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When Kofi Jumah becomes a hero in Ghana….
By Dr. Michael J.K. Bokor
Thursday, July 11, 2013
The evergreen William Shakespeare reminds us that in this life,
“some (people) are born great; others achieve greatness; and
some have greatness thrust upon them”. I don’t doubt the wisdom
in Shakespeare’s maxim because it clearly reveals some
intriguing aspects of our human existence.
The NPP’s Maxwell Kofi Jumah, popularly called “Kofi Ghana”,
says he wants to become a hero. Which of the three pathways (as
revealed by Shakespeare) is his? Was he born great? Will he
achieve greatness? Or will he have greatness thrust upon him?
How? In his own words, he wants to become a HERO (that is, to be
great) on account of confronting the government of the day and
being imprisoned for it. Thus, he wants to use the route of an
ex-convict to achieve heroism. A very cheap and nonsensical
shot; not so?
According to him, “all those who suffered political persecution
(such as Kweku Baako Jnr., Kwesi Pratt Jnr., and lately, Kenneth
Agyei Kuranchie) suddenly became heroes after they were released
from jail”. (See
http://politics.myjoyonline.com/pages/news/201307/109289.php).
He said he was disappointed that his quest to become an
ex-convict on many occasions did not materialize. He said he has
made several but unsuccessful attempts to have himself arrested
and jailed by the current administration.
Speaking on Badwam on Adom TV Thursday July 11, 2013, Kofi Jumah
confessed how he tried on countless occasions to provoke the
current administration by accusing them of doing things wrongly
with the hope of being arrested so he can grab media attention.
We note that Kofi Jumah is a former NPP Member of Parliament for
the Asokwa Constituency in Kumasi and a former Metropolitan
Chief Executive of Kumasi, the Ashanti Regional capital city.
I repeat that some (people) are born great, others achieve
greatness; and some have greatness thrust upon them. Which of
these three gateways to fame and heroism fits into Kofi Jumah’s
aspirations? None!! So, what is heroism to him? What will his
grabbing media attention as an ex-convict add to the life of the
ordinary Ghanaian?
Of course, we acknowledge the historical accounts of politicians
and nationalists who rose to fame on account of their being
incarcerated by the powers-that-be. Our own country has its “The
Big Six” and the circumstances surrounding Jerry John Rawlings’
rise to power as testimonies of what imprisonment for political
purposes can lead to. But there is more to the issue than what
Kofi Jumah has revealed about his quests.
Over the years, especially since his fall from grace to grass,
especially after his own constituents in the Asokwa area dumped
him as their representative, Kofi Jumah has been wallowing in
the gutter, occasionally surfacing to make stinking utterances
that have irked many in the society.
His latest account of his aspirations points him out as a
character to be pitied. The examples he cited as sources of
inspiration also reveal how narrow-minded he could be. Let’s
hear him again: “all those who suffered political persecution
(such as Kweku Baako Jnr., Kwesi Pratt Jnr., and lately, Kenneth
Agyei Kuranchie) suddenly became heroes after they were released
from jail”.
A simple question: Whose heroes are Kweku Baako Jnr., Kwesi
Pratt Jnr., and Kenneth Agyei Kuranchie? What is “heroic” about
these people for them to celebrate or for the society to be
proud of and cited for emulation as a means to advance the cause
of national development?
If foolhardiness is the passport to heroism, we would all be
heroes in our own small ways. But that is not the gateway to
heroism. Heroes make themselves as such through feats that add
value to society. Can anybody tell me what values the Kweku
Baako Jnrs., Kwesi Pratt Jnrs., and Kenneth Kuranchies have
added to our society?
First, we must separate the grain from the chaff. The grain,
certainly, is the national ideals that should frame our
consciousness and concept of heroism. Ghana has produced
“heroes” in many fields of human endeavour and several can
easily come to mind if recalled, be they in the military or
other wings of the security services, sports, governance, or
academia. There are even commendable citizens in other fields
such as law, medicine, religion, private business and
entrepreneurship, diplomacy, philanthropy, and many more.
Then, the chaff, which is nothing but what it is—a mere
concentrated chaff—constituted by a stubborn desire to go out of
one’s way to pair an ox with an elephant and expect the ox to
overcome the elephant in the battle of nerves. Mere
foolhardiness won’t ensure heroism.
I will explain. Both Kweku Baako Jnr. and Kwesi Pratt Jnr. were
imprisoned for offences that bordered on political
miscalculation. They took on the Rawlings government and
suffered the consequences without registering any significant
impact on the Ghanaian system. Kwaku Baako worked closely with
Rawlings but fell out with him, turning himself into a
loud-mouthed critic. Kwasi Pratt was working at the Ministry of
Information in the early 1980s and stepped on big toes with his
unguarded utterances—and suffered for it.
