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Friday, August 27, 2010

GMO ? NO THANKS! AFRICA MUST STOP KOFI ANNAN NOW!!!

The issue of  genetically modified organisms or GMOs as commonly referred to is quite a troubling phemenon facing the world today. It is in this sense that the impending conference under the auspices of Mr.Kofi Annan  is bound to stir a controversy or two. For some of us, this must be a wake-up call for Africa to stand up, open our eyes and made the appropriate and urgent demands before it is too late!

A friend recently commented on this:

"It bothers me a lot that Kofi Annan is connected with AGRA.  Maybe he believes that US mechanized and chemical agriculture works well.  Most people in the US do, aside from family farmers who see the effects first hand.  I have a good friend who works for the US Dept. of Agriculture and thinks this kind of agriculture really is the best and that Monsanto is a boon to mankind.  We have had several heated discussions.  In fact Monsanto is destroying land, causing chemically induced human diseases, creating super weeds and economic havoc in many parts of the US farming areas, particularly in the midwest and the south.  I've read heartbreaking stories, but don't have the links now.

I've always had enormous respect for Kofi Annan, I do not understand his participation in this and it bothers me a great deal.   Even though I respect him there are no free passes with a subject like this."


It is very important that each and everyone informs him or herself properly before making informed opinions on the matter.



1. Here is the announcement:

Kofi Annan Hosts Forum On Africa's Food Security

Wednesday August 11, 2010
By Samuel Amoako

As part of efforts to realise his dream of ensuring food security for Ghana and other African countries, Mr. Kofi Annan Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Kofi Annan will host African and some world leaders to a forum the of Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) in Accra in the first week of September.

AGRA formed by Mr Annan works to achieve food security and prosperous Africa through the promotion of rapid sustainable agricultural growth based on small-holder farmers.

The forum will discuss how to improve the methods of farming on the continent and promote food security.

Mr. Annan disclosed this in Accra yesterday when he paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni.

The meeting with the minister centred on the discussion of the developments in the African region and efforts being made by Ghana to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

Mr. Annan who on retirement from the UN expressed his desire to promote the attainment of food security, said it was important for farmers in Africa to be assisted by their governments in diverse ways to be competitive with their counterparts in other parts of the world.

Unfortunately, he said, assistance in the form subsidies on farm inputs was non-existent in most African countries and therefore the forum will stress the need for government to pay attention to those areas.

He said he could not have achieved what he did at the UN without the support of Ghana and the people, adding, “no Secretary General of UN could achieve success without the contributions of the civil society.

He therefore called for the collective effort of all in the process of developing the world.
Mr. Annan said “I did it my own way and l am happy that whatever started is being built upon.

Alhaji Mumuni said Ghana and Africa take pride in the achievements of Mr. Annan who served the world body with distinction, adding that “you are one of the iconic personalities in the world.

“During your stewardship at the UN, we noted with admiration achievements in world security and that legacy was outstanding”.

The Foreign Minister said Mr. Kofi Annan also worked to protect humanity and the fundamental human rights of people during his tenure as the head of the UN.

“You promoted the setting up of the International Criminal Court to protect people from crimes against humanity, genocide and ethnic cleansing,” he said and added that those were achievements which serve as encouragement to the people of Ghana.

He assured Mr. Annan of government’s support to promote food security in the country.
http://www.newtimes.com.gh/story/2132



2. Here are very important links if you want to have an idea of what this is all about:


What the enlightened public must drum down home into the ears of our leaders, including Mr. Kofi Annan may be found in the following links on the subject:

Monsanto: The world's poster child for corporate manipulation and
deceit<http://www.naturalnews.com/029325_Monsanto_deception.html>

Haiti: The Gifts of Death Burned | Black Agenda
Report<http://blackagendareport.com/?q=content/haiti-gifts-death-burned>Pambazuka

Africa’s land and family farms – up for grabs?<http://farmlandgrab.org/11144>

*AGRA & Monsanto & Gates, Green Washing & Poor
Washing*<http://crossedcrocodiles.wordpress.com/2009/04/06/agra-monsanto-gates-green-washing-poor-washing/>

Dupont, Monsanto, and Obama Versus the World's Family
Farmers<http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_19665.cfm>

Very important:
*Voices From Africa: African Farmers and Environmentalists Speak Out Against
A New Green Revolution In Africa
PDF<http://www.oaklandinstitute.org/voicesfromafrica/pdfs/voicesfromafrica_full.pdf>

*Terminator Seeds*<http://crossedcrocodiles.wordpress.com/2009/03/09/terminator-seeds/>


Genetically Manipulated Crops: The GMO Catastrophe in the USA. A Lesson for the World
- by F. William Engdahl - 2010-08-18
Mounting Opposition to GMO Crops: The World’s People Reject Genetic Pollution of Food and the Environment
- by Rady Ananda - 2010-08-17

--

Thursday, August 12, 2010

The Un-Apotheosis of Holders of MA, PhD, LLM, MSc, et al | Feature Article 2010-08-12

Read Article

Comment: WHO MIGHT YOUR SLAVES BE, GRANDSON!

Author: Nana Akyea Mensah, The Odikro.
Date: 2010-08-12 12:19:54

Grandson,

Listen to yourself and your disgusting mentality! Is that why you people still indulge in human sacrifices? The ritual murder of innocent human beings for the purposes of "cleansing" your so-called stool? How dare you call any Ghanaian under the Forth Republican constitution as a slave and hope to campaign for the Akyem dwarf? Go on! I like your style! I shall be happy to see you lose again! Please go on!

It is such a pity that each time you write, I twitch because it is as though all the painstaking manners you were brought up with have gone to the dogs!

I can understand your anger. The author is stating a very painful truth which you are not ready to face! Fact is, you and your Akyem Mafia have already succeded in alienationg your Akufo-Addo even before the race begins! Arthur Kennedy warned you before, but you would not heed! Just before Akufo-Addo made him his campaign spokesperson, who destroyed his credibility with: "Arthur Kennedy Is A Pathological Liar!" How do you expect people to take your own man's campaign spokesperson after this? Are you a secret NDC sympathiser mischievously sowing the seeds of confusion in the NPP? I think not! I suspect you are genuine fool who does not even know the import of the reckless comments he makes in contributing to the decadence, unnecessary tensions between and among ethnic groups, as well as even with the very political party he claims to be supporting!

I know you shall never have the courage to deal with any of the rejoinders I have written in the last two weeks! A coward like you calling yourself a descendant of the brave Osei Tutu I! What happened to Togbe Sri II? Ha? Do you want me to repeat the story? Stupid idiot! Listen to the sense that this very great and morally upright author is pumping into your empty skull and be grateful, you fool!

We shall deal with you until you change! I am personally going to make sure that the Akyem dwarf himself goes on his knees to beg you to stop writing anything in his support because you are costing him a lot of votes!

Forward Ever! Backwards Never!!!

Cheers!

Nana Akyea Mensah, The Odikro

Twitter: /twitter.com/TheOdikro,
Blogs: Feature Articles: nanaakyeamensah.blogspot.com,
Comments: theodikro.blogspot.com)

The Un-Apotheosis of Holders of MA, PhD, LLM, MSc, et al | Feature Article 2010-08-12

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

A LOOK BACK INTO HISTORY (1) | The Ghanaian Times

COMMENT:
Nana Akyea Mensah, The Odikro. on Wednesday August 11, 2010 at 5:52 PM

Great stuff! Very good historical stuff we need especially in these uncertain times with imperialism and the increasing militarization of diplomacy. Kudos! Mr. Doudu, I doff off my odikro hat! Forward Ever! Backwards Never!!! Cheers! – Nana Akyea Mensah, The Odikro Twitter: /twitter.com/TheOdikro, Blogs: Feature Articles: nanaakyeamensah.blogspot.com, Comments: theodikro.blogspot.com)


A LOOK BACK INTO HISTORY (1) | The Ghanaian Times

Is Akufo-Addo Considering Ghanaians To be Stupid, Or Vice Versa?

Feature Article by Nana Akyea Mensah, The Odikro.

I was a little bit taken aback to read that the newly-elected NPP flag-bearer, Mr. Akufo-Addo, has described the task facing him as " huge challenge". And what "challenge" might that be? He defines his own "challenge" in these words: "How to remove a non-performing government." One would have thought that if a government was "non-performing", everyone would not only see it but feel the effect to such an extent that they themselves would be the first to demand the removal of such a government. Where you have a politician saying that this is a herculian task, it seems to me that there is something fundamentally wrong!

