Cock fight to Conclusion

To call last week a week of road -traffic-accidents (RTA)/accidents/violence and drama will not be far from the truth.

1. Atwedie - A RTA on Friday 11th October 2024 at Atwedie, near Juaso on the Accra-Kumasi Highway involving a VIP-bus and a Sprinter-bus resulted in the death of 8 people.

2. Kwapea - At Kwapea near Obuasi, an Enchi-bound VIP-bus veered off the road into a river killing 17 passengers on Sunday 11th October 2024.

3. East Legon - At East Legon on 12th October 2024, an over-speeding 16-year old boy crashed into a vehicle killing two who were burnt beyond recognition.

4. Budumburam -  Rocks being blasted in road construction on 14th October 2024 killed three persons with over forty injured.

5. At Mamobi on 14th October 2024, what started as “health-walks” ended up with shootings as supporters of the two leading parties clashed resulting in injuries.

Are these accidents/violence a self-fulfilling prophesy of mishaps that plague election years?

Before discussing violence, the Black Stars, once the pride of Ghana under Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah when we were little boys in the 1960s, lost 0-2 to Kwasi Appiah-led Sudan in Libya, home ground of war-torn Sudan on 15th October 2024! As David bemoaned the death of Saul and Jonathan at the hands of Philistines, he stated, “how are the mighty fallen?”

Ntinda

Violence/intemperate language as the 7th December, 2024 Elections approach remind me of my first sojourn in East Africa. For eighteen months between 2008-2009, I lived at Ntinda, a suburb of Kampala, capital of Uganda. What took me there?

In 2007, the Secretary-General of the UN, HE Kofi Annan appointed former president of Mozambique HE Joaquim Chissano as the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General (SESG) for the Lord’s-Resistance-Army (LRA)-Affected-Areas of Uganda, South Sudan, DRC and the Central African Republic.  The LRA was a nondescript pseudo-religious terrorist group led by a primary school dropout Joseph Kony, which terrorised the four countries mentioned. Rape, maiming and gruesome killings were their trademark. I was the UN Senior Military Adviser to President Chissano.

A relatively insignificant event one morning involving two cocks caught my attention, resulting in my article in 2023 titled “February 24th. hellip;.” Part stated;

QUOTE

Cock-fight

Minutes after I left home on 24th February 2023 for my morning walk, I saw two cocks fighting around a nearby pre-school compound. They reminded me of a similar cock-fight close to my home in Ntinda-Kampala, Uganda in 2009 early in the morning as I went for my walk.

When I came out of my gated-community in the suburb of Ntinda, Kampala early that morning of 24th February 2009 for my walk, I saw two cocks engaged in what I reckoned was a temporary duel. So, with the few stones I threw at them, I thought I had brought an end to their fight, and continued with my walk. On my return an hour later, I was surprised to see them still fighting and bleeding from their injuries. Once again, I separated them with stones I threw at them. As I drove out to my office around 8am, I saw them still fighting. This time, I chased them away. With my peacekeeping role over as I thought, I left for the office.

To my utter surprise when I returned home that evening, the two cocks were still fighting. This time, it was like two heavyweight boxers in the twelfth/last round of a world title fight. Both were exhausted and bleeding profusely, but continued to fight with the little energy left in them. It was a clear case of “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak!” Again, I threw stones at them to stop fighting. The following morning, when I got to the matadorial arena they had converted the school football-field into, both cocks were lying next to each other, dead!

I asked myself, what would cocks whose ultimate destination is the soup-pot, be so angry about, as to fight bitterly to death?

UNQUOTE

Discussion

Driving continues to degenerate into a dangerous macho activity in Ghana with the display of indiscipline at its highest. Speed limits are disrespected, hence the daily occurrence of RTAs. An over-speeding 16 year-old killed two persons at East Legon, a residential area, and not a highway/racing-track. Where is parental responsibility? Where is law enforcement? A clip on the father of the 16-year-old killer-driver, has him bragging that while the law works in the US, here he drives a vehicle without a number plate and without a driving license. He adds sadly that when the police see him, they defer to him and salute him! Such impunity, as he adds “who born dog?”

Do drivers of the VIP buses undergo any rigorous training drivers of State Transport Corporation buses underwent yesteryears? The spate of VIP-bus accidents does not suggest so.  So, what are the agencies for road safety doing? It is obvious that while death of “celebrities”/big-people in RTAs makes headline news, VIP-death are reduced to mere statistics!

For the Mamobi fighters and their ilk foot-soldiers, does it not occur to them that, they are only cannon-fodder for politicians achieving power? Do they ever ask themselves where the children/relatives of the politicians are during such confrontations?

Perhaps, but for the serious involvement of some politicians in galamsey as the Speaker said, hence their defence of the destruction of the environment, Ghana would have been a more developed country, given our human and natural endowment!

In my recent article titled “Peace-time scorched-earth policy?” I concluded as follows.

Quote

“Remember Shakespeare’s quote, “the evil that men do lives after them; the good is often interred with their bones!” Deliberately polluting/poisoning water is a War Crime under the Geneva Conventions. Galamsey is an existential threat to Ghana. So, how come greed for gold for individual pockets has become more significant than the lives of Ghanaians? Remember, despite his high rank/position as a Colonel in the British Army, Oliver Cromwell’s legacy is that of a common criminal for regicide in the execution of King Charles I in 1649.

We started as a great nation in 1957 under a selfless leadership. Ghanaians do not deserve this self-inflicted ‘monumental embarrassment’/disaster of drinking galamsey-water contaminated by mercury/cyanide/lead because of conscienceless/greedy/selfish oligarchs!”

Unquote

Let us treat each other with respect and not behave like the two Ugandan cocks which fought to death! Ultimately, no matter their wealth, politicians will die, just as paupers will. Even Methuselah died at 969!! A recent clip summarized life saying, “it all ends in a box (coffin).” So, why this canker of blatant state-capture of greedily grabbing all lands/other state assets in sight, lies, arrogance and poisoning our rivers for gold as if they will live forever?

Need I say more?

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, Teshie-Accra

[email#160;protected]

 

 

Brig Gen Dan Frimpong (Rtd), Former CEO, African Peace Support Trainers Association, Nairobi, Kenya