Features
KIA: An aberration of the highest order (Part 1)
When a man fathers a child, he names it after himself. In African culture, even when the father or grandfather dies, their progeny are named after them to preserve their revered ancestry. Their descendants are not named after strangers. There could be an exception to the rule if a stranger were acclaimed by members of the naming family as having benefited the family in a way deemed worthy of immortalising.
Then, the stranger’s name could be adopted into that family’s heritage. Otherwise, it is an aberration to name somebody’s baby after another person who is not the father, more so if that stranger had some character defects. It is an abominable paradox. It is a misnomer.
Talking of naming reminds me of another scenario in Ghana, where it is common practice to name foreigners as “Nkosuorhene,” that is, “Development chief” because of their contribution to the upliftment of a particular community. These “strangers” are invited from their countries of origin and enstooled with regalia, traditional name, and all, and paraded through the streets to outdoor them.
Sometimes, in the euphoria of celebrating these foreign helpers, tradition is even broken. For instance, these “chiefs” may be carried in a palanquin which is meant for only the overlord of the beneficiary community. But who cares? They deserve all the encomiums.
Not so with the case of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the man who led the struggle for Ghana’s independence and helped the country to shake off the heavy yoke of colonialism. The Akans have a proverb that says: “W’annyi me ay3 a, enns3e me din,” which loosely translates to: “If you would not praise me,(for all I have done), do not malign me.”For all Nkrumah did for Ghana in record time, they gave him a bad name and hanged him. The Western world with whom he dared to compete in terms of industrialisation, branded him a communist and encouraged his own countrymen like Lt. General Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka to depose him from office.
What was his crime? Apart from being charged with practising communism, Nkrumah’s stature was growing at breakneck speed among freedom fighters all over the world who saw him as their go-to person as they looked for inspiration to break free from the yoke of colonialist subordination.
Besides, his “dangerous” rhetoric about the selfish ambitions of the Western powers, his continuous bashing of them, his name-calling such as exploiters, imperialists, and neo-colonialists, did not sit well with them. Furthermore, his concrete efforts to unite all of Africa to enable the continent to present a united front against the intention of the Western powers to call the shots and keep Africa in perpetual subjugation, were too threatening to ignore.
Amidst the tension, Nkrumah published a book: Neo-Colonialism: The Last Stage of Imperialism, shunned economic policies prescribed by the IMF in May 1965, and proceeded with his own mission to develop Ghana the way he thought best for the country. That means he refused to collaborate with the West in his development plan because he did not see them as helpers but exploiters. His stout stance caused diplomatic relations with the West to deteriorate further.
To the Western powers led by the US, Nkrumah was becoming too much of a pain in the neck. Consequently, they planned to eliminate him and found ready accomplices in Kotoka, who was a Lt. Colonel at the time and his gang. Other co-conspirators were Major Akwasi Amankwaa Afrifa, Lt. General Ankrah from the army, and from the police, Mr. J.W.K. Harlley, the Inpector General of Police and Mr. A.K. Deku, his deputy.
Irrefutable evidence abounds implicating Kotoka and his henchmen in cahoots with clandestine saboteurs like America’s CIA and M16, their British equivalent, to undermine Ghana’s rapid move towards industrial growth and prosperity. And what were they promised? Listen to what Robert W. Komer, one of the operatives on the ground told President Lyndon B. Johnson after the coup succeeded:
“Nkrumah was doing more to undermine our interests than any other black African. In reaction to his strongly pro-Communist leanings, the new military regime is almost pathetically pro-Western. The point of this memo is that we ought to follow through skillfully and consolidate such successes. A few thousand tons of surplus wheat or rice, given now when the new regimes are quite uncertain as to their future relations with us, could have a psychological significance out of all proportion to the cost of the gesture. I am not arguing for lavish gifts to these regimes—indeed, giving them a little only whets their appetites, and enables us to use the prospect of more as leverage.”What a shame!
In collaboration with those clandestine organisations, they staged the first military coup d’etat that led to a domino effect precipitating ripples across Africa. For one thing, as a trailblazer, when Ghana sneezes, the rest of Africa catches cold. Even though Togo organised the first coup in sub-Saharan Africa in 1962, followed by Nigeria in 1966, Ghana’s participation made it more “attractive” for others to join the bandwagon.