Here is a rush transcript of the "Professor Do Little" statement attributed to Nana Addo in the news:

"We've had a very gruelling and exhaustive campaign, and it has brought a lot of discussion and talk, sometimes even acrimony within our supporters. The time is that we the leaders are sending a message to them by this meeting and we are calling upon all our supporters to stay united. We have a huge challenge ahead of us. How to remove a non-performing government. The professor who is in charge of our affairs, President Mills is now known as ‘Professor Do Little’. And it is important that all of us work together and to make sure that Ghana  has the sort of government that the people of Ghana deserve. A nation of tremendous talents, a nation of people with great initiatives and enterprise, how we can put all of that together to create the brighter, positive future that awaits us. That is why we are all here. And I am extremely grateful to my colleagues, not just for their presence here, but also for the sentiments that they expressed at the Efua Sunderland Park on Saturday. It is in the best traditions of our party, and I am glad to see that those traditions continue to live." - Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo. (See: Mills is ‘Professor Do Little’ - Akufo-Addo, Myjoyonline.com, Last Updated: Tuesday, 10 August 2010, 13:48 GMT)

The intellectual bankruptcy of this Akyem charlatan was once more put on display at his residence when the losing candidates of the flag-bearer race (with the exception of Evangelist lawyer Kwame Koduah) met with him Tuesday "to formally congratulate him and also pledge their support for him as he leads the party to in search of power from the ruling National Democratic Congress in the 2012 elections." He is taking it for granted that the party is united because he sees the faces of his political in his house!

What Akufo-Addo needs to know is that it is by far easier to get the presidential aspirants to have a drink together and smile than to ask their followers to do the same thing. The reason is very simple: they are there for money. Those demonstrating extreme loyalty to Akufo-Addo himself at this moment would be the first to complain if any position is given to an Alan Kyeremanten supporter.  Just as what happened in Kufuor's time, the close allies of Akufo-Addo are going to fill in all the posts available, with a few conspicuous ones reserved for troublesome people like Alan Cash, just for window dressing.

It is not by calling the smart and sure President Mills as a "Professor Do Little" that you are going to unite your party. And from what Akufo-Addo is saying, either he is predictably stupid or Ghanaians are stupid. How can the mere removal of a non-performing government be a herculean task? "We have a huge challenge ahead of us." Akufo-Addo says, "How to remove a non-performing government. The professor who is in charge of our affairs, President Mills is now known as ‘Professor Do Little’. And it is important that all of us work together and to make sure that Ghana has the sort of government that the people of Ghana deserve."

I buckled up with uncontrollable laughter when I listened to him because I have made up my mind long ago never to allow myself to be provoked by people who are so stupid that often they do not even know what they are saying! If a government is "non-performing", it cannot be a secret known only to Akyem dwarfs, every citizen shall be in the know. They shall clamour for a change themselves! Whenever going to convince the people becomes "a huge challenge" facing a political party, or any other charlatan for that matter, it simply means the government in question is not as "non-performing" as some self-seeking politicians would have us to believe it!

Akufo-Addo has never been known as a very brilliant person both in his student and professional life. I am not surprised that he fumbles as he rumbles on. For a second-time presidential candidate, whose messages continue to move in all directions and without focus, he even looks smarter than he actually is! But what is even more alarming is the intellectual quality of his discourse. It is not even clear what he wants to say here. I had the impression that his principal focus was to call on his party members who were against his candidature to rally behind him. He has eclipsed his own objective with an extremely needless gaffe about the hard-working President Mills. His own call for unity has thus been drowned by a stale performance that even Rawlings is becoming not only tired but ashamed of! Our President is not slow after all! At just one stroke, we all saw how the administration took the housing deficit problem by the horns to the chagrin of the doubting Thomases of the Danquah Institute and the NPP puppets!

Forward Ever! Backwards Never!!!

Cheers!

Nana Akyea Mensah, The Odikro

Twitter: http://twitter.com/TheOdikro

Black Star Briefs: Ghana And Africa Must Be Ready For Cancun In December, 2010!

Meterologist: Record Heat Wave in Russia Could Kill Tens of Thousands

Amy Goodman: "Even as the world faces a series of extreme weather events that scientists warn is related to global warming, international climate negotiations are moving at a glacial pace. The latest round of climate talks in Bonn, Germany, ended last week, and diplomats have just one more short meeting in China in the coming months to hash out their differences before the critical high-level climate conference in Cancún, Mexico, at the end of the year. We speak to Ambassador Pablo Solón. He is Bolivia’s permanent representative to the United Nations and was in Bonn last week." (See Democracy Now! "Bolivian UN Ambassador: Despite Extreme Weather, US and Other Developed Countries Failing to Make Serious Pledges to Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions", August 10, 2010).

"...the entire world, if you look at the past six months, has experienced its warmest year on record, going back to the late 1800s when we first started making measurements. And so, it’s not a surprise that we might be seeing record heat waves and record high temperatures being set. In fact, there are seventeen countries in the world that have set their extreme all-time heat record this year. And that’s the most we’ve ever seen. The previous time was back in 2007, when fifteen countries set their all-time heat record. And those heat records this year include a 128-degree Fahrenheit reading in Pakistan, which is the highest temperature ever reliably recorded in the entire continent of Asia. So there’s been heat all over the globe. The ocean temperatures have been at record warm levels this year, and including in the Tropical Atlantic, where we’re expecting a severe hurricane season. So, it’s heat, heat, heat, is the name of the game this year on planet earth."- Jeff Masters, co-founder and director of meteorology for Weather Underground, a weather information website. He posts his writings at Wunderblog, (See: Democracy Now!, August 10, 2010. "Meterologist: Record Heat Wave in Russia Could Kill Tens of Thousands")



At the meetings in Bonn, the negotiating text got a lot bigger, and a number of proposals from developing countries were added into the controversial agreement that came out of the divisive Copenhagen summit last year. Some fear the new text could slow down talks in Cancún, but others say the concerns of the majority of the world’s countries are finally represented in the text.

For more on what this means for a binding global agreement on climate change, I’m joined here in New York by Ambassador Pablo Solón, Bolivia’s permanent representative to the United Nations. He was just in Bonn last week.


PABLO SOLÓN: Well, I would say that what you have shown is the reality, that it’s not changing as fast as we would want the process of negotiation. I have heard speeches in Bonn relating the situation in Pakistan, but the concrete pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are the same that one year ago. And with the current pledges of emission reductions from developed countries, we’re going to be in something like three to four degrees Celsius, an increase in three to four degrees Celsius. Now, what we are seeing, what you have shown, is related to an increase of zero-point—less than one degree Celsius. So, can you imagine a situation where this triples or multiplies by four? It’s unbelievable. And still, developed countries have put on the table targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that will increase the temperature dramatically during the coming years and during this century. So that is something that, until now, it hasn’t changed. I go negotiation—to all the negotiations during this year. We have all the—put all the evidence, and still the pledges of developed countries remain the same—very, very low, almost to business as usual. 

AMY GOODMAN: Just remind people, how would you summarize what happened in Copenhagen, just to get a sense of where we are now?

PABLO SOLÓN: Well, what happened in Copenhagen was that the process of negotiation was kidnapped by a group of countries. Usually we negotiate 192 countries. And suddenly, in Copenhagen, a group of countries said, "Now, this is the Copenhagen Accord. It’s 3:00 a.m. in the morning. You have one hour to sign it." And, of course, we said, "No, not at all. We want to discuss it." Why? Because in that Copenhagen Accord, said that the target was to limit the temperature to two degrees Celsius, so that is almost three times what we are seeing now. And there are a lot of countries that are saying we should limit the temperature to 1.5 or to one degree Celsius. That is the proposal of Bolivia. Why? Because some states are going to disappear. There is a state called Tuvalu. Its width is 607 meters. Its highest hill is four meters. If the temperature keeps raising, it will be under the water.


AG:

So, now we have, after the climate talk in Bonn, a new text. It’s bigger, as you have said. But it has the proposals of developing countries to limit the increase of the temperature, to develop a climate a court of justice, because somebody has to be responsible for this, to not only commodify, to not make profit through a new market, carbon market, mechanism, but also to recognize the rights of Mother Earth in the process of negotiations. So now we have a text that reflects, from our point of view, the proposals that were made in Cochabamba, in the People’s World Conference on Climate Change and Mother Earth Rights. So, now the key thing is, from here until Cancún, what is going to prevail? It’s going to prevail the people’s voice, Mother Earth’s voice, or it’s going to prevail corporate voice.

PABLO SOLÓN: [translated] At the global level, approximately one out of every eight people do not have drinking water. In just one day, more than 200 million hours of the time used by women is spent collecting and transporting water for their homes. The lack of sanitation is even worse, because it affects 2.6 billion people, which represents 40 percent of the global population. According to the report of the World Health Organization and of UNICEF of 2009, which is titled "Diarrhoea: Why Children Are [Still] Dying and What We Can Do," every day 24,000 children die in developing countries due to causes that can be prevented, such as diarrhea, which is caused by contaminated water. This means that a child dies every three-and-a-half seconds. One, two, three. As they say in my village, the time is now.

AMY GOODMAN: What about the United States, in particular? Where are we on this?

PABLO SOLÓN: The United States has made a very, very small pledge. It is something that means to reduce three percent from the levels of 1990. To compare it, other countries, like the European Union, have said that 20 percent to 30 percent; the United States, three percent. So, almost nothing at all. Why? That is the question. Because corporate interests, economy, profits have more weight in the negotiation than, I would say, to preserve life and biodiversity and Mother Earth in climate talks. So that is the problem that we are facing.

