Too Good to be True

Following UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s call for early elections in May 2024, elections were held in the UK on 4 July 2024.

The outcome was as dramatic as it was on 23rd June 2016 when following the resignation of David Cameron, new Conservatives’ leader Theresa May, led the UK out of the EU in what became known as BREXIT after winning a referendum. The unexpected victory of the Conservative Tories over Labour in June 2016 was described by the British Press as a “stratospheric-somersault,” and a “seismic-shocker.”

This time around, Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives were comprehensively beaten when they got only 121 seats as against Labour’s 421, with the other Parties sharing what was left of the 650 seats of the House-of-Commons.

The following day on 5 July 2024, the Opposition Labour Leader, Sir Keir Starmer was sworn in as the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Listening to events unfold in the UK elections, my mind rather inexplicably, took a deep dive into history recalling an incident in the UK almost fifty years ago. In 1985, I trained at the Royal Armour Corps Centre, Bovington, Dorset, UK where an incident happened on a Saturday morning. I titled the article I wrote on the incident “Too good to be true!”

Bovington

The regulation at the Bovington Officers Mess where the thirty of us officers on course lived was that, anyone who wanted to be fed over the weekend must book a day earlier on Friday. The twenty-eight British officers never spent weekends there. My only foreign colleague was from a Gulf-State. Like the English officers, he never spent the weekend in Bovington. Indeed, car-rental companies competed calling him from Wednesday to pick him to London on Friday evening. Undoubtedly, his tips were hefty.

I was therefore the only one who patronized the Mess every weekend, the result of my poor finances.

The quote below continues the story;

QUOTE

John was 63, a Second World War Veteran, humorous and very friendly. Tracy was in her early 50s. Both served in the Mess where I lived and appeared to be good friends, always chatting, with the chat occasionally being upgraded into an argument as the tone suggested. On this occasion, I am not sure what the debate was about, but as soon as I entered the Mess, John took off like a jet towards the kitchen and with extreme excitement shouted;

“Tracyyy, he is in! Didn’t I tell you? It was too good to be true!”

As I walked with a heavy head towards the nearest chair, I asked myself what was too good to be true about my coming for breakfast on a Saturday morning as I always did?

Then I remembered that, the previous day Friday, somehow I forgot to book I would be around as I always did, and therefore needed to be fed. Obviously, the non-appearance of that constant name in the book must have triggered off a debate between John and Tracy. Was it possible that this officer who had patronized all weekend meals without fail was for once not showing up this weekend? It was easy for me to guess not only the topic for the debate, but also who proposed and who countered the motion. The topic could have been:

IT IS NOT POSSIBLE FOR THIS OFFICER FROM THE WEST COAST OF AFRICA NOT TO APPEAR FOR ALL WEEKEND MEALS.

When I suddenly appeared for breakfast that Saturday morning without any booking therefore, John could not help but shout his triumph over Tracy who in a motherly manner may have held brief for me, suggesting that I may have gone out!

UNQUOTE

Discussion

Unfortunately for me, that was not the only time I suffered such embarrassment on a course overseas. Some years later, this scenario got repeated in the USA while on another course. However, the “pecuniary embarrassment,” (in the words of a lecturer of mine at Legon,) which I suffered was “home-made and self-inflicted!”

This was in the revolutionary era of 1979/1981 and aftermath where, as “vanguards” of the revolution, military personnel on courses overseas had their allowances slashed down to ten dollars ($10) per day! It was particularly challenging in the USA where I had to feed myself, unlike the UK where we were centrally fed. In contrast to my $10/day, my Nigerian brothers at the Armour School, Fort Knox, Kentucky, USA with me, took around $200/day.

Lessons

UK has just had elections without the world hearing of them like happens in Ghana. Soldiers were not deployed following politicians everywhere with weapons. The voting day was 4 July 2024. Soon after that, the incumbent Prime Minister Rishi Sunak conceded defeat. On 5 July, the new PM Keir Starmer was sworn in. Simple and decent!

Why do we make Rocket Science of our elections in Ghana, making insults, disrespect and violence part of elections? In the words of Prof Kwesi Aning to MPs during our 64th Republic Anniversary Public Lecture at KAIPTC, Teshie on 1st July 2024, “we must up our game,” as human-beings, so Ghana will be respected in the comity of nations.

Finally, as TS Elliot wrote,

“Of all the virtues, Humility is the most challenging to attain, because nothing dies harder than the desire to think well of oneself.”

As 7th December 2024 approaches, remember humility’s reward for a leader is exponential. Let us not disprove the African of the last Millennium Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkumah’s dictum that, the black man is capable of managing his own affairs! That the Ghanaian is capable of managing his own affairs must not be “too good to be true,” if honest leadership, respect, selflessness and integrity replace greed, disrespect and selfishness.

Ghana must rise again!

Leadership, lead by example! Fellow Ghanaians, WAKE UP!

 
Brig Gen Dan Frimpong (Rtd)

Former CEO, African Peace Support Trainers Association

Nairobi, Kenya

Council Chairman, Family Health University College, Accra                            

[email#160;protected]

 

Brig Gen Dan Frimpong (Rtd)