Between 1962 and 1967, there were 15 coups in Africa. Even now, see what is happening in Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Chad. The military in these countries have all overthrown democratically elected governments, some twice or more.
That brings me back to what I was saying earlier about the proper way to name babies. The current name of Ghana’s premier airport: Kotoka International Airport, (KIA) is strange, misplaced, and improper. The simple reason is that the airport is one of the maiden projects of Dr. Nkrumah following the attainment of independence and, therefore, it is his baby. For that matter, its current name is unacceptable, inappropriate, and utterly amiss.
Remember what I said from the outset, that babies are not named after people with character defects, and Kotoka’s record is there for all to see. His name is that of a traitor who conspired with foreign powers to halt Ghana’s quick march towards greatness. Why then should Ghana’s premier airport be named after Kotoka for all his sabotage? If you did not understand what it meant to add insult to injury, this is a typical example.
Originally, the airport was a military landing strip used by the British Royal Air Force during the Second World War. After the war, the facility was handed over to the British civilian authorities. On March 21, 1952, Dr. Nkrumah became Prime Minister of the Gold Coast before the country’s name was changed to Ghana. He hit the road running because he realised that the British were only interested in exploiting Ghana’s rich mineral resources with no commitment to the prosperity of the country. Even the airport was left just as it was – a military base.
To ensure a rapid transformation of the country, President Nkrumah drew a master plan spearheaded by massive infrastructural development. Among his plan was a redevelopment project to restructure the military base into an international airport with a commensurate terminal building. He launched the project in 1956 and got it completed in 1958. The airport which initially had a capacity of 500,000 passengers per year, was originally named Accra International Airport.
With incredible ingenuity and leadership, Nkrumah proceeded with other aspects of his enormous development agenda, embarking on projects whose magnitude, variety and pace were unmatched elsewhere in Africa. Within a short time, he completed projects such as the Tema township and industrial area, Tema Harbour, Tema Oil Refinery, Tema Motorway to link the port city with Accra, the Akosombo Hydro-Electric Dam, and the expansion of the old Takoradi harbour for the exportation of Ghana’s raw materials such as cocoa, timber, coffee, and rubber among others. What about the Ghana Atomic Energy Programme at Kwabenya, Accra? All these were geared towards the rapid industrialisation and transformation of the country.
But alas! That was not to be. The trajectory of progress took a downward spiral. Ghana, Africa’s rising star, was shot from the sky and made to tumble down to earth. On February 24, 1966, while Dr. Nkrumah was away to Hanoi, the capital of North Vietnam on a peace mission to seek an end to Vietnam’s war with the US, Kotoka and his cohorts staged Ghana’s first coup, a bloody one for that matter, and ousted the President from office.
For Kotoka and his gang to sell their conscience to an organisation working against Ghana’s progress is pure treason. Apart from the treasonable nature of the offence, Kotoka’s putsch dragged Ghana towards a downward spiral from which we have never recovered.
Yet, his name is imprinted boldly on an edifice as important as Ghana’s main international airport, the gateway to the land people from the diaspora are trooping in to see, partly because of the name and fame Kwame Nkrumah gave to Ghana. This is adding insult to injury. It is an abomination. It is a shame!
Next week, we shall discuss how the airport’s name was changed. We shall talk about the legacy of Kotoka also.
Contact:teepeejubilee@yahoo.co.uk
By Tony Prempeh
THE state of feeling rejected, could be a terrifying experience especially for those who have become used to fame. If not properly addressed, it could lead to depression and the consequences, could be disastrous.
When you are on top of your game in whatever profession you find yourself such that you become famous, a lot of people try to associate with you. The phone never ceases to ring and one is tempted to feel loved and very important.
When a disaster strikes and the fame or the money which was the source of the attraction fades away, the circle of friends and fans begin to shrink and the phone will start to stop ringing until the call stops voting completely.
You will be shocked at how people you considered friends, will no longer be calling you or pay casual visits as they used to. You will begin to notice that messages you leave after calling them and not getting a response are not replied to and that is when you begin to know who your true friends are.
One of the most popular movie stars was an actress called Sharon Stone. In an interview with one of the media houses that was published, she spoke about how people who should have come around to encourage her in her moment of depression, shunned her. The calls stopped coming.
