<<Print>>The Moving Spirit Of Kennedy Ohene Agyapong (1)
“I know the responsibility, I know the expectations, I know the legacy, I know what is behind me. I know the history of this club. I know what the fans expect of me. This challenge doesn’t make me nervous because of my history over the last 10 years. It comes at the right time in my career. I feel stable and have great motivation. I am where I want to be.”
–Jose Mourinho, Manager of Manchester United Football Club
If there is one politician in living memory who is equally loved and hated, embraced and despised, admired and vilified, treated with sainthood and infamy by a cross section of Ghanaians in equal measure by the political divide, then it is the irrepressible, irresistible, ubiquitous, vociferous, urbane, fearless, affable, boisterous and philanthropist to boot Kennedy Ohene Agyapong otherwise known as Akompreko. Kennedy Ohene Agyapong with Lawyer Adomako Baafi and Kwame Boafoh, alias Abronye formed the famous Three Musketeers – Athos, Porthosand Aramis – of NPP with Charles Owusu of PPP bringing up the rear as d’Artagnan of the group. Their pre-election verbal escapades arguably caused the greatest damage to the fortunes of the NDC and contributed most to the victory of the NPP. They used their oratory powers backed by research and well-reasoned arguments to demolish all the lies, propaganda and evil and satanic moves of the NDC and the Electoral Commission
Kennedy Ohene Agyapong is the sitting member of Parliament of Assin Central with its headquarters at Assin Foso (pronounced Fosu). To a first time visitor from the rural area to Assin Foso, the town appears to be very prosperous one. However to the discerning observer, it is a deprived hamlet. The main “highway” from Cape coast, the capital of Central Region, to Kumasi, the capital of Ashanti Region, passes through Assin Foso. It used to be a vibrant commercial centre in the good old days when travelling by railway was a joy. Assin Foso lies at the centre of the defunct central railway line form Accra to Takoradi. The Cape Coast to Kumasi highway intersects with the railway line from Accra to Takoradi. Indeed, when I gained admission into Legon, my first trip to the School of Administration (now University of Ghana Business School) then housed on the Achimota campus was first by road from my holy paternal village of Adansi Brofoyedru to Assin Foso to join the train from Takoradi to Accra, the second segment of my journey and the final leg by tro-tro to Achimota
Assin Foso is currently living on its past glory. The town houses two important institutions, the national training school of the Ghana Immigration Service and Assin Foso College of Education which was originally meant to be a senior secondary school. The town also houses many Catholic installations including hospital, nursing training school as well as a private nursing school. The Cape Coast – Kumasi highway stretches six kilometres through the town with the most visible installation at the Cape Coast end being the Assin Foso College of Education and that at the Kumasi end being the Melcom supermarket. Despite the renovations of petrol stations going on in the country, many of the petrol stations in the town are in form and shape which should not attract a discerning car owner to buy from them. Both sides of the entire stretch of the highway through the town have been converted into trading activities with numerous unsighted kiosks and tables erected on the pedestrian walkways dangerously close to the highway causing not only an eyesore but also endangering the lives of motorists, traders, buyers and pedestrians alike while creating an unacceptable traffic jam though the town.
Most of the road from Yamoransah Junction just after Cape Coast to Assin Praso, the border town between Central Region and Ashanti Region is currently in a very deplorable state. This is despite the millions of cedis spent on it by the PNDC government in re-constructing the road from Yamoransah Junction to Anwiankwanta, a town on the Obuasi – Kumasi highway, just beyond Ashanti Bekwai. Indeed before the road was handed over to the government by the South Korean contractors, the road had already started caving in. Fortunately, later on, the government secured a grant from the Japanese government which was used to re-construct the session between Adansi Praso and Anwiankwanta by a Japanese construction company making it one of the best roads in the country.
Just after the Assin Foso College of Education leading into the town is a police check point ironically decorated with numerous potholes. A recent attempt to fill the potholes looked like the work of a “one-man contractor”. The road leading out of the town towards Kumasi spots the construction of a huge facility which appears to be a factory. If indeed it is a factory, it should serve a good purpose in creating jobs for the people of the town. Overall, Assin Foso has the common appearance of most of our towns, a filthy organised disorder which should not be the case after sixty years of independence where almost all our communities and our daily lives are based on our past glory.
One serious irritant every driver encounters on the road from Yamoransah Junction to Praso is the multiplicity of police checkpoints. Just about three kilometres from Yamoransah Junction, a permanent police post has been created. Then after about 23 kilometres just immediately at the point where one turns to Mankessim, there is another permanent police post. Then there are two more, one as you enter Assin Foso and the other just as you leave Adansi Praso. These permanent police posts do not create much inconveniences as they are manned by policemen who most of the time display civility. The problem lies with the temporary police checkpoints which are mounted at the whims and caprices of the police establishment within Central Region. Indeed on a very bad day for drivers and good day for the police, one can count not less than three temporary police checkpoints between Abura Dunkwa, few kilometers from Yamoransah Junction and Assin Praso, a distant of less than 80 kilometres.
These temporary police checkpoints are very often mounted in curves, on top of hills and places where there is vegetation creating a sense of wellbeing, and either at the outskirts or within the centre of towns and villages where pedestrian movement is minimal. The ostensible purpose for these temporary police checkpoints is to check unauthorised drivers and vehicles as well as speeding drivers. However, the entire exercise ends up in police extortion of money from helpless drivers who have more serious and important appointments to meet and are thereof forced to pay bribes to earn their free movement without unnecessary impediment. Apart from extorting bribes from drivers, they also shamelessly beg for alms where they cannot find any fault with you. This type of police behaviour is also rampart on the Accra – Cape Coast road and it appears to be the hallmark of the Central Region police command.