With the above title of this epistle, there would be two dominant reactions of citizens and denizens alike who are reading it right now. For any Akyim Mafia or an Asante criminal, this is the biggest story of the century. A story bigger than a president of a full republic plagiarizing the speech of another president; it’s a story bigger than Ghana economy adjudged as the worst in the world; a story bigger than shortage of food at Senior High Schools; a story bigger than the galloping numbers of teenage pregnancies among Free SHS girls; and certainly, a story bigger than the assassination of Ahmed Suale, Mohammed Kaaka, and late MP JB Danquah.
The other reactions from citizens and denizens alike, upon seeing the above title would be that of those who would sigh in disappointment and said: “ah, they have succeeded in hanging the innocent man and the only political godfather and demagogue who could have navigated Ghana out of the current appalling mess. Oh! God, Ghana is doomed.”
For any member of this ruling party and government that has perfected the art of political buccaneering, the arrest of former President Mahama because of Airbus Scandal would have been a dream come true. The beehive of euphoria and hysteria it would have created could make many shop owners at Kejetia to sell their products and items for free for couple of days if not weeks. The writer would have been the most fantastic scribbler the world have ever seen.
Thank God the above title doesn’t go beyond the length of sarcasm and mockery of all those who are seeking to throw mud against innocent people and wishing some would stick.
Most probably, the Airbus SE bribery scandal has been one most hyperbolized story among the rank and file of the NPP, and they wish to drum home the same narrative in the ear of every Ghanaian.
This is because the agenda to arrest president Mahama and subsequent prosecution is probably the single most important reason why Akufo Addo decided to put up that, arguably, most useless, criminal, and biased Office of the Special Prosecutor.
But the good news is that, God is neither an Akyim Mafia nor the Cabal of the ruling New Patriotic Party, NPP.
Fellow Ghanaians, it’s an attack on our collective common sense for the Office of the Special Prosecutor to decide to resurrect the so-called Airbus Scandal involvement of the former President of the Republic of Ghana: His Excellency John Dramani Mahama. He might have seen Ghanaians as some collectible bunch of empty-headed-nonentities.
How many times does the NPP government want to investigate this most baseless claims that Mr. Mahama likely took a bribe in the Airbus global scandal? An accusation capable of making Jesus Christ blush.
Since 2012, the NPP has consistently tried to smear campaign the former president for nothing. Every other general election, the NPP would find an idiot to make an airy-fairy comments about investigating the Airbus Scandal. Later, the matter would be made to die a natural death until another election. The NPP seems to take delight in downplaying the intelligence and cognitive abilities of Ghanaians for the past three elections about Mahama’s involvement in the Airbus scandal, and the need to resurrect the matter. Even Jesus himself didn’t resurrect Lazarus twice.
But I begrudge them not: hate is thick where love is thin. It’s simply hatred for the former President. The NPP hate Mahama. Because all that they said about Mahama has come back to hunt and haunt them.
In the land of my mothers (Dagbon), it is said that only our enemies complain of dust when we are swimming. This is how pathetic our politics has become. Hate. Envy. Enmity. Naughtiness.
Fellow Ghanaians, before we delve into this matter of Airbus scandal once and for all, please consider this illustration, scenario and analogy so as to judge for yourselves whether former President Mahama’s so-called involvement in that global exposé was really the case or just political malice against him.
Assuming you’re a vice President of your organization, and a certain company wants to sell furniture to that organization. So the company decides to employ your cousin or brother as a middleman and marketing officer. And through your cousin or brother, they reached out to your organization as a company who are into the sales of furniture. If your cousin or brother reaches out to you to allow your organization to purchase furniture from his company, how does this amount to bribery if later a foreign law or policy charges the company of corruption for using influence peddling to selling to your organization?
Fellow Ghanaians, are we together on this simple analogy and illustration?
Again, imagine because of your wife working at a certain restaurant, you choose to always eat launch there every afternoon. And assuming as the vice President of the University Teachers Association of Ghana, UTAG, you choose to procure food and soft drinks for your group members during a program from that restaurant where your wife works. How does this amount to bribery and corruption if later it is alleged that the restaurant management employed your wife because of you in order that you could buy the food for your UTAG members from that restaurant?
Now, let us assume the said restaurant belongs to an umbrella company of restaurants where a law is made to prohibit the use of influence peddling to gain clients over other restaurants within that company of restaurants. And as a result of which the restaurant that employed your wife is indicted for wrongdoing.
Fellow Ghanaians, the restaurant in this analogy and scenario is the Airbus SE in aerospace industry in France; the wife in the analogy is former President Mahama’s brother, Samuel Adam Mahama; and the Umbrella Company of the restaurants are the investigative agencies of the UK, USA, and France.
Pay attention fellow Ghanaians. If the investigative authorities realized it was due to the employment of the wife by the restaurant which led to the vice President procuring food for the UTAG members, and decide to sanction the restaurant for breaking the law against influence peddling, how does that involve the vice President or even his wife? Isn’t it the problem and trouble of the restaurant in question?
Now, won’t it sound stupid, complete tomfoolery, and smacks of envy, hatred, and enmity if some members of the organization think of putting up disciplinary hearing (Office Special Prosecutor) to investigate the vice president? Because of a case he has nothing to do with whatsoever?
It’s more interesting when that law is not even applicable to employees let alone people they know and who patronize the company because of people them. In fact, it is most interesting when neither the vice President nor his wife employed by the restaurant do not even know about any law governing this company of restaurants. In any case, do we have Ghanaians who have never bought something because of someone they know at the company or restaurant?