Of course, I don’t discount the bravado that spurred them on to
do what they chose to do when all others were wary of the
“culture of silence” obtaining in the country at the time. But
what did they achieve in the end? Little drops of water in a
mighty ocean won’t make any difference.
Today, both are known as ubiquitous political commentators
pre-occupied with daily noise-making on the airwaves, taking on
tasks of social and political commentary that they do with
unprecedented alacrity for personal aggrandizement. They are
predictable—for all that they are and do. No significant impact
on the system through such self-serving escapades on radio and
their own newspapers—or given publicity elsewhere.
Kweku Baako’s indiscriminate and dogged support for the NPP
(even though he still claims to be an Nkrumahist) and all that
he did under the Kufuor government to sustain his public image
is known. Allowing himself to be used to undercut Rawlings and
political opponents through his so-called “journalism practice”
stands out as a sore point about him. That is the more reason
why he is all over the place, supporting, praising, and
defending the NPP’s cause, even in the face of clear evidence to
the contrary. No more, no less. Is this person a hero?
Kwasi Pratt Jnr. has also been playing the role of a daredevil
for many years now, drawing particular attention to himself
through his CJA, the pressure group that was a thorn in the
flesh of the Kufuor administration. Then, when the late
President Mills took over the administration of the country,
Kwasi Pratt turned himself into a big ostrich, burying his head
in the sand of “see no evil; speak no evil; hear no evil”.
Praise-singing took over and has been so till then, despite his
occasional outbursts against what he thinks is not being done
well by the Mahama-led administration. Who doesn’t know where
his bread is buttered? Is this a hero to emulate?
Now, to Ken Kuranchie. Will any sane person celebrate Kuranchie
as a hero for infringing the law on criminal contempt (of court)
and promoting indiscipline? What for? Why should any sane person
support Kuranchie in his dangerous effort to undermine the
integrity of the Supreme Court under the guise of freedom of
speech? And this person is a hero for Kofi Jumah to aim at
outdoing through imprisonment?
In my many years on this troubled, sickened planet, I have not
heard that anybody can achieve the status of a hero through
foolhardiness or running a fool’s errand as Kofi Jumah has
proposed.
There is nothing surprising for a human being to aspire to
become a HERO. After all, heroes are admirable on the basis of
what might have shot them to that status in life or in death.
But for Kofi Jumah, the choice of instrument for becoming a hero
is as strange as his fluffing and flapping around like a
headless chicken.
To choose imprisonment as route for heroism in Ghana in
contemporary times is the height of madness. Heroes are relevant
when the times demand them. And they are more worthy and
acclaimed if the act of heroism adds value to the society. Ghana
already has too many “heroes” to want to add a Kofi Jumah to the
list.
More importantly, could Kofi Jumah not have chosen to become a
hero when he was an MP and the MCE for Kumasi? Why couldn’t he
use those opportunities to serve society to shoot himself into
public reckoning as a hero instead of descending into
imprisonment on the basis of an ill-thought-of political move?
Is this man really aware of where he is? With characters such as
Kofi Jumah, I am not surprised that developing Ghana is more
herculean a task than expected. The leadership crisis facing
Ghana is not likely to be solved with the kind of mentality that
obtains and is confirmed day-in-day-out by the posturing and
utterances of public figures. Kofi Jumah is just an example.
As human beings, we are not only political and social beings but
we are also gregarious for several reasons, the most important
of which is to work together for the survival of our human race;
and wherever human beings get together into a socio-political
entity, they need leaders to direct their affairs.
Human societies hate being acephalous (headless). That is why
leaders emerge to provide guidance, order, and inspiration to
help human beings live their lives and separate themselves from
other species in the lower kingdom. We are distinguishable from
those lower-level animals also by how we think and do things.
But we note that primates and other animals share similar
attributes. But for what we are, we are expected to always do
things to be ahead of them. That is why when some of us behave
in ways that threaten to reduce us to the level of those
“unthinking” living things, some of us cringe a lot.
Even in the kingdom of animals, heroism is based on
accomplishments that endear the “accomplisher” to the hearts of
his fellow group members. It is not too difficult to imagine
acts that can spawn heroism among the animals. If you doubt it,
just take some time off to observe animals in their elements.
Heroism is achieved through positive deeds, not negative ones or
those that have negative consequences for society.
Unfortunately, the Kofi Jumahs think and act otherwise. And with
them in authority, we will remain doomed despite the abundant
natural and human resources that our country boasts of.
Disgusting!
I shall return…
• E-mail: mjbokor@yahoo.com
• Join me on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/mjkbokor
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