Asiedu-Nketiah: A Cross dresser or a Bushman who haven’t watched in a mirror before?

For every generation in a political history of a country, there are individuals that make headlines for all the wrong and right reasons. That what an individual do to be tagged as either good or bad also depends on the right thinking members of the society as well as the opinions of the depraved minds. As for the media, it is always there to mirror what society is, the individuals and objects thereof. However, if one achieves notoriety in a particular manner, the media of course, will construct a social reality for that person.

In Ghana, one unknown individual, Honorable Johnson Asiedu-Nketiah, from a tiny village in the corner of Brong Ahafo Regional town of Nsawkaw has through a dent of hard work, sheer luck and notoriety on his part warmed his way to become a powerful political figure in the contemporary national politics. When Hon Asiedu-Nketiah sneezes not only do some people in his National Democratic Congress (NDC) party that catches cold, but opposition parties and the nation at large feels him.   

From a distance, Asiedu-Nketiah looks like a nobody, his physical appearance is funny and can be easily underrated.  But when you get close to him you will realize that appearance can be very deceptive. Asiedu-Nketiah`s secret power lies in his tongue, calculative slyness and an avalanche of uncanny knowledge of the Ghanaian rural voter`s psychic. To be precise, he understands indigenous Ghanaian politics and how to manipulate it to suit him and his party. It is this mixture of characteristics that makes up his splendid strength and pathetic hubris.

As a two-time wining general secretary of the NDC, Asiedu-Nketiah has suddenly grown arrogant and has been courting unnecessary media attention for all the wrong reasons. He has always been able to find antidotes to repel public dissatisfaction, making use of his country-side (village) antics leaving his opponent to right him off as a stage buffoon or rallying the gullible NDC foot-soldiers and the rented press at his beck and call to defend and attack on his behalf. He is a general with a long proboscis and anopheles stature. He calls himself “General Mosquito” and he fears no one, not even ex-president John Jerry Rawlings and his wife who opened their doors for him to be who is now. But as Fantes say “se w`enyiwatsewbebree a, emaakokoakye” (If you become to all-knowing, you greet fowl good morning), 

Honorable Asiedu-Nketiah could not help to advertise his shame in Ghana but decided to go global with his blinking shame, uncivilized attitude and atrocious dressing code, when he wore his wife`s winter coat to Germany as a part high-powered Ghanaian delegation led by President John Mahama to visit German Chancellor Angela Merkel. This shameful wearing of women coat brought serious shame to the Ghanaian government, its citizens and successfully drowned the importance of that presidential visit to Germany. For weeks, the media did not write about the investment drive that the president went to Germany to push for. The headlines was all about Asiedu-Nketiah`s lady`s winter coat. Even BBC was caught by his shameful socially repugnant dressing antics with screaming online headline “Ghana: Senior official wears wife's coat on state visit.”

For the first time in his political life, Asiedu-Nketiah`s attempt to use his bushman life could not work magic to culminate in his exculpation from public criticism and attacks. In his excruciating pain and frustration, he quickly granted interview on Adom FM’s DwasoNsem and admitted that though he wore his wife’s coat to Germany, he did not travel there as a fashionista.  As usual, he tried rope opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) in for robbing salt on his shameful Germany winter coat debacle  by giving unsolicited advice that they must focus on winning the 2016 general elections.  

Hear him crying “Yes, I went to Germany with my coat, why must the NPP discuss my issue as though there is nothing left for them to talk about. In fact, they should learn and talk about something better that will develop their party than talking about my coat and fashion. “I am not perturbed at all because I know I travelled abroad on official duties and not for fashion as they are making it look like.”

Clearly, Asiedu-Nketiah`s attempt at deflating his spectacular lady`s winter coat by attacking NPP was a misplaced public relations ploy. It failed because it was not only NPP that spoke about the issue. The entire nation was on it, Ghanaians in diaspora were very disturbed and the world was shocked that a great nation like Ghana that had its independence in 1957 still has a government official who is so uncivilized and primitive enough to wear lady`s winter coat to a public function overseas. 

It is the world`s shock at Asiedu-Nketiah`s lady`s wear that aroused the sympathy in Kwasi Pratt Jr., the managing editor of the 'Insight' newspaper to make a rescue attempt by asking  President Mahama to sack his protocol officials for allowing Asiedu-Nketiah to wear a winter coat belonging to his wife. In his overzealous attempt to shift blame on the Alhaji and Alhaji show on NDC`s propaganda mouthpiece, Radio Gold, Pratt rightly described Asiedu-Nketiah as a certified bushman who “has never seen winter before…. doesn’t know the difference between a women’s coat and men’s winter coat and so on.."

