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Why I write on
contemporary Ghanaian political issues
By Dr. Michael J.K. Bokor
Sunday, December 13, 2015
Folks, ever since I discovered the power of writing, I have
made it a cardinal point to add my voice to public discourse
on issues affecting humanity. And I do so with much vigour,
rhetorical violence, and determination. I have no regrets
for pushing my conviction, regardless of whose ox I gore in
the process. And I delight in doing so. To those who don’t
know it, let me tell them that I have been writing
commentaries on pertinent issues since my days at the Ghana
News Agency in the 1980s. With time, I have broadened the
scope, which is why I won’t be deterred by the vain words of
those who consider me as a threat to their political quests.
They had better shape up for more because the time is ripe
for more writing to be done to unpack their agenda.
In writing opinion pieces, I seek to reach out to readers of
varying backgrounds without attempting to bore them with the
heavy scholarly humdrum that academic accomplishments
entail. Readers of opinion pieces on everyday happenings
have little or no regard for theories and propositions
loaded with academic jargon and bombastic over-the-bar
usages that make no sense to them. They just want to read
what they can relate to and make meaning out of happenings
influencing their lives. No need for jaw-breaking words
commonly used in the 18th and 19th centuries or quaint
usages drawn from the Roget’s Thesaurus. I don’t subscribe
to that kind of language use or couching of ideas in
over-burdening usages. Those who go that way are known. I
believe in simplicity, which doesn’t detract in any way from
my status.
Those benefiting from my writing are at ease and those hurt
by it are chafing albeit fighting more with themselves than
with me. And they can’t reach me with their clenched fists.
Even if they do so, I am more than prepared for them. Their
empty threats and insults won’t dissuade me from doing the
yeoman’s job of taking them on for dissection.
As the Kenyan intellectual Ngugi wa Thi’ongo puts it, every
writer is a writer in politics; and writing in politics
entails ups-and-downs—fortunes and misfortunes. A good
writer (a representative or a reflection of good public
conscience and morale) should not fear anything and should
be prepared to go either left or right. There is no centre
(neutrality) here. As the late John Tetegah put it, if you
are walking on the street in any city, you either walk on
the left or right. If you walk in the middle, a car will
knock you down. I have chosen a lane for myself and I walk
there, commenting on issues as I deem fit, pandering to
nobody.
Otherwise, political writing will lose its value. A writer
either condemns or praises—and should be prepared for the
consequences. A writer who praises on the basis of morality
won’t fear the backlash, which is why many have stood up and
braced themselves for the consequences of their writing. And
they have emerged victorious. Those seeking to hide and seek
end up not going anywhere beyond the spot in the circle that
they circumscribe and turn into the fulcrum facilitating
their gyration. An exercise in futility, one may describe
it.
Those of us who have chosen to bare it all, declaring our
dislike for the anathema that we consider to be Ghana’s
political woe, have insisted on using our skills to
facilitate public discourse on Ghana’s challenges. Those who
hate how we write or the issues that we concentrate on wish
we were dead; but we are not. Wishes are not horses for
beggars to ride.
Why do I continue to write despite all the insults, empty
threats, and mere puffs of intimidation? I am just resolute.
I have a personal interest here too. As a teacher of
writing, I know very well that “we write to learn”. So,
whenever I write, I seek to learn from that effort, not only
from the comments of readers but also from my own assessment
of my product(s) at several levels, including language
performance. And I don’t spend more than 30 minutes on any
of the opinion pieces that I write. As I continue to write,
I face new challenges to help me determine how to sharpen my
skills, which I like. Practice will also ensure perfection;
not so?
A few friends have questioned me on why I continue to write
opinion pieces despite the scathing personal attacks by
those who disagree with me on issues featuring in those
pieces. I have responded by simply laughing everything off.
I know what I am about and why I write the way I do. That’s
part of me. I have a tough skin and won’t just budge or fold
up just because those sworn not to see eye-to-eye with me
are at my throat for saying what they hate to hear. I say it
as it is, learning from the late South African political
activist, Steve Biko, and his unwavering stance: I write
what I like!!
Some have foolishly written wrong meanings into my writing
to create the impression that I am being paid by the NDC or
the Mahama-led administration to write as I do. Humbug!! If
I needed any compensation for writing the way I do, I might
be among the richest Ghanaians on earth, apparently because
there is a lot to expose that will either scare those to be
featured into paying me bounteously or whatever.
I challenge those people labelling me as a beneficiary of
the Mahama-led administration’s “corruption” of writers like
me to provide evidence. Otherwise, I consign them to the
corps of lazy thinkers and trouble makers. I write what I
like because I think beyond the narrow NDC-NPP trash can!!
Before both were, Ghana had been and will continue to be
after all those so-called NDC-NPP capos are dead and gone,
written off as bad debts, especially after failing to move
the country forward!!
Folks, I want to make my position clear on issues that
feature in my opinion pieces. Although I have declared my
unalloyed support for anything Nkrumah/Rawlings (and by
extension, the late Atta Mills, John Dramani Mahama and all
others to follow in the tradition), I am not a blind
follower of just anything thereby. I have taken on the
Nkrumahist/Rawlings factor for critical comment/condemnation
if need be. That's me.
I often choose, pick, and comment on anything that piques my
interest/curiosity, especially if that "anything" speaks to
the cause in which I believe. Don't blame me for it because
as a political animal (Aristotle recalled here for
emphasis), I cannot stand aloof when major issues affecting
life crop up. And as the good old Dante Alighieri puts it,
the hottest place in hell is reserved for those who, while
on earth, refused to participate in
events/issues/discussions affecting humanity. I don't want
to go to that place in the after-life and will be active in
participating in such events/issues/discussions thr4ough my
writings. And there is a lot to do.
For now, those in the NPP want to set Ghana ablaze because
they think that their efforts at accomplishing their
objective of returning to power are being thwarted by the
political/electoral structures. What a massive waywardness!!
And that is where I come in to take them on.
On the other hand, the NDC thinks that possibilities for
solving the NPP's problems haven't yet been fully exhausted
to warrant any recourse to violence and mayhem and that the
EC must be given a free hand to handle affairs first.
Meantime, the NDC administration is grappling with problems
that defy solutions, which adds more fuel to the agitation
for its mandate not to be removed. What else could be
inviting for comment than these happenings? And why should I
not sit up to air my views?
Why should I sit back unconcerned? I won't, which is why I
am up on my feet the way I have been all this while. You
must do so too if you have any interest in the country's
well-being in the future. Democracy has its challenges that
we must comprehend and tackle-—only if we are -up-and-doing,
not sitting down to be spoon-fed with trash to serve the
narrow, parochial, and selfish and damaging interests of
those who think that they have a natural birth right to rule
us. Aristocracy under a democracy? Dangerous crap!!
And we should make our voices heard so that when we pay our
dues to Nature, we will be remembered by those we take to
task in our opinion pieces. Whether it will be for good or
bad is “our back case” (as my good friends will put it).
But, at least, we will be remembered for making our presence
felt in this troubled, sickened world.
We are bold people who fear nothing for our personal lives
or whatever. We say it as it should be said and wait for
those who want to strike first to make the faulty move. And
they will end up being last. No amount of intimidation will
deter us from doing what we have chosen to do. We will
continue to write on pertinent issues and ensure that we are
not left behind. Those who cannot cope with us can choose to
con and conk themselves.
I am Michael J.K. Bokor; and I approve (of) this message.
• E-mail: mjbokor@yahoo.com
• Join me on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/mjkbokor
to continue the conversation.
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