By Sulemana Abubakari Hamza
0598690900
To build a decent political system in the midst of unjust vilification and character assassination in a country which cannot get its basic economics right is such a daunting task. It is often asserted by pundits that nations that got their economics right, first, got their politics right.
In the course of political and public discourse, trivialities and vilifications often mask more pernicious intentions. These seemingly unrelated creations and undeserving commentary, when used strategically, can become destructive tools for character assassination and collapsed of democratic institutions.
Often times what begins as an innocuous observation or a light-hearted remark can, if not checked, translate into a fully-fledged attack on an individual’s reputation, especially when wielded by people with political mischievous intentions and witch-hunting antics.
The NPP’s incessant attacks and deliberate vilification of former President John Dramani Mahama is nothing but a clear case of political witch-hunting and character assassination aimed at tarnishing his reputation. Indeed, if there was ever an honest and patient politicain in Ghana’s current political dispensation, then it is none other but H. E John Dramani Mahama.
The NPP together with its appendages in the media and other groupings have constantly levelled all manner of unfounded allegations against the person of H.E John Dramani Mahama. And they often do so, with mischief under their closet. Well, as has been unequivocally professed by the former President himself, “posterity will be my judge.” Indeed, posterity and time have vindicated and judged him even before the end times.
The report released by the Special Prosecutor about the complexity or otherwise of H.E John Dramani Mahama in the supposed Airbus scandal, must among other things shape the overly polarised political atmosphere in Ghana. The deliberate and reckless vilification of political opponents and politics of character assassination based on nothing but politically motivated rhetorics must give way for reasonable politics and proper national conversation.
Indeed, the vindication of the former President has overwhelmingly demonstrated that, one can’t undo what God has done. If God has blessed someone, no man born of a woman can curse and undo the blessings of the most high.
Some media houses in Ghana today, are complicit in this heinous canker of character assassination, the spin-game and deliberate attempt to dent people’s hard-earned reputation. In an already polarized environment, where ideological persuasions are deep and entrenched, malicious attacks on political opponents and deliberate misrepresentation of facts become even more potent and dangerous tool to reverse our democratic journey.
The media is supposed to critically and intellectually evaluate and ascertain the veracity of the issues or allegations smeared at people before going out with their report. Conversely most unfortunately, the media, unethically, have often allowed their platforms or themselves to be used as the stage-post in misinformation and misrepresentations.
Justifiably or unjustifiably, we must as a people treat with disdain any attempts to attack respectable and senior statesmen of our dear country without any substantial evidence to that effect. Constantly engaging in pedestrian political discourse and a groundswell political witch-hunting in an already polarized political environment is an existential threat to the integrity of Ghana’s democracy, its allied institutions and the quality of political discourse.
While the temptation to engage in such practices may be strong in a divided society, the long-term consequences are deeply and largely devastating. To preserve democracy and promote a more just and equitable political system in Ghana, it is important, that we unanimously resist the allure of political witch-hunting and deliberate vilifications and recommit to the principles of fairness, justice, and respect for all individuals, regardless of their political beliefs.
I humbly submit as a fair-minded lover of democracy.