In Cancún, the greatest challenge is, are we going to have a deal where developed countries are going to reduce in the next seven years at least half of their emissions? Yes or no? We say it very clearly. If this doesn’t happen, what we are seeing now is just the first episode of a tragedy. So, we need to put a lot of pressure around the whole world if we want really to have a greenhouse gas emission reduction that saves life.




AMY GOODMAN: Just remind people, how would you summarize what happened in Copenhagen, just to get a sense of where we are now?

PABLO SOLÓN: Well, what happened in Copenhagen was that the process of negotiation was kidnapped by a group of countries. Usually we negotiate 192 countries. And suddenly, in Copenhagen, a group of countries said, "Now, this is the Copenhagen Accord. It’s 3:00 a.m. in the morning. You have one hour to sign it." And, of course, we said, "No, not at all. We want to discuss it." Why? Because in that Copenhagen Accord, said that the target was to limit the temperature to two degrees Celsius, so that is almost three times what we are seeing now. And there are a lot of countries that are saying we should limit the temperature to 1.5 or to one degree Celsius. That is the proposal of Bolivia. Why? Because some states are going to disappear. There is a state called Tuvalu. Its width is 607 meters. Its highest hill is four meters. If the temperature keeps raising, it will be under the water.

So, now we have, after the climate talk in Bonn, a new text. It’s bigger, as you have said. But it has the proposals of developing countries to limit the increase of the temperature, to develop a climate a court of justice, because somebody has to be responsible for this, to not only commodify, to not make profit through a new market, carbon market, mechanism, but also to recognize the rights of Mother Earth in the process of negotiations. So now we have a text that reflects, from our point of view, the proposals that were made in Cochabamba, in the People’s World Conference on Climate Change and Mother Earth Rights. So, now the key thing is, from here until Cancún, what is going to prevail? It’s going to prevail the people’s voice, Mother Earth’s voice, or it’s going to prevail corporate voice.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

The Rwandan election is a sham and a shame!


Rwanda Holds Presidential Election Amid Crackdown on Opposition Candidates

The Rwandan election is a sham and a shame! There is nothing to do other than outright condemnation! d forces of Africa must firmly oppose this atrocious despotism that is making a mockery of democracy! Ghana must refrain from recognizing this election. We could not help Rwanda during the genocide, but we can help all Rwandans to have their human rights respected! I watched Democracy Now everyday, and yesterday I heard  Ann Garrison, independent journalist who has closely followed Rwandan politics say the following:

AMY GOODMAN: We turn now to the central African nation of Rwanda, where voting is underway in the second presidential election since the genocide of 1994. The incumbent president, Paul Kagame, is widely expected to win, but the election comes amidst a wave of attacks on political opponents. Human rights groups have accused the Kagame government of cracking down on any dissent before the vote, while the government-appointed media council has clamped down on independent newspapers publishing critical views.

At a recent news conference, President Kagame dismissed the accusations and promised free and fair elections.

      PRESIDENT PAUL KAGAME: Forget about this cheap talk about all sorts of things, you know, hell coming down from Rwanda and—no, forget about it. It’s not true, and it’s not going to happen, and it’s not happening. I can say that with confidence, and the elections are going to happen freely and fair.


AMY GOODMAN: Well, opposition leader Victoire Ingabire had hoped to contest the election as presidential candidate for her party, the United Democratic Forces. But in April, a court sentenced her to indefinite house arrest, effectively taking her out of the election. She accuses President Kagame of using the country’s anti-genocide laws to silence his opposition.

Victoire Ingabire told the Women’s International News Gathering Service last month what the international community should be doing about the crackdown in Rwanda.

      VICTOIRE INGABIRE: You know, I have called the international community, especially the countries backing the current regime, to realize that they are not doing a service to the people of Rwanda. They are supporting an uncompromising regime. It is in nobody’s interest to keep on the current standoff. Everybody knows that Kagame will be elected. He will be the next president for next seven years. Everybody know it. Why UK and US will send the observer if they know that there will be not really the free election in Rwanda? Why they send money? What they do, they not help Rwanda’s people? This is why I ask them, don’t come, because there is no election in Rwanda. And I don’t see why people will spend time, money and coming here for masquerade election.


AMY GOODMAN: Rwandan opposition leader Victoire Ingabire, speaking to independent journalist Ann Garrison, who’s been closely following Rwandan politics.

For more on today’s election and a lead-up to the polls, I’m joined now by Ann Garrison from San Francisco.

Ann, welcome to Democracy Now! Talk about this election day and what we know so far.

ANN GARRISON: Any press who report this as a real election day, as a real election, any government leaders who recognize it as such, are being irresponsible. And Didas Gasana, the exiled editor of Umuseso, who fled to Uganda earlier this year, said to me some months ago, "This time we won’t need an apology." All the community that have been moaning for the past sixteen years about their guilt, about how they turned their back on Rwanda, are doing the same thing now.

AMY GOODMAN: Talk about—Kagame, of course, is widely expected to be the next president, to be reelected today. But talk about the charges of repression. Who was allowed to run? Who wasn’t? What has happened to people in this run-up to the election, Ann?

ANN GARRISON: OK, just to say, first, you used that phrase "widely expected," and I have to laugh—I mean, not at you. I really appreciate your coverage of this, but anybody who’s hearing the typical sort of phrases that are used to cover an election—"widely expected," "may ride such-and-such an issue to victory"—is just laughing, because this is not an election. There are several handpicked candidates, handpicked by the government, and the whole thing has been staged. No one who’s been following "widely expects" it. Everyone knows what’s going to happen.

With regard to the repression, there were three viable candidates. Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza is under house arrest; she has been for months. She is unable to leave the city if Kigali to speak to the rural population, who are the majority of the country. She is unable to leave the country. Several days ago, I was getting news that she did not have a place to live, because, she said, those who had rented houses to her had received death threats. She had moved twice, and she was being forced to move again, and another landlord had backed out on signing a lease. Now, I’ve got to trust that she’s found a place to live. I haven’t spoken to her since then.

Bernard Ntaganda, the candidate of the Parti Social Imberakuri, has been in prison since June 24th. Frank Habineza—and he’s reporting that he’s been tortured.

Frank Habineza, who would have been the presidential candidate of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda, is at the Global Young Greens conference in Berlin right now. His vice president was beheaded. On July 14th, the body was found in the wetlands of a river in southern Rwanda. The story that the police came up with after that was that it might have been a robbery. But his keys were left in the car, his car was left behind, the keys to his house were left behind. It’s rather amazing that the government doesn’t even—and the Rwandan police don’t even bother to make up very plausible stories about these things. And everyone who has been arrested, assassinated or the object of an attempted assassination has been an enemy of the government.

AMY GOODMAN: Ann Garrison, do you think that President Obama should recognize the election of Paul Kagame again?

ANN GARRISON: No, I do not, and I join a coalition of Africa advocates in that—Friends of the Congo, the Africa Faith and Justice Network, Foreign Policy in Focus. A long list of Africa advocacy groups do not think that President Obama should recognize President Kagame’s election.

AMY GOODMAN: What would be the significance of this? And why is—

ANN GARRISON: Now, I’m not sure—I’ve not been able to think through what the—go ahead.

AMY GOODMAN: Why has the US government supported Paul Kagame so much?

ANN GARRISON: Well, for one, he speaks English. Rwanda was a Francophone territory before the Rwanda genocide. Paul Kagame is an English-speaking Ugandan Tutsi. He was a refugee from age three in Uganda. He led an invasion, the beginning of the Rwandan civil war, in 1990. It concluded in 1994, when he seized power in Kigali. And the widely accepted narrative is that he brought the Rwanda genocide to an end. One of the things that happened after the Rwanda genocide was the dominance of the US and the UK, or what’s sometimes called the Anglophone alliance. Francophone influence receded. So, that’s one reason.

He was trained at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, which is where generals go to learn to plan invasions. And he invaded Rwanda from Uganda in 1990. Now, I’m not sure that I could identify all the other imperatives of the Pentagon and whoever else were active in this situation at that time, but the whole region is hugely strategically important. The most significant—excuse me, the most significant resource in the region is probably the cobalt in the Katanga copper belt in eastern Congo and—southeastern Congo and northern Zambia. It’s been US policy since 1980 to have—to be prepared to go to war, actually, for the cobalt reserves in the Katanga copper belt, because jet fighter bomber technology changed in about 1980, such that these cobalt reserves were essential to its manufacture. The United States has no cobalt reserves worth mining. It’s not commercially worth mining. But we are the world’s largest consumer of cobalt.

AMY GOODMAN: Ann Garrison, looking at today’s New York Times, they write, "Rwandans have a lot to shout about: new roads and health clinics; millions of dollars of foreign investment; broadband Internet; even national health insurance, a small miracle in this poor, tiny, overcrowded country where the top natural resource may be the few hundred gorillas left in its misty mountains." Your response?

