|
|
Democratic Glows from National
Awards
By Kofi
Akosah-Sarpong
The row that engulfed the award of national honours that
was instituted to 244 persons for their distinct
services to Ghana reflects the country’s growing
democracy and the growing philosophy of inclusiveness
against the backdrop of the 56 ethnic groups that form
the Ghana nation-state.
Ghana’s democracy is rocking and Ghanaians can debate
their issues without any strings to the extent that even
President John Kufour considered controversial Ghanaians
such as Kojo Tsikata, a former National Security Adviser
who should be unfit for national award because of his
human rights violation and his long-running disturbances
of the nation-state.
Ghanaians can talk openly now, as the ever growing FM
stations country-wide show, they can participate through
the increasingly freer and enriched mass media in
national affairs without fear of intimidation,
harassment, disappearing or being killed as was the case
during 21 years of military juntas and 6 years of
one-party regimes. Ghanaians could not express
themselves openly and critically as possible on issues
that affected them dearly. The on-going 16-year-old
democratic dispensation has made Ghanaians enjoy the
immense benefits of democratic values – freedom of
speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of political
choices and all the other freedoms that grease progress.
It is in such freer democratic atmosphere that for the
good part of Ghana’s 51-year existence Ghanaians have
become openly interested in those among them honoured
for their unique services to the state. Whether some of
the honourees weren’t deemed fit for the awards, as some
say of Kojo Tsikata or some rejected the honour on
varied grounds, democracy has allowed Ghanaians the
platform to discuss issues revealing their agreements
and disagreements without fear of being killed or
disappearing as was the case 20 years ago.
And this has made the government, opposition parties,
civil society and the mass media engaged in healthy
democratic dance for the good of Ghana. Backtracking
from earlier statements and that engendered critical
statements such as “self glorification,” Information and
National Orientation Minister, Asamoah Boateng, said the
244 names on the list for the National Awards had
included President John Kufuor and ex-President Jerry
Rawlings for reconciliation reasons in the climate of
higher thinking and traditional wisdom.
Minority Leader Alban Bagbin rejected the national
awards on the grounds that “I am just serving the nation
by virtue of my position as Minority Leader in
Parliament. This alone does not deserve a national
award.” From within Kufour’s own ruling National
Patriotic Party, Member of Parliament, Kennedy Agyepong,
in questioning why Kufour should honour himself,
wondered why Andrew Awuni, Press Secretary to the
President and Presidential Spokesperson, should be
“honoured simply for serving as the Press Secretary to
the President for barely two years.” Nii Moi Thompson,
an economist at the University of Ghana, thought the
National Awards was so cheesy that he launched his own
“Heroes and Heroines Award of Ghana.”
That’s democracy at work. After years of profound crisis
of intellectual unfreedom (especially during the almost
20 years of the PNDC/NDC rules where the regimes were
prone to intolerance and fanaticism), against the
backdrop of traditional Ghanaian humanistic debate,
learning and philosophy, the national debate about the
National Awards reveal the Indian Nobel Prize-winning
laureate Amatya Sen reasoning that development
necessitates the unblocking of foremost sources of
unfreedom – “poverty as well as tyranny, poor economic
opportunities as well as systematic social deprivation,
neglect public facilities as well as intolerance or
overactivity of repressive states.”
So how healthy Ghana’s democracy is seen in the sparks
generated by the National Awards row. As Sen would say,
the National Award noise is part of development in
freedom, “where one need not choose between social
welfare indicators – food, healthcare, clean water, etc
– and freedom,” and thus making democratic freedom a key
driver of development, especially in Ghana where the
country went through 21 years of mindless military
juntas and 6 years of one-party regimes
Kofi
Akosah-Sarpong, Canada, July 15, 2008
|