But Asiedu-Nketiah, not enthused at Mr. Pratt’s unsolicited propagandist defense for him as “villager who has not seen a mirror before,” to hurriedly disclosed on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen programme that he is a well-known cross-dresser and he always shares clothes with his wife. What he perhaps, fell short of revealing to the world is the skeleton in his cupboard that he also wears his wife`s panties, brassiere and other lingeries. This is not stretch of one`s imagination because as a self-confessed “cross-dresser,” who also claims “his wife who lives in Canada knows about his habit of cross-dressing,” nothing stops him from doing all that including wearing sanitary pads. It goes with the package! 

The question is, why is this too much public talk and media attention on General Mosquito`s  wearing of his wife`s winter coat when there are serious issues like the purpose of the president visit and the general calamitous energy situation as well as overall economy which is grinding to a halt?  The answer lies in the political modus operandi ofAsiedu-Nketiah who often introduces useless pranks and communist inferior tactics on his opponents. Since cutting his political teeth, as the a member of Consultative Assembly which drafted the 1992 constitution, Member of Parliament for Wenchi West for 12 years, Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture (Crops) and finally as a General Secretary of the ruling NDC, General Mosquito who is also a professional banker and a farmer, has always find way to make politics dirtier and pedestrian. His first foray into public accusation started in 2004 elections when he accused Kwamena Bartels of having gun and assaulting him. He claimed that Bartels had bruises on his chest and that if he is lying, Mr. Bartels should remove his chest in the studio to prove his innocence. 

In 2008 elections, Asiedu-Nketiah locked horns with the then District Chief Executive for Wenchi West, Mr. Joe Danquah. He accused Joe Danquah on Adomfm, for stealing a relief items and hiding it under his mother`s bed. In fact, Asiedu-Nketiah challenged Joe Danquah that he will come with Efia Pokua, the presenter to show the item under bed of his mother at Wenchi. When the D-Day came for the journey to Wenchi, Asiedu-Nketiah was nowhere to be found. That is the kind of politics Asiedu-Nketiah glorifies himself in. Bastardization, gutter-sniping and general silliness in political discourses that shift attention from the most important issues afflicting the nation is the trademark of the “General`s “ personal political green book. He is of the opinion that NDC is a mass party with huge sympathetic following in the hinterland and have no access to the mass media regularly. It is them that needed to be conscientize about the good works of NDC whilst polluting NPP and its leadership by attacking them with all many of lies.

When it comes to the public, the general adopts same strategy of peddling lies and attacking the integrity of his opponents to ensure that valuable information that ought to be spread is drowned by his antics and insinuating cum subtly shrouded insults. His acerbic tongue is no respecter of persons when he sets it on propaganda errands and only a politically naïve will underestimate its efficacy. Those who have dared to challenge or disregard him have met their political waterloo. 

NPP`s former general secretary, Lawyer Kwadwo Owusu-Afriyie aka Sir John tried to meet the General in dirty and insulting politics, but could not succeed as the world rather saw Sir John as exhibiting a strange behavior unbecoming of lawyer and blurring the difference between NPP and NDC. Sir John lost his general-secretaryship position largely because of the manner in which he combated indecently with Asiedu-Nketiah. Many political pundits believe Asiedu-Nketiah led Sir John into the gutters to tarnish his reputation and making NPP lose its time-honoured decency as a party of sterling qualities.

With such track record, NPP has finally got Asiedu-Nketiah`s antidote to hit him where it hurt most and silence him forever. This must be done tactically. It would be wrong for NPP to describe Asiedu-Nketiah as a villager or uncivilized as Kwesi Pratt had wanted to direct the lay`s winter coat issue. NDC has many supporters in the villages and in the hinterland, any attempt at calling or describing Asiedu-Nketiah as a villager (Kuraseni) will be manipulated by the NDC to their advantage. They will claim NPP is anti-villagers and disrespect people in the hinterland and trust me their propaganda machinery will stop at nothing to make it stuck.

The way forward for NPP to fully exploit this lady`s winter coat wearing shame is to use Asiedu-Nketiah`s own confession that he is a certified “Cross-Dresser.” In his own style, whenever NPP communicators meet him on any forum for discussion, no time should be wasted in asking for further explanation on his “cross-dressing” proclivities. 

He must be asked on embarrassing questions like whether he is a hermaphrodite or have had gay tendencies, wears his wife`s panties or bras? 

