If I, Daniel Nii Okine, were to be handcuffed and dragged to a police station today for a crime, do you know what my family would do? They wouldn’t organize a riot. They wouldn’t bus in rented crowds to chant slogans, nor would they threaten to burn down the precinct. No. They would do what any civilized, law-abiding family in a functioning society does: they would hire a sharp lawyer, ensure I am being treated humanely, and allow the wheels of justice to turn.
But apparently, in modern Ghana, that basic, common-sense approach is reserved only for the poor, the powerless, and the politically disconnected. For the political elite, especially members of the NPP leadership, the rules of engagement are entirely different.
Take the recent arrest of Miracles Aboagye. Let me be unequivocally clear, without a shred of ambiguity: I am not pronouncing him guilty. Like any citizen accused of a crime, he is fully clothed in the constitutional presumption of innocence until proven guilty in a competent court of law. He has an absolute right to legal representation, due process, and the protection of his civil liberties.
But the sheer, unadulterated circus that erupted following his arrest? The massing up of partisan sycophants, the shrieking declarations of “political witch-hunting,” and the hysterical attempts to shield him from accountability?
It is foolish. It is unpatriotic. And frankly, it reeks of a deep-seated, backward ignorance that continues to keep this country shackled in mediocrity.
What these partisan cheerleaders are effectively screaming from the rooftops is this: Miracles Aboagye is untouchable. They are asserting that if you belong to the NPP, you are elevated to some divine status, completely insulated from the laws of the land.
But let me remind you of a simple truth: Nobody in this republic is above the law. Or at least, nobody should be.
Yet, we have been down this wretched road before. Remember Chairman Wontumi? Through my own extensive, relentless reporting, we exposed how his Akonta Mining outfit was ruthlessly polluting the Tano River and illegally ripping through the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve. The environmental devastation was catastrophic. Yet, when the law finally knocked on his door, what did we see? Citizens in flesh-and-blood , Ghanaians whose own children will inherit a poisoned, barren land, massed up in their numbers to demand his release.
We did not care about the slow, agonizing murder of our ecosystem. We did not care that our forests were being pillaged. No, we were desperately worried about the personal comfort of a man who had flagrantly raped the resources of our country.
Let’s stop lying to ourselves in the mirror: we do not love Ghana. We love the idea of Ghana, but we despise the discipline required to build it.
If you doubt this, step outside the glittering, artificial bubbles of Accra. The moment you leave the capital, Ghana dissolves into a vast, neglected rural landscape. Decades of independence, and yet the vast majority of our people live in conditions that defy dignity. Why? Because the moment our politicians acquire power, public service is immediately abandoned in favor of private plunder. Every single opportunity is viewed through the filthy lens of personal enrichment.
Look at our infrastructure. Look at the roads constructed for our taxpayers, slapped together with a layer of bitumen so miserably thin it resembles a cheap, tearing pancake. Yet, the moment these politicians are called upon to account for their stewardship, the political machinery springs into action. The drums of party fanaticism and “witch-hunting” are beaten, and the masses fall in line like sheep, defending the very wolves who have fleeced them.
We have reduced every single fiber of our national existence to partisan politics. Healthcare, education, justice, basic infrastructure, everything is fed into the toxic meat grinder of politics .
We all complain. Some of us desperately scramble for visas, packing our bags to escape to the West. But let me ask you: when you arrive in London, New York, or Frankfurt, do you see the citizens of those countries behaving with this level of lawless, self-sabotaging idiocy? Do you see them shielding politicians who steal their taxes or destroy their water bodies?
No. They respect the law. And that is precisely why their countries are worth fleeing to, while ours remains a tragedy of wasted potential.
It is time to take the gloves off. We must stop coddling the criminals who plunder our nation under the guise of party colors. If we do not strip away this toxic partisan immunity and start holding our leaders, and ourselves, strictly accountable, we will continue to run away to other nations, leaving behind a homeland that we systematically helped to destroy internally.
The law must take its course for Miracles Aboagye, for Wontumi, and for every single one of us. No exceptions.