ANN GARRISON: I can’t—it’s very hard for me to understand why this story keeps being reported. Now, I’m relying on the studies of various academics, the Rusesabagina Foundation, and an academic from the Netherlands who recently did an exhaustive study, and they have all said that the majority of Rwandans are suffering extreme poverty, low life expectancy, high infant mortality, visible malnourishment, 60 percent living below the poverty level, some 37 percent at something like a dollar a day. And yet, we hear this story all the time about the development miracle. As I understand it, this is all about the city of Kigali, and this is the Singapore development model, where the majority—the rural population—is sacrificed for a tiny urban elite. And the inequality index in Rwanda has increased since the Rwanda genocide. This has been reported by a number of people. And you can find these statistics in the Wikipedia, on, you know, the statistics that the UN put out. But we keep hearing all the time about the development miracle. Well, it’s the Singapore model of development.

AMY GOODMAN: Ann Garrison, I want to thank you for being with us.

ANN GARRISON: And this is one thing—

AMY GOODMAN: Of course, we will continue to follow the Rwandan elections. This is election day in Rwanda. Ann Garrison, independent journalist who writes about Rwanda, the Congo and the politics of resource extraction.


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Recent Articles On Okoampa:


 RE: As Usual, Alban Bagbin Plays Out Of His League
 Nana Addo, Cheat Them All And Come Back Alone
 RE: Quashigah Requires Immediate Psychiatric Examination!
 Must Sekou Thank Mills for Not Being Pres. Nkrumah?
 Re: The “Rascal Four” Must Be Censured For Crying “Wolf!”

Nana Akyea Mensah

Nana Akyea Mensah, COMMENT ON:
Akwasi A Afrifa Akoto Well,
Nana Akyea Mensah I completely agree with you! I hope you have read any of my rejoinders to Okoampa! You would see how much I agree with you if you did! Thank God we have Okoampa's "friendly fire" against the Akyem Mafia! We shall add our own "enemy fire" to... rout them once again!
Forward Ever! Backwards Never!!!

Cheers!

Nana Akyea Mensah, The Odikro

Twitter: http://twitter.com/TheOdikro
Blogs:
Feature Articles:http://nanaakyeamensah.blogspot.com/,
Comments: http://theodikro.blogspot.com/
Nana Akyea Mensah

Akwasi A Afrifa Akoto Well, if Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe continues to write "such stuff" about Kuffour, - just like the Statesman did - the NPP should once again, kiss the 2012 elections goodbye.
Oh Nana Addo, your "cousins" are your worst enemies.

Nana Akyea Mensah On CPP Unity

Nana Akyea Mensah on Facebook: August 10 at 12:27pm
It is very important that the Nkrumahist family comes together. It is obvious that the divisions are also being encouraged by our political opponents from both the NPP and the NDC! What we need to focus on as a matter of urgency is to overcome the divisive and pointless leadership struggles and concentrate on increasing our presence in Parliament. We need to all come together and push our local flag-bearers into parliament. It is an excercise in futility to jump on the presidential bandwagon of the other political parties. Our strategy is to secure as much seats as we can in parliament and become crucial power-brokers inside a parliament in which we could become indispensable in the passage of bills!

Forward Ever! Backwards Never!!!

Cheers!

Nana Akyea Mensah, The Odikro

Twitter: http://twitter.com/TheOdikro
Blogs:
Feature Articles:http://nanaakyeamensah.blogspot.com/,
Comments: http://theodikro.blogspot.com/
Nana Akyea Mensah

Monday, August 9, 2010

Comment: Much [Akufo] Ado About Nothing!

Castle Jubilates As Nana Addo Wins | General News 2010-08-09

Comment: Much [Akufo] Ado About Nothing!

I usually tweet my comments on twitter which is integrated in facebook so I can assure a wider audience to each opinion I express. I was amused by the nature of the composition this time, when I went back to look at my twitter address. My comment which actually has been a draft at the works for a feature article, had the title: "Much [Akufo] Ado About Nothing!" Captioned a first draft of feature article coming very soon on a screen near you! by Nana Akyea Mensah, The Odikro. Author: Nana Akyea Mensah, The Odikro. Date: 2010-08-09 13:00:18 Comment to: Bogus Fake Report! Has No Merits

The comments on twitter normally carry first the comment and then the article in question follows. This time it gave such a beautiful combination: my own comment on the news item, as it appeared on twitter, and the reaction in the castle had a ring of truth:  
"Comment: Much [Akufo] Ado About Nothing! Castle Jubilates As Nana Addo Wins | General News 2010-08-09: http://bit.ly/cYMWaU via @addthis via web" See: http://twitter.com/TheOdikro

I am also of a similar position here, just like the Castle observers. I cannot see how Akufo-Addo is going to defeat President Atta-Mills. The strongest weapon they used in their campaign particularly, leading to the run-off was the notoriously fraudulent e-mail that was purported to have carried what came to be called, the Rawlings' Hit-List. In which the NPP argued that Rawlings was going to go amok and kill a large number of prominent Ghanaians should Atta-Mills be voted into power! It was so stupid that even hard-core supporters of the NPP and opponents of Rawlings such as Kweku Baako Jnr., publicly expressed doubts about the authenticity of this mysterious e-mail. They further tried to create the impression that the candidate Atta Mills is not his own man, and that he was going to be in the tutelage of Rawlings. This has also been debunked by the numerous events which have clearly rolled out under public scrutiny.

President Mills was teased as going too slow. When he decided to tackle the huge housing deficit, they were so amazed with the speed that they started crying foul! Soon, the go slow tag shall be back to haunt them just as all other previously ill-considered slogans! From my own interpretation of the voting pattern, Nana Akufo-Addo is yet to make any meaningful inroads in the vital areas that brought him down.

We have for example the Volta Region, where Alan Kyeremanten mysteriously got the highest votes was the same region where Akufo-Addo got the lowest. For me an indication of an Alan Kyeremanten vote is a rejection of Akufo-Addo. Akufo Addo begins this campaign already on one foot because the only region where Alan virus had been cleared even before the last Presidential elections was the Eastern Region. Thus nothing has really changed on the ground. The Ashanti Region displayed the same ambivalence that saw them vote 200,000 votes more at the December 7, elections and less at the run-off where Akufo Addo needed less than 30,000 votes to win! It is an NPP strong hold all right, but it not yet an Akufo Addo stronghold.

One may follow the geographical distribution of the votes for Alan Cash and tally with the results of the presidential run-off and be amazed at how accurately this continues to reflect the same pattern that saw the president Professor John Evans Atta-Mills the winner the other time around. The NPP vote only confirms that Nana Akufo Addo has made some inroads in securing a virtual control over the party machine, but in the crucial areas where he was weak, the weakness continue to show through the endorsements Alan got in spite of Akufo Addo's overwhelming "fire-power"!

Those areas need to be carefully monitored. We have to deny the Akufo Addo camp from making any further inroads. These are areas which already have their doubts about the guy. It is relatively easier for the president to win them over than for Akufo Addo. The first leg of the campaing strategy must be on consolidation. That is reinforcing the support base in the selected zones. That check-mates Akufo Addo in his tracts and brings us back to a convenient repeat of another electoral victory over him!

What these results tell me is that a sizeable amount of NPP bona fide members sincerely believe that as the eyes and ears on the ground, a preference for Alan Kyerematen could have augmented the party's fortunes. Incidentally these are areas where Nana Akufo Addo needs to catch up on Mills if he is to make any impact at all. They seem to be no go areas even within his own party, having served once as its flag-bearer, this speaks volumes! I am comparing with the electoral results with the last time around, he is displaying the same strengths and weaknesses that led him to nowhere!

See: Full Results http://elections.peacefmonline.com/elections/nppvotes2010/
Greater Accra Region, Nana Akufo-Addo 9,604 86.68%
Alan Kyerematen 1,361 12.28%

Ashanti Region, Nana Akufo-Addo 14,455 74.92%
Alan Kyerematen 4,458 23.10%

Eastern Region, Nana Akufo-Addo 12,333 91.02%
Alan Kyerematen 1,130 8.34%

Central Region, Nana Akufo-Addo 7,058 76.11%
Alan Kyerematen 2,062 22.23%

Western Region, Nana Akufo-Addo 9,505 85.88%
Alan Kyerematen 1,431 12.93%

Volta Region, Nana Akufo-Addo 5,109 49.83%
Alan Kyerematen 4,871 47.51%

Northern Region, Nana Akufo-Addo 9,148 85.27%
Alan Kyerematen 1,400 13.05%

Upper East Region, Nana Akufo-Addo 3,942 73.01%
Alan Kyerematen 1,283 23.76%

Upper West Region, Nana Akufo-Addo 2,771 64.74%
Alan Kyerematen 1,393 32.55%

Forward Ever! Backwards Never!!!

Cheers!

Nana Akyea Mensah, The Odikro

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Jake takes swipe at critics | General News | ModernGhana.com News

Jake takes swipe at critics | General News | ModernGhana.com News

Comment: MIND YOUR OWN GRASSCUTTER-SHIT BUSINESS!

