The absurdity of it
Quite a lot of people do no not usually look forward to Monday mornings for different reasons. Among them are those who simply would not want to get out of the inertia of the weekend. I have had people saying “No, Monday is not good enough; Tuesday or any other day will do.†They refer to it as the ‘Monday blues’. I have normally been indifferent on the issue, that is until yesterday morning when I had my own dose of that Monday blues feeling. (Photo: Dr. Sama Banya)
In my case however it was brought on by two front page headlines and their subsequent stories in the African Champion newspaper.
The first read, “John Benjamin begs for APC to cancel inquest.†The paper then gave an accurate account of the SLPP chairman’s readout story to the UN Secretary-General Ban-Ki-Moon. Throughout the African Champion’s account there is no mention of an apology or anything resembling one. And so one wonders as to the reason for the newspaper’s concocted story about John Benjamin pleading for the APC to abandon its planned divisive proposal for an inquest.
The second equally fabricated or mischief-making headline reads, “SLPP MPs deposed!†To begin with only the editor understands the expression of MPs being deposed. But here again, the story is that because the party chairman makes public statements in line with the party’s decisions he is usurping the prerogative of the opposition members in Parliament. What absurdity. What absolute bunkum! Does the editor actually understand the role of the national chairman of our party vis-à -vis the members of Parliament or is he simply trying his hand at putting an APC cat among SLPP pigeons? Has he ever set eyes on our constitution, old and revised? My gut feeling is that it is something of both.
In the first place he does not understand their different roles; and in the next his present action is a continuation of his determination unsuccessful though it will be, to sew the seeds of disaffection within our party.
Of late he has made himself a repository for perceived grouses and dissatisfaction among our membership. He has assumed the role of a father confessor, the difference being that the stories are usually made up by him. I pity the managing editor because he is labouring under an illusion. If only the poor over ambitious fellow was aware of the determination and unity of purpose among our rank and file he would not attempt such amateur misadventures. The tragedy is that people like him never learn; he perceives his present ploy as the best way of getting Victor Foh’s or IB Kargbo’s attention and favour.
The minority SLPP Parliamentary leader was quite lucid on SLBC’s tea break programme on Monday morning. The party had a matter before the Supreme Court challenging the legality of Christiana Thorpe’s previous action and therefore they could not see themselves supporting her nomination while the matter was pending. There was one person who had both the professional and legal authority to confirm the opposition party’s position and that was the honourable Mr. Speaker, but he didn’t.
As pointed out in the Awareness Times of Monday June 21, when a similar situation arose over the proposed nomination of Mr. Ahmed by President Ahmad Tejan-Kabbah, the opposition APC raised concerns and President Tejan-Kabbah withdrew the nomination. But not the APC. It had decided to renew the mandate of Ms.Thorpe and that was it. And as honorable Momoh Pujeh confirmed, the opposition members did not just walk out of the selection committee meetings; they raised objections which they said were bluntly overruled by the majority leader. That is democracy for you, APC style.
The 2007 Parliamentary and Presidential elections took place under the aegis of the SLPP government and were internationally  acclaimed as free and fair. The opposition SLPP has never criticized those elections. What we criticized then and continue to do till today is the tallying of the result, with particular reference to those botched up figures of Madam Thorpe. WE CONTINUE TO CLAIM THAT THANKS, BUT NO THANKS, TO HER WE LOST THE RESULTS.
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