Fellow Ghanaians and readers, if you have paid attention to the above analogy and scenario, it is in brief and summary what the so-called Airbus scandal all about.
That, President Mahama’s younger brother, Samuel Adam Mahama, was employed by the second largest aerospace company based in France when he was least aware of any company law governing the conduct of all companies in the Arms and aerospace industry; when Samuel Adam Mahama was least aware, that he was going to be made the company’s “ambassador” (middleman) to Ghana so that, likely, his elder brother who was the then vice president, could influence Ghana’s purchase of the company’s products: Helicopters for the military of Ghana.
How does that concern the then vice president, Mr. Mahama, if later it is discovered that per law, the company that hired his brother was engaged in fraud for letting the brother serve as middleman?
In furtherance of this, the Airbus company was indicted for fraud because it has been a crime to use influence peddling either by offering bribes or any means to acquiring undue advantage over other companies in the industry. This law is called the Arms Exports Control Act (AETA) and its implementation known as the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). And the agencies in charge of these violations were the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) of the United Kingdom, Parquet National Financier (PNF) of France, and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) of the United States of America.
All this agencies took up the matter in the interest of Arms and other related companies in the USA, France, and UK. At the end of their investigation, they established that the Airbus SE Company had engaged in this fraudulent means of marketing strategy since 2008 to 2016, that involved China, Malaysia, Ghana, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Indonesia and seventeen other countries.
In all this twenty-three countries, the Airbus SE Company was accused and indicted for fraudulent and unfair marketing strategies for having middlemen who had family relatives in government. But the Company sort of pleaded not guilty of the charges and decided to pay a penalty of a whopping 3.9 billion euros to these investigative agencies as fine.
Fellow Ghanaians, the most pathetic aspect of this is that, while no country of all the other twenty-two countries saw the need to investigate any businessman or woman for this scandal of Airbus SE, Ghana wanted to know what role did former President Mahama play when his brother was employed by the Company and made him a middleman to selling the airplanes to Ghana? Balderdash! What impudence? I mean, what rubbish? And because of this, Akufo Addo has decided to abuse the public coffers by setting up this most useless office called the OSP to investigate it. If not envy, hate, wickedness, enmity, and severe sociopathic personality disorder, who would do this?
It was interesting, and very laughable that Akufo Addo appointed Martin Amidu who has been very bitter about John Dramani Mahama’s selection as a running mate to late Prof. John Atta Mills when the latter previous choice of Amidu as running mate in the 2000 and 2004 general elections didn’t materialize into political fortune of winning those elections. The NPP realizing the mortal enmity with which Martin Amidu has nursed and hatched against the presidency of former Mahama (2012-2016), decided to make Amidu the Special Prosecutor purposely to crucify Mr. Mahama. But it never worked. Because this is the most useless, baseless, senseless, lawless, and mannerless case anyone can pursue. That’s why I laughed in Greek when I heard that this useless and purposeless Special Prosecutor said he’s engaging Interpol on the matter. Let him engage ISIS, Al Qaeda and Boko Haram. Perhaps, Wagner. Nkwasiasem nkuaa!
Ghanaians should therefore not be surprised and flabbergasted the NPP keeps bringing the issue ad nauseam. Amidu failed flat! That is what has led to the recent marketing of ignorance and idiocy by the current stomach Special Prosecutor who pathologically chooses to rehash that nonsense again when he claims to have engaged Interpol. If not ignorance at its zenith, how can a “lame duck” of such unrealistic prosecutorial power and Lilliputian engage Interpol? Does the OSP think INTERPOL is a Vigilante group and vandals of the NPP? Nonsense!
Let the Special Prosecutor engage Interpol to unveil the mystery surrounding the sighting of Ghana Ambulances at Dubai. I pity the man and his miserable office. Undoubtedly, this is the only way the Special Prosecutor can also get to make himself relevant and to seek an undue attention as one of the famous ass and bootlickers of President Akufo Addo.
Let no Ghanaian pay attention to any useful idiot!
But you see, it is amazing how politics laced with hatred, envy and enmity can actually render some fine brains and flag of intelligent individuals who would have been prioritized national assets to be very stupid people. Because of their malicious agenda to adulterate and tarnish the political image and fortunes of others.
Methinks our case in Ghana is not what it means by “politics is a dirty game”; this is outright envy and enmity that takes politics beyond being a dirty game into a “gutter game.”
Apparently, the Office of the Special Prosecutor was created for Airbus Scandal and to hunt political opponents. Otherwise, it’s a common knowledge in the general air, that if the Justice system of Ghana were just, persons like grandfather Akufo Addo wouldn’t have become the president of Ghana and mess up our affairs big time like this. For they would have been companions of Nsawam longtime ago.
Let the OSP engage Interpol to unveil the circumstances surrounding the death of Ahmed Suale, JB Danquah, and Mohammed Kaaka. Did someone just mention the unprecedented corruption that has led to the collapse of the Ghanaian economy?
Won’t the Special Prosecutor engage France, UK, US to find out what did Ghana government do with IMF 2 billion dollars support to Ghana; our own internal Covid-19 Funds; how come we are where we are today as an economy? Nonsense!
May God protect every innocent Ghanaian from these official criminals, and hold them to account severely.
As for former President John Dramani Mahama, the similitude of anyone who hates, fights, and plots, his political come back as the next president of the republic of Ghana come January 2025, is like one who is throwing dust into the sky in order to stain the heavens: it’s his face that would get dirty with severe glaucoma.
In Sha Allah, former President John Dramani Mahama shall return as the president of Ghana. The skeptics, haters and phobes alike can burn the sea.
Image Credit: John Mahama
