Dr Afari Gyan
Fellow brethren and sisthren, in the name of democracy, kindly accept my humble belated wish of a Merry Christmas to you all even though I am sure that like me, many of you see no Merry in this Yuletide.
We can however wish ourselves a prosperous New Year, that is, if justice is done and the stealers of election results are caught and brought to book. Never mind the fact that the stealers are drinking Green Label and we cannot afford mahogany bitters.
I understand some of the electorate who were offered state sponsored laptops and sold their votes, have sold the laptops as well to eke out existence. You see how criminals in power or as Fela Anikulapo Kuti would put it, Vagabonds in Power, can make people poor and manipulate them?
Eei, what am I hearing again and the responses coming from the Presidency that President John Dramani Mahama has kidney problem and has been flown to the Republic of South Africa for transplant or something? And the Castle says it is not true? Hmm, not this time again ooo because we have seen some before ooo.
When a certain President was ill and the President himself knew he was ill and that his doctors knew he was ill just as well as his wife who was denied the enjoyment of Presidential marriage because of the illness, some children in the Castle with sharp teeth said the man was as strong as a fiddle. Indeed he was preparing for an Olympic game sprinter, with the Kotoka International Airport as his training grounds.
Those who were praying for his early recovery were given brand names and sold to the unsuspecting public on credit. Before the creditors could collect their monies, the goods had expired and the debts unrecoverable.
In the process the Assistant Sales Manager became the Marketing Manager and sold the same old discredited goods at higher prices, this time for free in return for something more precious.
Today they have come back to tell us the same stories they told us not too long ago? Mmmm, let us hope that truly truly, what they are saying is the truth because we cannot afford another baton change from a so-called President of Ghana to a so-called Vice President of Ghana.
Do you remember the independence struggling days of present day Zimbabwe? Ian Smith, who was the Head of State of then Rhodesia, had preferred giving power to one Bishop Abel Muzelewa as the Prime Minister of that country.
Africa and other nations never accepted that position and referred to him as the so-called Prime Minister of Rhodesia.
After January 7, 2013, John Mahama will be called the so-called President of Ghana since his election is under dispute. By the way let me tell my story.
Just about four years back, the then newly sworn in President of the United States of America chose to visit Ghana because of our relatively young democratic credentials.
One statement out of the lot that he made during his visit which Ghanaians took very seriously was ‘Africa needs strong institutions and not strong men.’
That statement was very much welcomed by all of us because of the fact that we as a people have weakened our national institutions and allowed individuals to represent the institutions, depending on how strong or weak those individuals at the helm of affairs are.
Over time, the performance or non-performance of national institutions has depended on the strength or otherwise of who is in charge.
This phenomenon began from the political heads this nation produced, the mere mention of some Heads of this country sometime past sent shivers down the spine of ordinary citizens of this country.
People suffered detention without trial just because some strongmen wanted them to be kept in the cooler and not because the state institutions tasked to punish people had found them guilty of any wrongdoing.
Even access to services by the citizenry had been determined in some cases by a strong man or woman rather than a strong institution which sees the service delivery as a responsibility and not a favour being done to anybody.
It is in this vein that ‘strong institutions and not strong men’ statement became very refreshing to us all. The facts on the ground however indicate that the typical Ghanaian still relishes being a strongman presiding over a weak institution where nothing goes on without him or her.
In his last address to Parliament before his exit from office, President Kufuor had suggested that the tenure of the Chairman of the Electoral Commission should be given another look if the EC is not to become stronger than the nation. Nobody listened.
Just a few weeks to the elections, President Kufuor had pleaded with the Electoral Commission to be as fair as possible in the just ended elections to enable the nation enjoy its peace.
He further reminded all of us that the sovereign power of this country rests with the people and that any attempt by the Electoral Commission, its agents or assigns to massage the election results to disadvantage any political party would amount to subversion of the will of the people and by extension treasonable.
What an old person can see sitting down, a child can never see standing on the tallest building. President Kufuor had a premonition about what was going to happen.
President Rawlings had equally seen, sensed or smelt something sinister in the air. He was perhaps not too sure whether he was seeing right, sensing well or smelling properly, but he asked all the political parties to be very vigilant.
He did not say it once. So here we are, the Electoral Commission has held all of us hostage. By the way, does it surprise anybody the way Afari-Gyan has put all of us on tenterhooks?
Every conduct of  Afari-Gyan since the 2008 general elections have been dictated not by law and clear conscience, but by his over blotted ego and the fact that the Constitution of this Republic gives him certain powers and  that he reserves the right to use those powers whimsically and capriciously.
His first dose of his dictatorial tendencies was exhibited in the last District Assembly elections held to replace those whose tenure of office had expired in 2010.
Afari-Gyan ignored all reason and resorted to what later became known as the tot-tot elections, the first of its kind in this country.
So badly were these elections which are supposed to be the bedrock of our devolution of political power in a decentralized political environment that those who ended up being elected did not get the needed support from those in their electoral areas since times and days for the elections changed several times to the anger of the electorate.
The smoke laden nostrils of Afari-Gyan could not smell the anger of Ghanaians in this apology of an election.
But he was a strong man heading a weak institution and therefore his views and decisions held sway even as the public whose interest he was supposed to uphold raised its voice.
Afari-Gyan’s attitude towards the creation of the 45 new Constituencies with the shortest period towards the general elections against the outcry of men and women of conscience throughout this country immediately told keen observers what was under his sleeves.
His arrogant posture towards the opposition in particular and the accompanying allegations that he had been given a huge mansion outside of this country for his retirement seems to be gaining credibility in the face of the manipulation of the results of the last elections.
The decision of the NPP to go to court on this matter is an indication of the unwavering belief of the leadership of the party in the rule of law.
I am wondering what the sharp-teethed children of dubious character and criminal traits will say about Nana Addo being violent.
As Ghanaians wait patiently for the Supreme Court to begin its hearing of the case anytime soon, it is my hope that all of us will patiently follow with keen interest what will go on and what the outcome will be.
Individuals are free to go to the Court to observe the proceedings, provided the court can accommodate all those who want to be there.
However, as it is with the NDC, if they should bus their people to the court with the intention of intimidating the Judges, they should be ready shouting for peace should take note. Poor me, two tots of mahogany bitters.
