Valerie Sawyerr November Writes The Big Tree Is Falling

As I gaze at my stubborn plant on my patio that has flowered for the first time in a year, and savour its distinct beauty, a song keeps coming to mind ... a song about a ‘big tree and a small axe’ - Bob Marley & The Wailers 1973:

‘If you are the biiiiiig treeeeee

We are the smaaaaall aaaaaxe, Sharpened to cut you down (well sharp) Ready to cut you down, oh, yeah’.

Those who were in the political struggle in Ghana in 2008 cannot forget this song. First-round elections moved into second-round elections, then moved into the decisive Tain Constituency election with our Flagbearer, Professor Atta Mills and his able Running Mate, John Mahama. You could cut the political tension in the air with a knife. Excitement was rife as we moved from one stage to another, sensing and smelling victory.

Radio Gold was at its best with its night broadcasts, a program called ‘Election Forensics’ where things happening in the dark were brought to light. We huddled next to our radio sets all through the night because, come hell or high water, Radio Gold would release new, significant, real-time revelations, throwing light on dark, evil machinations for political power and making it challenging for the perpetrators to conclude the execution of these deeds.

Efforts to clamp down on the station to enable control of the media airwaves with pro-NPP stations and rhetoric were resisted stoically. Threats to burn down Radio Gold led to a spontaneous gathering of people who formed a human chain around the station, challenging the Government to set them ablaze before burning down the station. Suspected assassins stalked the station’s presenters and employees to hurt them or snuff out their lives. Dramatic? Sure! But these are facts, not fiction!

When the pot was boiling and scalding hot, we would hear the truth from the station as opposed to the propaganda and staged broadcasts elsewhere. No wonder the NPP Government found a way to shut it down when they took over the reins of government. Getting towards the end, when we tuned in, the voice of the maestro Bob Marley would permeate the airwaves. It seemed like a particular song had been set on replay ... it just kept playing repeatedly ....Valerie Sawyerr