This is what the Bible admonishes that the arm of flesh will fail you and therefore we should put our trust in God. It could be a very frightening experience and can easily lead to depression.
Human nature being what it is, people will want to get close if things are okay. Everybody wants to associate themselves with interesting things, famous people, rich people etc for mainly selfish reasons.
We need to develop the habit of putting our trust in God and relying less on human beings. The lesson we have to take along in life is that, no one marries his or her enemy so how come people who took vows that they will love each other become so hostile to each other that they want to go their separate ways in life? Such is the reality of life.
It is therefore prudent for people to recognise that, life is full of uncertainties and so there is the need to prepare your mind for uncertainties so that when they occur, they do not disorganise your mental sanity.
A lot of people have experienced situations where people who they could have sworn will never betray their trust have disappointed them when they were through challenging moments.
If there is one thing famous people should desire, it should be the ability to identify who are true friends are. Countless stories abound regarding incidence of celebrities who have lost their shine and their wives divorcing them soon after.
It is sometimes useful as a famous or rich person to sign a prenuptial agreement before marriage to safeguard or protect yourself from any future unpleasant surprises.
People can be very pretentious these days, it goes both ways. There is this real life story where a man married a divorced wealthy woman and convinced her to sell her house so they could build a new one together, with the excuse that people are gossiping that he is being housed by a woman.
The woman agreed and they put up a new building. After a few years the man asked for a divorce, only for the woman to realise that the land on which the building was situated, was bought in the man’s name.
This can drive a person insane, if you are not mentally tough and this happens to you. When people hear that you are homeless, a lot of your so-called friends will stop calling, so that you do not become a burden on them.
By Laud Kissi-Mensah
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‘But, er …. I don’t even know your name’.
‘Paul. Paul Allotey. I’m Sarah, by the way. Paul, why don’t you leave me here, since this is the last important thing I’m doing today’.
‘Okay. Now Sarah. I was just thinking. You will be here at the cafe for about an hour. By then it will be about twelve thirty. Then, you would be thinking of buying yourself some lunch, to eat here or to take home. So if you would please allow me, I will take you to one of the nicest eating places in town, and after you have sorted that one out, then I can drop you home. Just that one errand, then I won’t bother you again’.
‘You are not bothering me at all. You are being very kind to me. And I just realised you are a mind reader too. The last item on my agenda was lunch’.
‘I’m so glad I appeared at your doorstep, just in time’.
‘Okay. Now Paul, since you say the cafe is a comfortable place, let’s go in together, and you can do your work while I get my application done’.
‘Okay, Sarah. Thanks. Let’s go’.
We got back in the car at eleven forty-five.
‘So where are we going, Paul?’
‘To Royalty restaurant. It’s a twenty minute drive away’.
‘So, do you enjoy your job?’
‘Most certainly. I won’t change it, not even to be President. And am I right to say that you are preparing to enter the university?’
‘That’s my plan. I hope it works’.
‘It will, if you are determined, and disciplined. You look very much like a disciplined person’.
‘Thank you very much’.
We arrived at Royalty in twenty-five minutes, ‘You are joining me for lunch, Paul’.
‘Thanks for the honour, Sarah. But the bill is on me’.
‘Aren’t you taking on too much for one day?’
‘I never do anything that is bigger than me, Sarah’.
Over the next hour and a half, we discussed fashion, local and international politics, and sports, as we ate and relaxed. Finally, he drove me to the shop.
‘I will never forget you, Paul’.
‘I’m glad to have been helpful. But if you don’t mind, I’ll say it again, your husband is extremely lucky. You are really beautiful’.
‘Thanks again. But do you mind if I call you sometime in the future?’
‘Certainly not. Let me write it here. I will not ask for your number, for obvious reasons. But I will be looking forward to hearing from you. And hopefully, I will see you next month, when I call to drop your bill’.
‘Okay Paul. See you then’. What a lovely day, I said to myself as I opened the front door. I closed the shop and got home by seven. I went straight to the bedroom, stood in the mirror and took a good look at myself. ‘You are a very beautiful woman, Sarah. Never forget that’. I will not forget that, again.
Over the next several weeks, Martin and I had very little to do with each other. In the morning he ate his breakfast and after a shabby ‘I’m going’, he left. He came home around eight at the earliest, ate his dinner and, already soaked in beer, went off to sleep.