A dose of his own medicine should be administered on him until he loses it. He has already lost it on this epical dressing faux paux and NPP finally have their political sword to slaughter Asiedu-Nketiah.

WELL ORGANIZED NPP MPS CAN USHER THE PARTY TO POWER IN 2016

We often hear political commentators say “oppositions don’t win elections, governments lose them”. What a load of bollocks. A well organized, highly disciplined and clear thinking opposition can take a term or two from just about any government.  Politicians and political advisers must never stop believing that an opposition can win the next election. 

Opposition can always snatch power from even the most entrenched government basking in euphoria of massive public good-will.  How the Republicans in United States recently recaptured control of the U.S. Senate and expanded their edge in the House of Representatives, giving them a majority in both houses of Congress for the final two years of President Barack Obama's presidency tell us that everything is possible in politics.

In recent times, the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) members of parliament have come under heavy barrage of criticism for not effectively holding the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) government to account to Ghanaians from their first day. It seems the honeymoon given to the NDC is still in motion. Almost all the scathing criticism of the government has emanated from the Party`s communication outfits and other political organizations and individuals with NPP sympathies. 

Last year, Mr. Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, editor of Statesman went to town on the MPs lackadaisical attitude towards the struggle and activities of their party.  The criticism suddenly awakened the MPS, and in an unprecedented manner joined the pressure group, Alliance For Accountable Governance (AFAG) to stage the “Agbeii wo” demonstration. Until Mr. Otchere-Darko took the MPs to the cleaners, they have not been taken active part in demonstrations organized by AFAG.  It was as if the MPs needed a serious push from its constituents to be effective. 

Why is the NPP MPs perceived as non-performing? In order to be able to hold the government to account, opposition as the direct representative of the people need to perform their watchdog role and bring out any secret deal the government undertake at the blindside of the populace. In performing their parliamentary functions, the MPs also owe their constituents and the party on which ticket they were elected into the chamber.  Most often the MPs get so engrossed with their parliamentary functions more than their allegiance and work towards their party. It is when this situation rises that, the supporters of their party quickly get angry at the MPs for their total neglect. 

However, let us also not lose sight of the fact that one of the reasons why political parties find it so hard to rally all its MPs/legislative members to tow party lines is that, parties no longer have any control over who runs for office. In the modern politics, as practiced in Ghana, elections are “candidate centered.”  Candidates choose to run, raise their own funds, build their own organizations and win elections largely on their own, without significant help from a political party. It presupposes that parties have little control over the candidates that run under its labels. 

Since 2009, Honourable Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonso, the minority Leader had had difficult time organizing the NPP MPS to follow party lines. Even in election times the party structures cannot control the MPs and sometimes are forced to make concessions to them. Though the party tries hard to generate funds for the aspiring candidates to execute their campaign, but that money is woefully in adequate, as a result the money-bag aspiring MPs and sitting MPS also make serious demands of the party. These demands when not met, makes the candidates to do things their own way and that behavior festers on after the elections.

Lobbyist organizations and corporate institutions that supports a particular candidate for a particular constituency as a result of its business interest in the MP`s constituency or a national policy or bill serves as complete hindrance on the MP to kowtow to party lines. In such situation, where a particular issue is of paramount interest to the party but it will affect the interest of the clandestine financial backers of the MP, the MP is most likely to be mute on the issue. This is a serious happening currently going on in our democratic exercise but much attention has not been given to it.

One other major factor is also the creation or existence of safe seats. Most MPs that occupies the safe seats are the notorious slackers when it comes to working assiduously to the benefit of their party. They tend to be lazy and prefer to sit on radio stations in Accra, rather than to visit their constituencies regularly to preach the policies alternatives of their party and attacking the government of its electoral failures, corruption and mismanagement of the economy. 

But are the MPs the only ones that must be blamed for recent NPP`s inaction and effective opposition to NDC?  An NPP MP told me last year that “Here is the hard truth: something we are doing isn’t quite working. Let’s now put aside any notion that the media are going to carry our message to the public over the next two years. They are not.”  He was pissed off that most blames are placed on the bosom of NPP MP`s for not helping the party, when the focus should be on the grassroot mobilization. He opined that the making NPP buoyant and effective critic of the NDC regime is not only the prerogative of the MPs and few party heads at the Headquarters, but the party must challenge the grassroots to help polish the its image with a plan to enlist at least 2,000 “Patriotic ambassadors” to bypass the media by speaking to one million voters — two per day for each volunteer — by 2016. 

