a lot of metamorphosis as the days went by. Interests, perceptions, good will, tribalism, religion and chieftaincy remain inalienable elements in the politics of today. In most developed and developing democracies, there are two dominant political parties and sometimes a strong third force, nonetheless, there are three voting behaviours according to Political Science;

i. ALIGNED VOTERS
These types of voters are identified with a particular political party and irrespective of the performance of the ruling government or the activities of the opposition parties, their voting pattern is fixed at auto-pilot. This explains why each of the two dominant political parties in Ghana have enjoyed a minimum constant of 40% of total valid ballots cast in the general elections with the years 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 in perspective and "ceteris paribus", the 2016 Presidential elections would tow a similar line.

ii. ISSUES BASED VOTERS

These voters unlike the aligned voters have their voting patterns subjected to key analysis of the prevailing issues including and not exclusively, national security, macro economic stability, unemployment, political stability, infrastructural development, social interventions, balance of trade, fiscal and monetary policies, rule of law, proper exercise of executive powers, directive principle of state policy, education, health, energy, agriculture, corruption, foreign policy, to mention but a few. These types of voters fairly appreciate the topical issues affecting the fortunes of the country and do a comparative study of manifestos, after which they vote based on how the government of the day has handled affairs and whether or not the future of the Nation looks brighter in the hands of a formidable opposition serving as a competent alternative .

The issued based voters however do not belong to the proverbial "world bank" of any political party and can vote either ways and undoubtedly remain a part of the deciders of every elections. They are sometimes referred to as "floating or swing voters".

iii. THE SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL VOTERS

These type of voters exhibit a behaviour that may be unconventional in other Jurisdictions. Their voting pattern is based on their peculiar needs being met by whoever seeks their mandate. The issues of the economy has very little or no influence on their voting pattern and are thus considered "tabula rasa" and they lay bare at the mercy of the whims and caprices of politicians with seared conscience who show up only when its time for the renewal of the power of representation reposed in them by the masses.

Infrastructural developments very close to elections, distribution of outboard motors to fishing communities, supply of farming accoutrements and the influence of cash on election day among others clearly define the practise. On the part of the politicians, these activities may be considered "vote buying".


THE ROLE OF THE MEDIA
The media is mostly recognised as the fourth arm of government in the traditional democratic practise and in Ghana, the repeal of the criminal libel law caused the germination of positive journalism with the likes of Anas Aremeyaw Anas and Manasseh Awuni Azure contributing their quota in the area of investigative journalism. However, the right to access relevant information to aid accurate reportage is still a challenge with the "Right to Information Bill" enjoying endless days in parliament. The media space as well needs to be sanitized since it has served as the platform for unsavoury commentary, the despicable politics of insults, tribal bigotry, derogatory and treasonable chants over the years.

The activities of foot soldiers and serial callers must be carefully managed as a matter of urgency(with the Kenyan ordeal in mind). The debate on whether or not social media should be shut down on election day, for me is a non-starter since the positives out weigh the possible adverse repurcussions.

THE PANACEA
The Ghanaian politician would continue to play to the gallery to enure to his/her benefit until the vunerable voter gains strength with a much better usage of the power of the thumb. Going forward, it would be imperative for the Ghanaian voter to punish the politician for failed promises, grow a sense of objectivity, be rational, be analytical and most importantly choose Nationalism over unnecessary partisanship.

George H.W Bush (41st President of USA,1989-93) was denied a re-election for not fulfilling his cardinal campaign promise "No New Taxes" and not being attentive enough to economic problems, however, he managed 38% of votes, Ross Perot 19%, Bill Clinton 43% and others 1%. Here in Ghana, the people have been subjected to blatant lies in the name of "political talk" since the start of the Fourth Republic and I wonder when we would start punishing the politician for unrealised and preposterous promises. It is only the Ghanaian politician's pipeline that has an entry but no exit. President John  Magafuli "Bulldozer" of Tanzania on the other hand has shown that, African leaders can equally be magnanimous in their service to the citizenry.


Lets not contribute to the untimely death of our motherland only to show up at the bank of the river and in haste enquire, WHO KILLED NANCY?
The opportunity to showcase our silky skills with the thumb is presented once every 4 years and in exercising your franchise, be wary of the fact that "We're the Change we seek"          
 
                              George Sarpong
                         (A boy from the 80's)
                         nkgs888@gmail.com