He spent the greater part of the weekends at the club house with his friends, playing tennis and partying. My mind was focused on furthering my education, so I didn’t complain to him, and didn’t bother to inform my parents about what was happening. I had decided that I would only take action if he lifted his hand against me again. I spent my free time reading all manner of interesting stuff on the internet, and chatting with my sister on WhatsApp.
One evening, he came home at about eight, rushed to the bedroom and rushed out. An envelope, obviously containing money, dropped out of his pocket, and I picked it up and followed him. I was going to call him and give it to him, but I noticed that there was a young woman in the car, so I went back in, counted it and put it in a drawer in the hall. He came back after some ten minutes.
‘Excuse me, I dropped an envelope containing money. You must have seen it’.
‘Yes, I saw it. Actually, I followed you, and was about to call you and hand it over to you when I realised that there was a woman in the car, so I came back in. I counted it. One thousand cedis.
‘Well let me have it. I have to be going’.
‘I will let you have it if you will tell me who the woman in the car is, and why you are going to give her that amount of money’.
‘Listen, if you waste my time, I will teach you a lesson you will never forget. Give me the money now!’
‘Here’s what we will do, Martin. I know you will give money to her anyway, so I will give it to you, if you will withdraw the threat you just issued. But I want you to know that I will be taking some steps from tomorrow. Things are getting out of hand’.
‘Okay, I’m sorry I threatened you. Can you please give me the money’. I handed it over to him, and he ran out’.
The following morning, I waited for him to finish having breakfast, and told him I wanted to have a word with him urgently.
‘You better be quick. You know I’m going to work’.
‘Well, I want to inform you that I will inform my parents, and your parents, about the situation in this house. As I said yesterday, things are getting out of hand. You spend most of your time drinking. You get drunk every evening, and through the weekend. And you are also spending your time and money on a prostitute’.
‘How dare you? One more stupid word from you …’
‘Am I lying, Martin? You have just started life, yet you are behaving like a rich, elderly man who has already seen his children through university, and can afford a life of fun. As I said, I’m going to inform our parents. Maybe your parents can straighten you out before it is too late’.
‘Look, we can talk this evening. It’s nothing like what you are saying’. He walked away, shocked.
That evening, I was expecting to have a meaningful discussion with him, but his mother called early in the evening to offer me some ‘advice’. Her son had called to say that certain developments at home were disturbing him so much that they were beginning to affect his work.
And, ‘as a loving mother to her daughter’, she was advising me to submit to my husband, and support him in prayer, and not ‘drive him from home’. Men would always be men, and she was telling me ‘from experience’ that no matter how much time Martin stayed away from home, he would always come home to me.
She had been a young wife before, so she understood the challenges I was facing. So I could be assured that if I followed her advice, all would be well. And, of course, she didn’t allow me to tell my side of the story.
Martin came home very late, and very drunk. And from the next morning, he carried on as before. With some hesitation, I called my dad and told him all that had gone on.
‘Well, my daughter. I’m not going to say “I told you so”. I was only trying to protect you. So here’s what we’ll do. Continue doing the best you can, and try not to give him any excuse to harm you, but if things continue to deteriorate, I will take you back.
A couple of days later, my cousin Dinah arrived in Accra from Brussels, having completed her medical course. With Martin’s agreement, I went to Koforidua and spent a couple of days. I spent most of the time chatting about her experiences in the US, but we also discussed my relationship with Martin, and she endorsed Dad’s decision to take action if Martin’s behaviour did not change after two weeks Elaine informed Mom and Dad. We endorsed Dad’s decision to take action if there was no change in two weeks.
Dinah returned with me to Takoradi. Her plan was to spend a couple of weeks, and return to Accra to be posted. I called Paul Allotey, and asked if he would meet her for lunch and, if possible, show her some interesting spots. Delighted, he suggested that we meet at Royalty the next day.
I told Martin about it, to remove any possibility of future disagreement over ‘going out with men’.
‘It’s fine with me’, he said, ‘if, of all the people who could show your sister round this town, you chose a borla man. Doesn’t that indicate the kind of person you are?’
‘ First of all, Martin’, I’ve spoken to him a few times, and he comes across as a decent guy, so I think it is rather unfortunate that you are writing him off when you don’t know him’.
By Ekow de Heer
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