I now see where the story comes from. You are suffering from culture shock. In Uganda, when a man marries, the wife belongs to all his brothers! How about that? Should their ministers resign because of that? The other day, there was a call on a minister to resign for eating dawawa by an opposition MP after literally filling his own belly with a special soup made from the grasscutter's shit! As Usual, Alban Bagbin Plays Out Of His League | Feature Article 2010-08-05

As Usual, Okoampa Plays Out Of His League*Feature Article |

As Usual, Okoampa Plays Out Of His League*Feature Article | By Nana Akyea
Mensah, The Odikro.**(**Twitter: http://twitter.com/TheOdikro)
A Rejoinder to: As Usual, Alban Bagbin Plays Out Of His
League,
Columnist: Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., Ph.D.


Hi grandson,

This is the fourth rejoinder in a row. None of them have been kid blows! And
Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., is no where to be found! In his latest article,
Okoampa pretends that a recent call-in to the Radio Gold's current affairs
program “Alhaji and Alhaji,” by the former NDC parliamentary majority leader
asking the “Minority group in Parliament [to be] grateful for the fact that
President Mills…includes them in decision-making and public projects,
...demonstrates that the substantive Minister for Water Resources, Works and
Housing appreciates pathetically little about the participatory culture of
parliamentary democracy." And here? I suppose that for heaven's sake,
Okoampa's definition of a parliamentary democracy is not limited to the
business in parliament, but is extended to cover every aspect of a healthy
parliamentary democracy.

RE: As Usual, Alban Bagbin Plays Out Of His League | Feature Article 2010-08-08

"Nana Addo, Cheat Them All And Come Back Alone!"

I perfectly understand the kind of political arithmetic that inform your current tactics and stratagems. Whilst an early congress was sought to deprive the other contestants the time for gaining ground before the primaries, from all indications, this has not been enough to ensure a clear 50+1 win for you. A run-off is exactly the kind of situation you hate to see, and yet that is what is starring at you in the face. The run-off is simply put, an Allan Cash veto to the hasty congress and to buy the time he needs to give you the necessary punches once and for all. Thus your electoral engineers have been very busy, with a team on board to scrutinise the electoral list, voter by voter, in order not to verify the authenticity but to disqualify all known and incorrigible supporters of  Alan Cash twenty four hour before the congress!

It is only fair play that can create the healing conditions of sincere concessions of defeat, reconciliation, mutual trust, respect, friendship and solidarity, the basic ingredients of party unity. No doubt the Akufo Addo camp have been busy throwing dust into our eyes that all is well within the great elephant family, but reading between the lines, the troubles keep piling up and the carefully sealed secrets and dirty linens are once, more bound to burst through the seams in media explosions after explosion, as the party implodes under the weight of its own voluptuous contradictions. The like to gravitate towards money. And once Alan Cash begins to pay more, the delegates would begin to be very confused. Any additional amount of money from Alan after initially "confusing" them become very "convincing".

As for the NPP delegates, they seem not in any mood to exchange their status as delegates even for a cocoa plantation. It involves too much work, and even though it is seasonal so are the elections. All you need to do is to "harvest" your "empowerment" and then vote "wisely"! You have no cocoa beans to dry. No pods to break. Cool money. Sometimes they come with rice and cooking oil, party T shirts, a lot of free drinks, girls, and occassional fighting. Like dogs, the elephant is a very territorial mammal. It pays to put people in their place in this unwieldy family otherwise your own position would be up in the air in no time at all! The property owning democracy cannot be built on hungry stomachs, and foreign multinationals in whose interest the party seeks to promote are there to put their wallets where their mouths are. The money is there in this party. If you don't take your share, someone is always willing to short-change you with unrestrained pleasure! It seems the delegates are aware of this and owing to the seasonal nature of their new profession, they are going to squeeze the hell out of both of them should there be a run-off.

Thus a run-off is definately what most professional delegates want. They have their own arithmetics. And on this point, the desires of the individual aspirants for a one-touch sound very naive in their ears. They know they are going to eat again during the campaign, but the professional eats step-by-step. Why hurry when a run-off even pays desperately more money than a simple primaries campaign? This Akufo Addo understands and has been foresighted enough to do something about the appetites of these greedy bastards. The election is going to be rigged. There shall be no run-off. In any case, he is not going to commit a single pesewa above what he is officially supposed to pay to the party until he is elected a flag-bearer. The reason is simple: the money is not there yet. He needs to secure the post before he can formally open the conduit from his neocolonialist owners. The NPP is broke. The chairman had to take a bank loan with his house as a guarantee in order to get the money to organize tis congress. The heaquarters is facing threat of a public auction due to court order over default in very outstanding debts.

A run-off is going to be a financial nightmare as each candidate would prefer to directly "empower" the delegates than to foot the very bill of the second congress. Ghana is going to be auctioned on a very competitive tender between the two top dogs of the NPP. It is clear the winner is going to be the one who pays the most. There are very extremely deep pockets behind Alan Cash. I do not think that Kufour is just reading the news about what is going on as a passive spectator. and that already means a lot, unless Kufour is telling me he has no contacts and imperialist fat cows to milk of his own! It is also extremely bad for the healing process after the vote, since the contradictions sharpen and battle lines get their fresh drawings!

But I would prefer a free, fair albeit vigorous and keenly contested run-off, to a fraudulent one-touch victory on Saturday, August 7, 2010. It is by far easier to get people back on track on the democracy train when they feel to be part of the system rather than cheated by it. This is why it is not wise to cheat. As Akufo Addo himself admitted recently, without unity there can be no victory. I want to add that without cheating, there can be unity. If you cheat you are going to lose the main race. so the choice is yours. Win honestly and try to go to the castle, or cheat them all and come back home alone!

Forward Ever! Backwards Never!!!

Cheers!

Nana Akyea Mensah, The Odikro

Twitter: /twitter.com/TheOdikro,
Blogs: Feature Articles: nanaakyeamensah.blogspot.com,
Comments: theodikro.blogspot.com)

Comment: I LIKE YOUR STYLE, MY DEAR AKUFO!

A Vote For Akuffo Addo Is A Vote For ... | Feature Article 2010-08-05

NPP Doomed…If Nana Or Alan Refuses To Concede Defeat | Politics | Peacefmonline.com

NPP Doomed…If Nana Or Alan Refuses To Concede Defeat | Politics | Peacefmonline.com

The Obama Serenades XXXIII | Feature Article | ModernGhana.com News

Comment: Keep it up, My Dear Grandson!

Comment on: The Obama Serenades XXXIII | Feature Article | ModernGhana.com News

Akufo Addo commends other presidential candidate aspirants | General News 2010-08-05

Comment: SPOT ON IT, YOOSI!

Comment on:
Akufo Addo commends other presidential candidate aspirants | General News 2010-08-05

Chaos In Legon NPP | General News 2010-08-05

Chaos In Legon NPP | General News 2010-08-05

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

As Usual, Okoampa Plays Out Of His League

As Usual, Okoampa Plays Out Of His League

Feature Article | By Nana Akyea Mensah, The Odikro.*

A Rejoinder to: As Usual, Alban Bagbin Plays Out Of His League, Columnist: Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., Ph.D.



This is the fourth rejoinder in a row. None of them have been kid blows! And Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., is no where to be found! In his latest article, Okoampa pretends that a recent call-in to the Radio Gold's current affairs program “Alhaji and Alhaji,” by the former NDC parliamentary majority leader asking the “Minority group in Parliament [to be] grateful for the fact that President Mills…includes them in decision-making and public projects, ...demonstrates that the substantive Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing appreciates pathetically little about the participatory culture of parliamentary democracy." And here? I suppose that for heaven's sake, Okoampa's definition of a parliamentary democracy is not limited to the business in parliament, but is extended to cover every aspect of a healthy parliamentary democracy.

In that sense, I wonder why it is not Okoampa but rather Bagbin who is out of his league! I wouldn't bother the reader with the litany of the woes of the opposition and the Ghanaian patriots during the eight years of the NPP misrule. Just mentioning Vodaphone keeps my blood boiling up! It is clear that from what Okoampa is saying, the NPP has not even given itself any chance to recognize their mistakes, let alone to learn from them. The reason why the elephant must once more be returned to the bush is because they still have no clue about why they were removed from power. The sinner remains not only unrepentant but also unaware if his sins, and is not even asking for forgiveness. The sinner has resorted to telling stories that have neither head nor tail!