In his view if NPP push for 100 supporters to take a lead and start a personal blog about the party’s positions NPP can capture the entire reading public and internet user-voters. He told me “Write your blog. Write letters to the editor. Call in to the local radio talk show. Talk about why you support NPP and submit ideas for 100 changes to be implement in 100 days if the NPP forms a government".

Whilst I share the laudable ideas of the MP, I am still of the opinion that the MPs have an advantage of criticizing the government and exposing corruption to undermine it. This can only be done when the MPs get organized by having a Secretariat, where every staff member is selected on merit – in opposition there can be no passengers. That also means taking pragmatic steps to engage advisers with the most important policy, press and forensic skills to assist them.  The Secretariat must have a staff and on the frontbench a mix of youthful enthusiasm and experienced operators.  As the saying goes, “War-gaming” and forward planning should be part of NPPs, weekly routine.

The MPs must come to the realization that an effective opposition is more akin to an insurgent force than a standing army and they must therefore be prepared to do detailed research on the shortcomings of the government and its members,. Their Shadow Cabinet system must be re-branded to make it possible to have a weekly meetings and properly drafted policy papers circulated well in advance of the meeting. Conscious effect must be made by the MPs to reconnect with the electorate – particularly those who left them at the election.  All attempts must be taken to avoid ‘Do repetition of the sins of office from opposition'.

The NPP MPS need to initiate serious business of policy development early and reach out to those groups NPP probably stopped listening to in government.  Gathering around as many outside sources of advice as possible will engender a growing band of useful and well informed experts in any number of areas who will happily give up their time to assist the party.

Most importantly, NPP MPs have to get down to the business of constant campaigning on every platform that is avail to them. Elections are won by those who campaign from the first day in the term, not from the day the election is called. However, effective campaigning requires discipline and adherence to processes by making sure media monitoring never misses a day and valuable clips are collected, catalogued and stored.

Constant campaigning is only effective if NPP MPs are willing do all the things listed above, alongside what their party is also doing simultaneously. There are no shortcuts to winning office.  NPP MPs need to learn from what the Republican Party utilized to effectively clinch a majority victory at the Congress. 

As Jonathan Chait rightly observed,: “The GOP has withheld cooperation from every major element of President Obama’s agenda, beginning with the stimulus, through health-care reform, financial regulation, the environment, long-term debt reduction, and so on. That stance has worked extremely well as a political strategy. Most people pay little attention to politics and tend to hold the president responsible for outcomes. If Republicans turn every issue into an intractable partisan scrum, people get frustrated with the status quo and take out their frustration on the president’s party. It’s a formula, but it works.”

NPP MPs must make itself as a useful catalyst for the party to use the next one and half years to show they are a party of government, and not a lazy ideologues, opportunistic and selfish leaders who only care about their own welfare. NPP itself must show that they can govern and that the public need to trust them by going to the every hook and cranny of the country, with a simple message: ‘time for a change!” This is not only a valid way to proceed, it’s a pretty likely outcome.

My own feeling is that both the MPs and the party should pour major energy into extra-opposition activism and prioritize elevating the voice of activists. Instead of a Minority Leader or the Chief Whip and the National party heads being a person sitting in a palace office, like a potentate, what these personalities must rather do is to find a way to live and work among the people and be subjected to their pressures.  That would be a valuable step.

The NPP must know that governments thrive on divided opposition, especially the visceral internal divisions in the main opposition group. It makes it easy for the incumbent to win elections by fair or foul means. 2012 elections is a valuable epitome of what a fundamental flaws in internal party work and lukewarm attitude of MPs refusing to go back to their constituencies to campaign on the ground can affect our electoral chances.

I know old habits are strong. In fact, old pressures of institutions cannot be overcome in a day as individuals and organizations tend to be persistent and preservationist. We all carry baggage. But, with enough popular energy and pressure, I think we can succeed. As activist and educator Effie Jones once said, "Failing to plan is planning to fail." 

We in NPP cannot afford to lose 2016 elections.

A Plea to My Readers

Please Help A Child This Season 



It is my hope and prayer that all goes well with you this season and that you come out of it a better person with renewed energies for life.

May I however make a humble appeal that in your own small way, you make a concerted effort to show some love to a needy child during this season. There are several thousands of innocent children all around us who are finding life really tough and their plight is no one’s business.

There are thousands of children around in an urgent need of food, clothing and shelter.  There are thousands of brilliant children who may be going wayward mainly because they have no one to advice them and mentor their lives.

