I read a piece attributed to Prof Stephen B. Kendie who signed off as Chairman, Progressive Intellectuals. My first reaction was to reach out to the dancing shoes, hoping that academics have finally arrived, and as it is often said in Ghana lately, ready to speak truth to power. Following from this preliminary hope I searched for the learned Prof on Google. Among others, Prof has expertise in Urban and Policy studies. I am told Prof is on Post-retirement contract. In his widely circulated piece, Professor Kendie outlined a variegated list of issues that constitute his assessment tool box for tyranny in Ghana. My interest in the piece was guided by what is known to every honest Ghanaian: that several ills have come to be associated with democracy and good governance since the advent of the fourth republic.
Unfortunately, the Prof dithered around trying to impose on everybody, including reasonable women and men, a list of ills and misdoings that in his view only surfaced under the leadership of the Akufo-Addo/ Bawumia government.
It was terrible to read this line from the Prof “…which insist only a section of the population has the right to rule.” Then came the shocker in the following lines “..in order to minimise the chances of the opposition winning during the 2020 elections.” From this point I made a solemn resolution that I was not reading from Prof Kendie, the University of Cape Coast academic, but a hard core and unrefined party footsoldier, with a gargantuan appetite for identity politics and bigotry, and a huge axe to grind! The rest of this article proceeds from this premise, once the academic veil has been removed.
The Prof lamented the fact that many appointments for which advertisements and merit recruitments should have been done went to party members. He even had the temerity to mention appointments made to Universities in Wa and Navrongo. My information is that the Prof has always been in town and was appointed by President John Mahama as Council Chairman for UDS.
The Prof’s charge is thus a bit two-faced and alarming to read. Without necessarily justifying this, it is fair to say that in earlier times such signals were ignored because the Prof’s ‘people’ were in charge. Any honest academic, with the benefit of history would have seen abundant cause for worry, not despair.
Academics like to critique, this is part of the calling. I like engaging academics who apply the toothcomb of objective analysis to public policies, especially when they detach emotions and stick to issues that seek to correct, secure justice, development, and tackle other ills in society. Sadly there is an emerging strain of academics who are quick to criticize but resort to victimhood when subjected to the same standards. Prof Kendie falls in this group and I hope that he takes this piece as my right (just as he has his) to point out the hypocrisy he represents. When an academic resorts to dishonest and plain partisan adumbrations, you cannot help but to argue that he represents all that is wrong with our society.
Prof Kendie, and his so-called Progressive Intellectuals have become so self-important that they are blind to their own biases, and are usually confused about the basic difference between facts and opinions. And so they go about indiscriminately tossing terms and phraseology about. To equate the current dispensation to tyranny is to invite others to scrutinize any Prof who clamours for a post-retirement contract because he has not only failed to mentor younger faculty members but has continued to be a dinosaur terrorizing and intimidating students and colleagues. They represent tyranny, with additional small power! It is even ridiculous that this call is coming from somebody who was employed by a President who once said he would use a sledge hammer to kill an ant. The lawyers would simply say those who seek equity must come with clean hands!
The Prof tried wearing his academic gown when he wrote in the concluding parts that “this country needs to be refocused to take care of the marginalised the vulnerable, women and children, not the few who are politically connected.” On any day I will support this call but for the fact that it is coming from discredited politically connected sources that only remember the existence of vulnerable people when they don’t get to be chairmen of councils or sit on state boards. It is a shame that Prof has come to the realisation so late in the day. I would have dissected every point raised by the Prof in a much more nuanced way for the better of our democracy.
Sadly, the Prof has not produced a compelling text normally deserving of any attention. I see an attempt to remain relevant by somebody who cannot resist playing the victim card even though he watched gleefully, and perhaps grabbed shamelessly when his paymasters called the shots. It is worrying that the Prof seems to have empty faith in state institutions when his people are not in power. Otherwise, how can an invitation by the CID to Bernard Mornah and Koku Anyidoho be likened to tyranny? Forget about the fact that the Prof travelled when Kennedy Agyepong was arrested and hauled before a court of competent jurisdiction for making similar reckless remarks as the duo he referenced. All in all, I will say, that this odyssey in academic muddle feels like a signpost on the road back to an era where lies and propaganda found nourishment and individual and partisan greed presented as dominant national views.
I would even applaud the Prof if he stands on an NDC platform to criticize the government and regurgitate half-truths.
Prof and his Progressive Intellectuals will have to do a lot better than this ‘party press release’ if they want to make a compelling case for good governance.
Academic footsoldiers (whichever party they belong) portend significant risks to our democracy than any perceived tyrant.
In conclusion, I will like to remind the Prof that it is alright to belong to parties. It is good news for our democracy to have credible academics take on the government on every facet of governance and economic management. But ignoring the many parallels in previous regimes is at best disingenuous. Serious academics frown on this. I still want to believe the Prof didn’t author the piece, in which case all the above criticisms should be rerouted to the author.
By Seth Osei Darko, Accra
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