If you want us to talk about parliamentary democracy, why don't we begin with the most topical issue of the week? This Saturday, the NPP is electing its flag-bearer to contest for the 2012 Presidential Elections. It is a very strange pity that a party that trumpets and extols the virtue of democratic governance is having a lot of problems being transparent, open, free, and even minimally fair! With barely two days to go to the Congress, The Ghanaian Chronicle reports:

"PROFFESSOR Kwabena Frimpong Boateng, one of the presidential aspirants of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has accused the leadership of the party of making the moves to direct the results of Saturday's Congress a particular direction. According to him, the executives were trying to woo the delegates to vote in a certain way, warning that the decision would be a recipe for chaos." (See: NPP CONGRESS WILL NOT BE FREE & FAIR, … Accuses execs of directing results in a particular directio, By: Bismark Beble, Wednesday, August 4, 2010, Source: Ghanaian Chronicle)
I find it very interesting that none other than a leading member of the NPP, fit enough to be considered a potential flag-bearer of the party is bitterly lamenting about the undemocratic nature of the NPP! We all know that charity begins at home and not from the comments of Mr. Albin Bagbin on Radio Gold's current affairs program “Alhaji and Alhaji”! And the so-called "charity" going on at Okoampa's home does not look very good. Professor Frempong apparently is not going to take it without throwing his own punches:

"He regretted that a party that is touted as being adherent to democratic principles,  would now use foul means to coerce delegates to dance to their tune, when indeed, no credible and scientific survey had been conducted to prove that the particular candidate would generally be accepted by Ghanaians."
What the professor is saying is not different from my own analysis in a rejoinder to your article The “Rascal Four” Must Be Censured For Crying “Wolf!”, Feature Article of Wednesday, 21 July 2010:

"If I were Akufo Addo, and I was very sure of myself of victory, I would do everything to ensure transparency as much as possible to ensure my political legitimacy. But Akufo Addo is not me, and it appears he has other campaign issues higher on his agenda than a dangerously transparent, free and fair elections that stupidly run the risk to scupper what seems to be a very elaborate and expensive scheme of rigging the elections in his favour. So far, it is not clear whether Akufo Addo really wants to win the 2012 elections or this is just a personal ego trip, irrespective of the results. If this is true, then he does not necessarily need any form of cooperation from the recalcitrant four. So why not, it is very necessary to insist on party procedure and doing nothing meaningful about the complaints until after the Congress, when, hopefully it might be too late, and as everyone knows today, Jake would be on stand-by to issue another four-liner." (See: Re: The “Rascal Four” Must Be Censured For Crying “Wolf!” by Nana Akyea Mensah, The Odikro, Tuesday, July 20, 2010, A Rejoinder to: The “Rascal Four” Must Be Censured For Crying “Wolf!”, Feature Article of Wednesday, 21 July 2010 by Okoampa-Ahoofe, Kwame)
 It is quite interesting the the NPP formula for defeat was defined by no other person than Akufo Addo himself. In a recent meeting with party delegates at the Tip Toe Gardens on Wednesday, 21st July 2010, in the Ayawaso Central constituency, Nana Akufo-Addowas reported to have told them:

“I am confident that by the grace of God, and with unity within our ranks, if you elect me as flag bearer into the 2012 general elections, victory will come our way as a party,” he said. (See: NPP primaries would determine Ghana’s future - Akufo-Addo, Myjoyonline,

I still stand by the following comments:

"After reading the latest feature article on the elusive unity in the party, The “Rascal Four” Must Be Censured For Crying “Wolf!”, Feature Article of Wednesday, 21 July 2010 by Okoampa-Ahoofe, Kwame,

I propose the following changes to the Nana Akufo Addo speech:

“I am confident that by the grace of God, and with unity within our ranks, if you elect me as flag bearer into the 2012 general elections, victory will come our way as a party,” he said.

Should rather read:

“I am confident that by the grace of God, and with disunity within our ranks, if you elect me as flag bearer into the 2012 general elections, failure will come our way as a party.”

There will be time when someone would be regretting the errors, not me, if no one speaks to people like Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr. !

A word to the fool is not enough, bit I do not have the time go give more, please take it or leave it! After all, I am not the one running for office."
The Akyem Mafia may win the NPP Congress by fraudulent means, but that is where it is all going to end. How do you expect those who feel cheated to play ball? And where is the "unity within our ranks" going to come from? You people cannot stop cheating even when the very life of your party is at stake! Whilst preaching to the NDC about democracy, take a look at the NPP Congress, where you even need "democracy" in order to win, with the word stuck in your throats like "Amen" in the throat of Macbeth! Yet it seems Okoampa is not out of his league! At least, not yet. Who says a fool's paradise cannot be sweet? Not until he realizes there is going to be a rejoinder to every single article he writes from now on!

Cheers!

Forward Ever! Backwards Never!!! 

*(The original version of this article contains important links to the references made within. For further information and follow-ups, I invite the interested reader to my blog. I tweet some of my comments on facebook and on twitter. I am interested in the political grammar of Pan-Africanism and its manners of articulation. If you agree or disagree with me, you may follow my thinking and reactions in a more comprehensive manner by coming to theodikro.blogspot.com. I keep most of my comments in one place. You may give me a follow on Twitter if you want to know "where I am coming from": /twitter.com/TheOdikro,  or check out my blogs: 1. Feature Articles: nanaakyeamensah.blogspot.com, 2. Comments: theodikro.blogspot.com) Thanks!

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Okoampa Requires Immediate Psychiatric Examination!


Okoampa Requires Immediate Psychiatric Examination!   

Feature Article | By Nana Akyea Mensah, The Odikro.*

A rejoinder to: "Quashigah Requires Immediate Psychiatric Examination!" by Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., Ph.D. Feature Article | Sunday, 1 August 2010

Full Title: Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., Requires Immediate Psychiatric Examination If Not Already Certified As A Raving Lunatic!    

 

Preliminary Remarks:

As Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., calls for the immediate psychiatric examination of the Propaganda Secretary of the ruling National Democratic Congress, Mr. Richard Quashigah in his latest article, I invite the Ghanaian public to find out if such a call has any merit, and to share my very profound indignation and revulsion at the casual impertinence of an unintelligent hypocrite whose notoriety as the most unpatriotic Ghanaian on the world wide web is more than legendary! On the 29 of July, 2010, the Propaganda Secretary of the NDC, Mr. Richard Quashigah told Joy FM the that “NPP’s harsh hostilities towards the STX project though unfortunate, is understandable.”  He was also quoted as saying '"the intransigent position of the NPP on the STX deal is consistent with the party's philosophy - opposing anything that is good for Ghana... The NPP has an attitude and that attitude is to oppose anything that is good for this country,” he added.' (See: NPP Are Enemies Of Progress: NDC Propaganda Secretary, 29-Jul-2010, Peacefmonline.com)

Is my grandson now parading in Ghana as a patriot? Wonders will never end! In the first place, I am very remarkably surprised to read the latest article by my grandson. Why this surprise is very remarkable is because it comes at a time I was beginning to naively believe that my grandson has ran out of any possibilities of pulling surprises as the most despicable commentator on the web. Having known no Ghanaian on the world wide web who is as unpatriotic and equally busy working on a daily basis to bring his own country on its knees at the feet of his imperialist owners, than Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., I was almost certain he could no longer surprise me! I mean what I am saying. I cross my heart. I am going to drop a few hints about this before I end this article, so please, bear with me. I even thought it was very clear that in my bid to identify, defend, and advance the interests of main-street Africans, I have clashed enough with Okoampa to enable him to do a soul-searching safari on his own, repudiate and ran away from his current as a pawn of Wall Street, and come back to join our very decent society as a changed person!

But no, Okoampa has not changed one bit! This leaves me with no choice other than to focus again on some of the areas he needs to urgently work on before he even qualifies for the attention of peace-loving, patriotic and proud Ghanaians! He owes the people of Ghana very serious apologies before he can even comment on sensitive issues such as patriotism in Ghana! I thank my God I did not get a heart-attack out of the shock, when I saw Okoampa pretend to be the patriot in any Ghanaian situation. It would have been "the most unkindest cut of all" I he had succeeded to literally kill me with his lies! I find the level of nonsensical lies and hypocrisy extremely severe, dangerous, and suffocating, even by Okoampa's own awful standards! The real alarm lies in the fact that whenever a traitor puts on the clothes of a patriot, it is the responsibility of all real patriots to expose such a fellow immediately and irrespective of the consequences! I wrote in my comment under this article on Ghanaweb: "My dear grandson, ...I found your place in this debate to be rather incongruous. Particularly when the issue involves patriotism, you and I know very well that you are the last person whose opinion should matter to the ordinary Ghanaian." This article attempts to explain what I meant.

 

Kwame Okoampa, A Ghanaian Patriot?

Fellow Ghanaians, I write this article to off-load a burden on my conscience and expose a villain. I cannot simply remain silent over this. It is not necessarily my primary objective to catalogue the political sins of Okoampa against the good people of Ghana. I simply cannot stand the ugly histrionics of Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., going scot-free after presenting himself to Ghanaians as a fellow patriot in his latest article! That is not acceptable. Hence this article has been written with the intention to make sure that Okoampa receives the rebuttal he requires to enable him undertake appropriate self-censorship without any further external stimulus from friends and foes alike. Please read on, you will not be disappointed!