There are several brilliant orphans who are in school alright, but are still wearing their faded,  worn-out  and out-seized school uniforms and are in need of learning materials or are yet to pay for one fee or another; be it examination fees, school fees or extra classes fees.

There are many more out there who have gained admission to one school or the other but do not have even the admission fees.

There are thousands of children out there who need attention, a listening ear, encouragement, hope and someone to show them the least form of love.

Children in need of love this season are not limited to the ones in our orphanages; the majority of them are the very children we come across on a daily basis; the very ones we send on errands or chance upon dribbling soccer with their bear-foot on the hot pavements under the scorching sun.

I am also referring to children who have no choice but to sell iced-water in traffic jams just to make a living; children who drop out of school to join their parents at work.

I am thinking of the innocent children from poor homes and in need of succour but are being abused by their benefactors; I am thinking of that malnourished child that has no idea what a good piece of balanced meal means.

I am concerned about that teenage girl out there who may not have money to buy a piece of decent pad for her menses; I am worried about that teenage boy in need of money to buy an anti-per spirant for his armpit.

During this season, it would be worthwhile to put a smile on the face of a needy child. They need our help and if we can, please let us give it.

We may not necessarily need to become missionaries or turn our houses into shelter for the homeless child but we can definitely make a difference in the life of a deprived child this season. 

As we make merry this season, let us remember that several thousands of innocent children out there are struggling with the storms of life through no fault of theirs and the slightest intervention from us would be a great relief to them.

Once again I wish you the best compliments of the season as you reach out and touch a needy child to make life more meaningful and easier for him or her. 

Remain Blessed.

Ghana’s Academic Generals

Time was when soldiers were considered riff-raffs. Time was when Ghanaian soldiers were known to be never-do-wells. Time was when it was said that it was only school-drop outs or young people who were lazy, unproductive and trouble-causers who joined the military.

There have been many other unpalatable descriptions of Ghanaian soldiers. We may no longer call them abongo, which thankfully is gradually dying, but we still believe in our heart of hearts that our soldiers are still abongo. Or we can still recall the late popular and controversial Nigerian musician, Fela, who euphemistically described soldiers in his country and Ghana as zombie. Yes, they just follow order without thought.

Today, all that has changed. Today, the Ghana Armed Forces can boast of thousands of soldiers (both officers and men) holding very prestigious academic and professional qualifications. There are professionals of almost every description in the Ghana Armed Forces. We have highly qualified and practicing lawyers, who defend cases in court; we have highly qualified engineers , architects , land economists and medical doctors, among the latter specialist in many areas of health delivery . We have professional telecommunications specialists. There are many others.

Years gone by there were a few people who were so qualified. But in the last two decades the population of highly professional and academically qualified soldiers has increased tremendously. Today, even private soldiers and non-commissioned offices (NCOs) have first degrees in almost every field of their choice. Everyone is going to school and as you rise on the rung, many senior leaders and commanders, among them brigadier generals and colonels, have second and third degrees.

For instance, the Chief of the Defence Staff and administrative head of the Armed Forces, Vice Admiral Mathew Quashie, holds a Master of Arts degree in governance and leadership from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA)

The Chief of the Army Staff and head of the Ghana Army, Major General Richard Kwame Opoku-Adusei, holds a Master of Science (Msc) degree in strategic studies from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and has just concluded a Master of Arts degree course in International Affairs and Diplomacy at the Legon Centre for International Affairs and Diplomacy, University of Ghana.

The Chief of Naval Staff and head of the Ghana  Navy , Rear Admiral Geoffrey Mawuli Biekro,  also holds a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) degree in development studies from the University of Ghana , a graduate diploma in public administration from GIMPA and Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in management studies from the Pacific Southern University in California, United States of America. He also holds a law degree (LLB) from the University of Ghana and is currently pursuing a Barrister at Law programme (post –LLB professional course) at the Ghana School of Law.

The Chief of Air Staff and head of the Ghana Air Force, Air Vice Marshal Michael Samson-Oje, also holds a Master of Arts degree in national security and strategic studies from the National Defence University, Washington DC, United State of America and a graduate diploma in counter-terrorism from Montgomery Air University/ Air War College, also in the United States of America. He also holds a professional air transport pilot license and has a flying experience of over 10,000 flying hours on various types of aircraft.

And with the Ghana Armed Forces having its first home-grown Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree holders in three decades, this is all a positive trend. This is indeed the era of Ghana’s academic generals and there is no doubt that those at the helm of affairs in the Ghana Armed Forces are professional and academically qualified. Certainly, the open combined with the sword must be mightier and better.

Credit: M'bawine