Politics of doublespeak
George Orwell, in his novel “1984” actually published in 1948 spoke about doublespeak which underlines insincerity when people, for political reasons, turn logic upside down for political gain.
On Wednesday during the 2pm news on GBC News, Adib Sanni, described as a security analyst, was invited to offer his views on the spate of post-election violence and reckless attacks on state institutions, including the locking up of offices of district assemblies and the looting of items, in the name of protecting assets from being stolen.
Like Orwell (Eric Anthony Blair) has predicted in his novel, he condemned the acts in very strong terms and urged no Ghanaian to attempt to rationalise the deviant and devilish acts. But in typical doublespeak he explained the developments and justified them.
He cited for instance the invasion of Ghana Gas justifying it because the Public Relations Officer of the company, Owusu Bempah, has been embroiled in partisan politics, instead of being a technocrat.
Despite the fact that he described the hooligans and invaders as without clear political identity, he cited a development in Tamale, and said NPP supporters invaded a warehouse at the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly and looted items they described as something they were going to receive as handshake or thank you for voting for the party.
As it turned out, the warehouse was stocked with items meant for Senior High Schools under the Free SHS programme in the region. How was he so certain in this one but he did not make any reference to what happened at Maamobi in Accra!
Unidentifiable
The President-elect, John Dramani Mahama, addressed Ghanaians on Tuesday on the same disturbing matter and in the same doublespeak indicated that the criminals cannot be identified and must be dealt with as criminals,
He added that since we have a government, those with state power must apply the coercive power and use the National Security architecture to maintain law and order by enforcing security and deal decisively with the deviants and hoodlums.
Whilst it is true that there is a government, it is not true that the hooligans cannot be identified, when the coordinated acts of violent attacks, including the burning of offices of the Electoral Commission and election materials, have a chorus, “our government has come and public property must be ceded to us” and anchored on the appeal from the leadership of the NDC for their supporters to resort to any means to protect their win since the last time they respected themselves by following the rule of law and due process, they were cheated.
We must be able to state facts as they are and not indulge in euphemism by calling a spade a spade rather than as a digging instrument.
The NDC must own up and accept the fact that it was Sammy Gyamfi who ignited such bestiary and dastardly acts by calling upon supporters to rise and defend their win. This was resonated by the party chairman Johnson Asiedu Nketiah.
It is most unfortunate that even in victory, supporters of the NDC have enmeshed themselves in violent conduct and gone on a looting criminality. This could suggest that if the party had lost, this country could have plunged into civil war since the others would not have sat idly by.
Subservient
If there is any political reality, it is the fact that people have very little understanding and appreciation of democratic tenets.
All they know is that when the party they support wins power, in a winner-takes-all frame, then the state and government merge and the state becomes subservient to the government.
What a shame that we have had a very peaceful, orderly and transparent election but the aftermath has been deadly, bloody, violent and underlined by impunity.
There was also Senyo Hosi, who on national television, GBC, used very harsh and unguarded words, without restraint and circumspection, on Tuesday, December 10 in describing the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, as the most selfish, self-centred, power-drunk, wicked but the weakest President ever to govern Ghana.
He even suggested that President Akufo-Addo was the reason for the loss of Dr Mahamadu Bawumia, a suggestion which presupposes that he might be a supporter of the NPP.
What these people have forgotten is that they all condemned the limited deployment of military personnel, as part of the election security task force. President-elect John Mahama described the presence of the soldiers as a shame and stain on our democracy whilst Adib Sanni said it was orchestrated by some selfish and ill-trained senior officers within the Military High Command who are bootlicking and protecting the interest of a few politicians and sacrificing the national interest, which they have sworn to defend.
At the time, did they not know that the government was responsible for maintaining law and order, national security and peace?
They have all engaged in doublespeak.
Now that the buck has been pushed to the doors of the government, the President must act decisively including ordering to shoot and kill any of the deviants who attempts to take the law into their own hands.
When we are overwhelmed with robbery and other disorderly acts, we act with decisiveness.
The police must move beyond dialogue and act with firmness to be on top.
But let us wait to see who the hoodlums and political gangsters really are if their prosecution is not concluded before the change of government.
If they cannot be identified as claimed by Adib Sanni and President-elect John Dramani Mahama, we would know, depending on whether their prosecution would continue or be terminated after January 7, 2025.
In the meantime we can delight ourselves by engaging in meaningless partisan political doublespeak and pretend that we are objectively concerned about the national interest.