My first significant experience of Okoampa's quisling status was upon reading an article of Kwame Okoampa Ahoofe, Jr., over a tactical retreat manoeuvre by the US Embassy in Accra concerning the establishment of US Africom headquarters in Ghana and other military bases including an air force base at Tamale and a naval base somewhere along the coast. Guess where I got these gruesome details from? Asare Gabriel Ochere-Darko, the Executive Director of the Danquah Institute! In Obama’s Visit – What’s In It For Us And U.S.?, Ochere Darko argues:

"Furthermore, the U.S. is, understandably, bent on establishing a regional command for Africa, similar to U.S. Forces Korea, with a homeport situated on the African continent to protect their interests. West Africa is its natural home, given the need to protect energy interests in the Gulf of Guinea. Liberia has offered but simply cannot match the kind of convenience available in Ghana. It can be a win-win situation."

"Kwesi Pratt was one of the first to raise the alarm about oil and US military bases in Africa." Crossedcrocodiles writes in Ghanaians Discuss AFRICOM & Obama’s Visit. He continues:

"In a 2007 interview he said:
Kwesi Pratt: I am very alarmed after reading what is called the Cheney Report. When Bush came to power, he set up a committee chaired by Dick Cheney his Vice President to assess America’s energy requirements up to the year 2015. The Cheney Report actually says that by the year 2015, twenty percent of American oil requirements will be supplied by West Africa and therefore it is important to maintain a foothold in West Africa in order to ensure that oil supplies from West Africa to the United States of America will not be interrupted." (See: Ghanaians Discuss AFRICOM & Obama’s Visit,  by xcroc, June 3, 2009, http://crossedcrocodiles.wordpress.com)

It must be noted that even though Mr Kwesi Pratt, Jnr., was the first to raise the alarm in Ghana, the US desire to capture the control and use of the hydrocarbon materials from particularly our sub-region, if need be, by the means of military action, has been beyond dispute:

'In May 2001 the Cheney report warned that the U.S. would grow increasingly dependent upon foreign oil in the years to come and recommended that as a matter of policy the Bush Administration work to increase production and export of oil from regions other than theMiddle East, noting that Latin America and West Africa were likely to be the fastest growing sources of future U.S. oil imports. ... Three months later, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Walter Kansteiner declared that African oil "has become a national strategic interest." This statement is particularly noteworthy in that it uses the language of the Carter Doctrine in the Middle East, in which President Carter went on to declare that the U.S. would intervene by any means necessary to protect its national interest in Middle Eastern oil. In April 2002, Donald Norland, former U.S. Ambassador to Chad told a Congressional subcommittee: "It's been reliably reported that, for the first time, the two concepts -- 'Africa' and 'U.S. national security' -- have been used in the same sentence in Pentagon documents." ('Understanding AFRICOM: A Contextual Reading of Empire’s New Combatant Command, b real, February 2007, http://www.moonofalabama.org,

Thus, not only were the denials by the US Embassy in Accra very cynical, but sinister. It would not have bothered me too much if any other person within the NPP had responded to Quashigah, other than Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr.! After all, are we not talking about patriotism now? If so, then what is the basis of the repugnant histrionics by this famous political sell-out before he is allowed to further throw dust into our very vigilant eyes? If the NPP really needs someone to defend it from the unassailable truth of being a neocolonialism entity, and by definition, an unpatriotic and pro-Imperialist party established to see to the business interests of their imperialist owners, Okoampa should be the last person to do so! The very fact that none other than Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., should respond to this issue of patriotism is not only significant, it is also a sign that he requires an immediate psychiatric treatment for thinking he can take Ghanaians for fools! If he does not get a psychiatric examination, he shall continue to pile trouble after trouble on his favourite candidate, Nana Addo Danquah Akufo Addo.


Mr. Kwesi Pratt's patriotism in the interview is clear:

Kwesi Pratt: "Consequently, the United States is planning to establish military bases across West Africa including Ghana. And I am very worried that at a time when we are celebrating our national independence we are going to tolerate the establishment of foreign military bases, especially American military bases on our soil. The great Osageyfo Dr. Nkrumah, Malcolm X, Kwame Ture, and all of them emphasized that Africa ought to be free from foreign military bases and weapons of mass destruction. We cannot allow that dream to die. That is why, it is important for us to resist all attempts to establish foreign military bases on African soil especially forces of the United States, must be prevented from establishing on African soil. Clearly because they are not on African soil to protect our interests, they are on African soil to facilitate the exploitation of our resources for the benefit of the tiny minority that controls the wealth of the American people and who are sitting on top of this world exploiting the Chicanos, exploiting the African Americans and exploiting all of the other independent and healthy forces in the United States of America. We have to resist all attempts to build U.S. military bases in Ghana and elsewhere in Africa." (See: Ron Wilkins' Interview With Kwesi Pratt on the 50th Anniversary of Ghana Independence, Pan-African News Wire, May 07, 2007, http://panafricannews.blogspot.com.)

 Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., on the contrary, enters into this debate like the goat recently nominated by Nana Akufo Addo to represent him in the Upper East Region. Even the planners of US Africom have since acknowledged that the initial approach was a mistake!Okoampa did not mind whatever the Americans were willing to ram down our throats! There he goes:

"In the lead-up to President George W. Bush's five-nation African tour-of-duty," Okoampa laments, "the Director of Public Affairs at the United States' Embassy in Accra was prompted to vehemently deny widespread rumors and allegations regarding Mr. Bush's official visit to Ghana, from February 19-21, climaxing with the bilateral ratification of an agreement between the American leader and Ghana's President John Agyekum-Kufuor allowing the establishment of an American military base in the country." (See: U. S. Embassy has Absolutely Nothing to Deny!!!, by Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., Ph.D., Feature Article | Mon, 18 Feb 2008)

It must carefully be noted that even though Okoampa himself accepts and welcomes "Mr. Bush's official visit to Ghana, from February 19-21", as "climaxing with the bilateral ratification of an agreement between the American leader and Ghana's President John Agyekum-Kufuor allowing the establishment of an American military base in the country," for some very strange reasons he still manages to refer to the opposition to these bases as being based upon "vicious rumors and allegations"! "Allegations" that are more or less his own! In U. S. Embassy has Absolutely Nothing to Deny!!!, he writes:

"Indeed, one does not have to look far to conclude that such political mischief is the incontrovertible brainchild of the so-called National Democratic Congress (NDC), the pseudo-political party that militarily occupied Ghana for nearly twenty years. Then also, this is not the first time that the bugbear, or specter, of the establishment of a U. S. military base is being bandied about. It is also significant to observe that the NDC's ideological twin-sister, the so-called Convention People's Party (CPP), has been in the thick of such vicious rumors and allegations." (See: U. S. Embassy has Absolutely Nothing to Deny!!!, by Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., Ph.D., Feature Article | Mon, 18 Feb 2008)

 Okoampa concludes that nothing could be dumber than patriotism when the US wants to be your master! For Okoampa, our country is not even worth anything to die for! We can only develop in freedom when there are US guns pointed on our heads! Listen to him:

"And so pretending to play dumb, in the dubious name of patriotism, is absolutely no perspicuous demonstration of ideological advancement as these political nincompoops and outright charlatans would have unsuspecting compatriots believe. And if these charlatans and cognitively challenged rumor-mongers cared to know, they would have since long discovered to their rude awakening, the fact that the hitherto self-proclaimed inveterate enemy of U. S. “imperialism,” Chairman Rawlings, educated all his three officially known children right here in the United States, and not Cuba, Libya or Russia."...Indeed, it comes as great news to learn of the United States having emplaced heavy military equipment in the country in apparent, and auspicious, readiness for any barbaric, or troglodytic, attempt by the enemies of constitutional democracy to reverse the onward march of Ghana towards the Danquahist ideal of “Development in Freedom.” (See: U. S. Embassy has Absolutely Nothing to Deny!!!, by Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., Ph.D., Feature Article | Mon, 18 Feb 2008)

The real problem is that it seems the Danquah Institute has accepted some money to sell the US Africom project to Ghanaians! Okoampa should have been dismissed from any self-respecting Institute. On the contrary, we saw the Executive Director of the Danquah Institute doing his own article to promote the US Africom project. He even cleverly made it to look as though it was irreversible because the Kufour Administration had gone very far with it already. In US MILITARY BASE IN GHANA: From "Baloney!" To "What’s In It For Us"? Part One, Saturday, May 30, 2009, I argued that:

"I feel greatly incensed by the casual manner Mr. Ochere-Darko breaks this news as though it is simply a matter of business, and not even making any attempt to explain the basis of the conspiracy that he confesses in the article. What does this mean? According to Asare Ochere Darko, even though the NPP government did not allow Ghanaians to have a say in whether or not they want a US military base on our soil, it is too late for the Atta-Mills government to say “No”! In other words, without any national debate, whether we like it or not the process has already been started and they cannot be reversed, so we are as good as being already occupied by a foreign power!"


