By Abdul Razak Bawa
Desperate times not only calls for desperate measures, but desperate people, who are ready to sneak their necks out and help save a larger society.
Ace Annan Ankomah needs no introduction, if any at all he is a man who works like a bull and pay his taxes.
Ace used to be a voice of reason, true son of the land, who believes that any injustice done to the least among us, is an injustice done to the whole society.
He fought the ills in society, he was called names and described in unpalatable words for speaking his mind and saying it as it is.
He was an astute lawyer, whose voice did not only echo in the four walls of a courtroom, but in the court of public opinion.
For anyone to believe in the project Ghana, people like Ace Ankomah made it possible.
I read somewhere, where it was stated that any life without principle is not worth living. Principles do not change with time, but rather timeless regardless of who is in power.
Ace Ankomah was a thorn in the flesh of former president John Dramani Mahama and his administration, he was a citizen from 2013 to 2016 and not a spectator, he made his voice heard.
He could not be silence by criticism and name calling, he saw what was going wrong and he stood up to be counted. He joined by many like-minded persons poured into the streets and demanded that, not only must things be fixed, but must be done right.
What we witnessed and people like Ace Ankomah, could not endure under the four years of John Dramani Mahama, could best be described as a child’s play, compared to what we are living through under the leadership of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo.
if there ever was a time in the history of this country for people to speak up, this is certainly the time.
Unfortunately for many voiceless and powerless citizens, who saw Ace as their hero, this is the time he conveniently chose to keep quiet. Is it a case of observing table manners or he has lost the zeal because like all of us, he is also overwhelmed?
Ghana, has derailed from the era of patriotism to a theme of shame. The system is naturally toxic and afflicted with a leadership disaster.
Ace Annan Ankomah, is one of the most celebrated lawyers in this country, who pretended to be working in the interest of Ghana, unknown to Ghanaians at the time it suits his interest.
He rose from a sandstorm to be become a so-called “super hero” by criticizing the erstwhile John Mahama government. As a result of his criticism he became a public figure with whom everybody tried to relate with.
He became another things a reference for a model citizen, and Ghanaians are thankful for his vociferous and veracious attack on the NDC government.
Who he was and the façade behind all that was not known to the public then, the media rushed to interview and invite him on their shows based on the record he set for himself.
Meanwhile, this self-acclaimed “super hero” has played on the intelligence of the average Ghanaian who saw him as their role model.
The Chickens came home to roost, immediately after the 2013 elections when Nana Akufo-Addo, was declared the validly elected president of the country. The once upon a time, camera loving and studio loving Ace, suddenly lost his voice and like a Tortoise crawled into his shell.
The country in the last six years, has been pillage, raped, looted, pauperized and abandoned to lick its sores. Never in the history of this country, has the people been taken for granted and treated like they are second class citizens.
The reasons that compelled Ace Ankomah, to vacate the comfort of his office to join thousands of Ghanaians to march on the street of Accra in what was dubbed ‘Occupy Flagstaff House”, is very much with us and have actually gone up.
The scandals have hit the fan and at this juncture, if we do not call out people like Ace Ankomah to as a matter of urgency lend their voices once again to the mismanagement being visited on the people, the upcoming generation won’t forgive us.
Ghanaians voted for president Akufo-Addo, with the hope of enjoying great leadership, but the reverse is now the case as things are not in any way getting better.
Considering the numerous challenges facing the country, one ought to have thought that the president and his party, the New Patriotic Party, would brainstorm to get the country out of the quagmire it currently finds itself in, but unfortunately political sycophants are now distracting people’s attention from this government’s failures by focusing on the 2024 presidential elections, with ‘Breaking the 8’.
In all his campaigns for president, from 2008, until 2016 when he eventually won, Nana Akufo-Addo, ran the platforms of building a resilient economy that will create jobs for the teeming youth, as the fight against corruption. He even promised in that regard to use the Anas principle.
Everywhere he went, he affirmed with tired, clichéd reductionism that all the problems of Ghana boiled down to corruption and job. He argued that the powers of the highest office in the land must be exercised in an earnest war to create opportunities to recover its promise of its founding fathers.
That was his rallying cry, Ghanaians heard him and gave him the mandate¸ only for them to be serve an antidote that is making their lives worse.
Six years after becoming president, the news cycle, both traditional and social media, is furnishing cause for fears that corruption is killing the presidency of the presumed corruption slayer.
His kitchen cabinet has been frothing poisons instead of the antidote. And his minimalist response to the scandals all but testifies that that he has enough hypocrisy in him to nurse in his inner circle the corruption plague he affects to be invested in eradicating from the body politic. And to think with all what is going on, Ace Ankomah, has taken a leave of absence. So much for caring for Ghana and Ghanaians.
Just imagine, it was John Dramani Mahama in power, and he decided despite all opposition and voices of reason, decides to build a national Cathedral, Ace Ankomah, will remind us why after working as a Bull and paying his taxes, it should not be used for such a fruitless venture.
Imagine again that, it was John Mahama in office and he decides to pursue the Domestic Debt Exchange programme after reckless borrowing, what will Ace Ankomah be telling the world. I am sure he will organize the mother of all demonstrations to register his displeasure.
Ace Annan Ankomah, should remember one of the quotes of an American author and journalist, Anna Quindlen, who says, “Look back, to slavery, to suffrage, to integration and one thing is clear. Fashions in bigotry come and go. The right thing lasts.”
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