News of the President’s death started filtering
through to the public at about 2.30pm on Tuesday. They began as rumours, which
were quickly discounted by many people. I discounted those rumours too. And why
not? Yesterday was not the first time we were hearing rumours of the
President’s death. Such rumours have been around for a while and even become matters of intense if not fierce political debate and rivalry. Soon the
rumours turned to tweets and status messages on social media. They were getting
serious. And then tweets from twitter accounts belonging to media houses and
the like started trickling in; it was then that it became evident that the
rumours were actually true. Our beloved President was dead.
Rumours of the President’s
ill health first came to my attention during activities leading to the last
elections. It became a subject of disagreement even between party functionaries.
And from that time until now, series of debates have unfolded in varying forms
in the media and from government officials. It seemed to me that there was a
vehement attempt from people in and around government to prevent an impression
that was fast becoming obvious to all Ghanaians, from taking root.
The impression that:
The President was not too
well
That the President needed
medical care
That the President needed
time off to rest and be well cared for
That the President didn’t
need all those arguments, debates and unnecessary talk about his health
That the President didn’t
need to constantly defend a fact that concerned his health
That the President didn’t
need to force himself to appear healthy and strong when he really needed some time
off!
And what is wrong if our
President is sick or unwell? Is he not human? I don’t think there’s anything
strange and unusual in the President needing medical treatment because he’s
unwell. Such information, I believe should not be too difficult to
divulge if it becomes necessary and this will in no way shrink political votes
or paint a picture of weakness and insecurity for this country.
So why did we allow this
to happen?
Why did we shield the
truth?
Why did we create the
impression that all was well when all was not?
Why did we compel our
President to jog on the tarmac at our International Airport to show the
Ghanaian people that he was fit?
Why did we insist that it
was only a minor sinus problem when indeed, it was throat cancer?
So you can imagine my
disbelief when on the BBC, it was reported ‘openly’ and effortlessly that the
late Ghanaian President was suffering from Throat Cancer and had been unwell
for a while! So the President had not been well for a while? He had Throat
Cancer and nobody in the government knew? It had to take the British
Broadcasting Corporation to divulge the information to Ghanaians? How could we have
allowed a situation, which gave way for unnecessary speculation and constant
bickering about a matter as important as the President’s health to prevail?
So here we are now,
silenced and saddened by the sad departure of our President. A man of peace,
who in the later stages of life was denied the peace that he stood for, all his
life. He may not be the best President we’ve ever had but certainly one of the
best. He had his own flaws but he was human and liable to flaws. Many will miss
him for his surprising sense of humour. Many will remember his numerous
quotable and sometimes ‘unquotable’ quotes. I still remember the famous
‘ecomini’ speech at the floor of Parliament (yes, I’m not pretending); I recall
the famous ‘Omama’ saga and his action hero exploits at the Tema Harbour and
other places. His Mao style suits, his gargantuan heckling in Parliament and
his response on the gay issue to James Cameron.
Rest in peace Mr. President. You’ll be greatly missed.