Ochere Darko's never answered my questions:

"Is this supposed to mean that the NPP government was simply throwing dust into our eyes whilst plotting secretly to undermine our national independence and sell us to the Americans? Fortunately for Ghana and Africa, the elections did not go their way. From the article under discussion, it seems to me that with Obama and Atta-Mills in power, the same special interests behind the establishment of the military base in Ghana, the military industrial complex of the USA, are acting as ventriloquists, using their local stooges, to revive their diabolic plot, and rope the two newcomers into the deal. Who else could fit better in the role of selling Ghana to the imperialists more than the very right hand man of Nana Addo Danquah Akufo Addo, the great Asare Ochere-Darko, himself? If you should ask me what it was that worried me most in the article, I believe I would put my finger on the following seven words written by Mr. Ochere-Darko: “After all, the process has already started.” Most of us are still dazed by the question. What this man is virtually telling Ghanaians is that for months, the NPP has been secretly plotting with foreign powers to establish military bases on our lands without letting out a word about it to the Ghanaian public. " (See: US MILITARY BASE IN GHANA: From "Baloney!" To "What’s In It For Us"? Part One, Saturday, May 30, 2009, see also on Ghanaweb: US Military Base In Ghana, Feature Article of Wednesday, 3 June 2009, Columnist: Mensah, Nana Akyea)


This publication and others provoked a reaction by Mr. James Victor Gbeho, ex-diplomat and adviser to President J.E.A. Mills on Foreign Policy. Under the caption, Gbeho: US can’t force AFRICOM on Ghana, (Monday, I June 2009. Myjoyonline.com) which proved to be enough to dispel the silly effects of the Ochere-Darko's stupid article.  Mr. Gbeho "assured the public that government has its head properly screwed on and will not enter into any agreement with the United States of America if the people do not approve of it." "Ambassador Gbeho" was obviously reacting to the implications in the Mr. Ochere Darko's article, that the "process" of establishing the Africom headquarters and US military bases in Ghana "had already started" secretly under the Kufour NPP Administration, and was culminating with the planned visit of US President Barack Obama to Ghana on July 10 and 11, 2009, and therefore felt the need to clear the air on what the visit portends for the nation:


"Sections of Ghanaians have publicly objected to the US government’s desire to base its continental military force, United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), in Ghana." Mr. Gbeho was reported to have said on Citi FM’s breakfast show Monday, that "Ghanaians have some justification to be apprehensive about the country’s relations with the United States, given the way the latter has conducted its affairs in Latin America, in Asia and other parts of the world. …there is a genuine fear; a fear that came to the forefront just before the visit of President Bush to this country recently; a fear that was articulated not by government but by the Ghanaian people through the media and so on; and which forced President Bush to deny a few things.” Assessing public dissent against the AFRICOM project, he said "far from being a done deal, the people can rest assured that the government has its head properly screwed on and would not betray the people’s trust." (See: Gbeho: US can’t force AFRICOM on Ghana, (Myjoyonline.com, Monday, I June 2009.)




Are You Talking About Patriotism And The Judicious Use Of Our Newly Found Oil Wealth? 

To begin with, why are you so concerned about the judicious use or otherwise of the newly found wealth, if one could link the use of the sovereign guarantee behind the contentious Ghana-South Korean STX deal, to nothing else other than that? The very oil wealth about whose judicious use this debate is all about has been a subject of your jealousy and extreme chagrin that Ghana seems stands to boost her economy by the billions of dollars with this discovery! You have even gone as far as expressing your happiness at the news that the Ivory Coast was claiming our jubilee oil field in the heat of the recent boarder dispute between Ghana and La Côte d'Ivoire! How this makes you a patriot worthy to be listened to by "the diligent but woefully underpaid Ghanaian worker" needs to be properly explained to me. In any case, what is your beef here? You are happy at the prospects the Ivory Coast even claiming by force of arms, an oil discovery well into 60 kilometres away from the nearest landmass of the Ivorian border, and you want people to go and examine their minds when they say that you are not patriotic!

 Listen to Kwame Okoampa himself: 

"I am glad that, finally, the Ivorians are beginning to assert their right of access and enjoyment of Ghana's purportedly new-found oil wealth... It also didn't quite make a lot of sense to me that an oil find that lay so dangerously close to Ghana's border with Côte d'Ivoire would also have been so [godlessly] uncharitable as to neatly parcel itself out for the exclusive benefit and enjoyment of Ghanaians while the war-seasoned Ivorians continued to languish in penury.... What is also wickedly fascinating is the sudden fit of alarm that seems to have gripped the hitherto light-headed Ghanaians. All of an auspicious sudden, it is beginning to home-in to these soft-headed, happy-go-lucky and good-natured “Niggers” that premature gloating over a pure gift of nature may yet turn out to be too good to be true.(See: "Who Are These “Parliamentarian Drivers”? By Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., Ph.D., Feature Article of Tuesday, 16 March 2010.


I have already complained about this before, but I was more concerned with the lack of courtesy rather than patriotism as Okoampa has long ceased to surprise me. I have to confess that reading from a Ghanaian openly supporting La Côte d'Ivoire and even suggesting war was a little bit surprising, even by Okoampa standards. But even more surprising is the sheer impudence of such an individual taking upon himself to lecture anyone about patriotism and the judicious use of our oil wealth!

The question I want to primarily ask Okoampa is why does he pretend to be bothered about the judicious use of our oil wealth when he himself wanted the Ivorians to take it away from our hands? What I want to make clear to Okoampa is that without the oil remaining in the hands of Ghana, the debate about its judicious use would not even be on the horizon. I raise this issue in order to put it to you that you are clearly equivocating and engaged in Orwellian double-talk to facilitate the sale of your extremely nefarious political wares. And whilst I am at it, I shall find time to expose some of them, particularly as they bear on sovereignty and patriotism and imperialist designs on our oil and its security implications for the people of Ghana.

Suffice it to say for the time being that, as I wrote in a previous article: 

"Okoampa continues by making demeaning remarks about his fellow countrymen. To use such language indicates contempt for Ghanaian men and women. Why would any Ghanaian who consider his country's vital interests so dispensable, still present himself as a member of a "Think Tank" and expect respect from his fellow Ghanaians? What does it mean if this man presents Nana Akufo Addo as his favourite candidate, and Akufo Addo approves of this association with him? Is Akufo Addo telling us that the Danquah Institute "think tank" is fast becoming nothing but a nest of politically virulent and toxic ideas contempt for the Ghanaian people?" (See: Is It Not Time For Akufo Addo To Distance Himself From The Danquah Institute Altogether?).

 

The Danquah Institute, The NPP, And The STX Deal
  
The first time I heard about the STX contract was on the website of the Danquah Institute: "Press Release: DI Raises Redflag on $1.5B STX Korean Credit Plus Oil Deal from Equitorial Guinea". It might be necessary to dedicate another piece to do justice on the substantive issues of the STX deal. My objective here is to simply challenge Okoampa and the Danquah Institute that they are not the patriots that they want unsuspecting ghanaians to believe! It is not surprising that Ochere-Darko has been able to mobilize the entire party structure behind this campaign. The STX deal is not the only thing the think tank has been thing about and making their thoughts public. One issue that has bothered me has been the way people associated with the Danquah Institute has been promoting the US Africa Command Headquarters project. The easy influence of a major political party by such vipers is a serious source of concern.

It must be noted that the level of the NPP, this is the third time party is towing the line of the Danquah Institute within a very short time! Some worried observers see this as a drill or a rehearsal of the shape of things to come should Akufo Addo be elected the President of this country. Considering the type of noises coming from this group, it is very important to raise the alarm that they are up to no good! Ant that the wheeler and the dealer at the centre of it all, Nana Addo Danquah Akufo Addo must of necessitate not up to any good!

The reason why my grandson needs to see a psychiatrist is therefore, also because it is very important for the Akufo-Addo busy-bodies like him not to give the game away so soon! If he does not see a psychiatrist, Okoampa would open the eyes of Ghanaians so wide to what the Akufo Addo camp has been up to, ever since Bush said "Baloney!" to the US Africom Headquarters rumour in Accra. Right now, my own real fear in all this, is that considering the unprecedented leverage the Danquah Institute  now wields within the NPP, particularly the current Akufo-Addo-led National Executive committee of the NPP, exemplified in the speed by which the NPP has proved to be extremely susceptible to the negative influences of the Danquah Institute, the question that every concerned Ghanaian must be asking ought to be, "Are we safe?" Kwame Okoampa and the Ochere-Darkos are just a tip of the iceberg! My real worry is why has Akufo Addo surrounded himself with a lot of people of doubtful intentions and abilities and what does this say of this man's own intentions and abilities? The only known Ghanaians who embraced the US Africom project are all to be found in the Danquah Institute! Is this a co-incidence?

Forward Ever! Backwards Never!!! 

*(The original version of this article contains important links to the references made within. For further information and follow-ups, I invite the interested reader to my blog. I tweet some of my comments on facebook and on twitter. I am interested in the political grammar of Pan-Africanism and its manners of articulation. If you agree or disagree with me, you may follow my thinking and reactions in a more comprehensive manner by coming to theodikro.blogspot.com. I keep most of my comments in one place. You may give me a follow on Twitter if you want to know "where I am coming from": /twitter.com/TheOdikro,  or check out my blogs: 1. Feature Articles: nanaakyeamensah.blogspot.com, 2. Comments: theodikro.blogspot.com) Thanks!