Advice to Sgt. Akata-Pore in London
by Kwaku Kpatakpa Gyampo, Los Angeles, USA.
It's a good thing that the ex-NCO managed to escape to Britain (or rather was encouraged to escape since he had become an albatross around the neck of the PNDC). Now like the other fallen renegades from the December 31, 1981 mutiny. I hope he will take his time to study and mature.
I shouldn't have been shocked (but I was) by the answers he gave to the interviewer on "Network Africa." Is this the same Akata-Pore who a short while back was the major spokesman for the revolution? He claims in the interview that the defence committees are the 'representatives' of the people. How did they become 'representatives'? Perhaps, while in London he will have time to study the meaning of the concept of representation.
And who did he think he was fooling when he claimed that he "was never interested in power at all"? Why did he abandon his undergraduate studies at the University of Cape Coast to join the revolution if it were not for the fact that he wanted instant power and glory? Tell the truth, Alolga, you wanted to become a Sergeant Doe of Ghana, and thereby take a short-cut to earning your doctorate, to becoming a five-star General, and Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces! Thank God Jerry out-smarted you. But don't worry Sarge, some misfortunes come with their blessings. By outwitting you, Jerry may have spared you the embarrassing situations which some of our African Sergeant-Doctor-Heads of-State have been going through.
Pidgin
A story is told of one such Sergeant- turned-Doctor-Head-of-State who appeared before an international gath- ering on the East coast of the United States to deliver a major speech. Because his aides knew his weaknesses, notwithstanding his recently acquired doctorate degree, they thoroughly rehearsed with him the prepared speech paying particular attention to the difficult words, never mind whether he understood them When it was time, our young leader, after a flamboyant introduction by the Chairman, mounted the podium to read the address. It is not clear whether it was nervousness or stage-fright which made our leader read the passage like it was a cross between pidgin and gaelic. (Idi Amin was smarter when he held a similar gathering spell-bound for 90 minutes as he spoke in Lingala!) In any case, unsure of the language in which the speech was being read, the multi-linguists among the conferrees started to switch their language buttons to Russian, then to Chinese, and then to Arabic since the Head of State donned a Muslim apparel. Finally they gave up bemused that Africa should be ruled by such caricatures. Not satisfied with his performance on the East Coast, our leader proceeded to the West Coast to confront the press. I leave the scene to your imagination!To cut a long story short, the Press gave up. This is only a digression, but it points to the kind of comic relief which some of our erratic caricatures who pass as leaders provide to audiences abroad. Jerry Rawlings may have saved you from such a predicament.
But to return to the interview, it is heartening to know that Alolga will never forget the people of Ghana. But you can be sure that Ghanaians, save your immediate family in the village, will never forgive you for contributing to the chaos you left behind. Perhaps one day you will return to Ghana and ask the people in your constituency to be their 'representative'. That may well happen. But in the meantime, you will do well to look for financial aid to complete your undergraduate work, or learn some useful trade so you can return home at the opportune time to contribute constructively to the development of the country.
Enemy
As your fall-out with Rawlings ought to have taught you, in the murky world of Ghanaian politics, when you differ with your opponent on methods of government, you become an instant enemy or saboteur. That is what the people who have been clamouring for freedom mean when they charge the PNDC with totalitarianism.Don't you remember that when Jerry first emerged on the Ghanaian political scene during Acheampong's time, his crusade was for freedom of speech and thought? He was bold to speak his mind at his trial. The Ghanaian media, notably the Daily Graphic, then manned by the courage ous young reporters, gave the exposure which would thereafter make him a hero.
But now that he is in power, he is using the very methods he deprecated to suppress freedom of expression and thought. Alolga, while you walked the corridors of power and basked in the glare of television lights, and no one dared challenge your pronouncements however silly, everything was fine, until you fell victim. You can now better appreciate the dictum that power corrupts.
But again let me welcome you to London in the hope that you will use the opportunity to learn to mature. Fortunately, you are literate enough to learn not only from the classroom, but from books, newspapers, magazines, and from your daily contact with the society.
As a footnote, you will do well to let us know who ordered the murder of the three judges and Major Acquah. Not that many people will believe you, given your record of lies, but at least it may help clear your name, for, whether you like it or not, you are still an acc used murderer. And that, my friend, is a serious blot.
