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In the ordinary and low sense which we attach to the words �partisan� and �politician�, a judge of the Supreme Court should be neither. But in the higher sense, in the proper sense, he is not in my judgment fitted for the position unless he is a party man, a constructive statesman, constantly keeping in mind his adherence to the principles and policies under which this nation has been built up and in accordance with which it must go on; and keeping in mind also his relationship with other statesmen who in other branches of the government are striving in co-operation with him to advance the ends of government� (A letter written by Theodore Roosevelt to Henry Cabot Lodge) I am always very happy that I chose to be a member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in spite of the vilifications the fore fathers of this great tradition suffered therefrom during and after the struggle for the nation�s freedom from the colonialists. Some died from maltreatments meted out to them as a result of lies told about them by their political opponents, others yet suffered permanent physical disability while a lot more lost their businesses and therefore became economic liabilities to their families and relations. They suffered the indignation of being labeled �bomb throwers� when the actual culprits were in the same stable with the intended target of the bomb throwing. Operating under a strictly closed society, the forefathers of the NPP did not have the medium to defend themselves from the allegations leveled against them at the time. The typical Ghanaians that they are, they gave their matter to God in the hope that one day one day, the truth will come out. Yes the truth, some even if not all, did come out but their political opponents would not listen and Ghanaians would not believe them. It has gone on till today. The descendants of the opponents of United Party tradition, have perfected the art of lying and developed scientific means of making lies look true when �true� as a word, does not itself believe that what the people are saying is true. The scientific development by the NDC in making lies look true is that they have succeeded in grouping unadulterated lies, misinformation and disinformation into one basket and labeled it propaganda and have appointed people to that ordinarily unenviable position. And it has worked for them over the years. People who use propaganda as tools for governance and leadership always need to work on the minds of the people and one of the best means of taking control of the minds of others in order to manipulate them particularly for political advantage is to keep the majority of the citizenry permanently ignorant while enticing a few educated elites who will help in ramming down the throats of the ignorant majority, the falsehood which is an art that has been mastered by incompetent but crafty leaders of no substance. I have had the occasion to write in this very column that the NPP is not a violent party, and that in 1992 when one of the most bizarre elections were conducted in this country, the leadership of the party first used one of the tools of democracy to send a message to the world about the fraud perpetrated against it, that is the boycott of the Parliamentary elections. Subsequently, a team led by Nana Addo Danquah Akufo Addo, collated all the malpractices found in the elections and made a book out of it. This is what has become known as the �Stolen Verdict�. The NPP has helped immensely in shaping the present electoral system which though not perfect, has been improving elections after elections. In 2008, even though the NPP was in power, a certain level of malpractices by the Electoral Commission ensured that Nana Addo never crossed the 50+1 mark. He conceded defeat and gave away power. The above notwithstanding, the NDC since 2009 had branded Nana Addo as violent person, they therefore organized the elections in a manner that would generate controversies and expected Nana Addo to resort to other means outside of the law as a way of expressing his disgust at the outcome of the elections so they can nail him with their old age accusations against him. They did not have it because that is not the man they have portrayed him to be Ever since the NPP made it public that it was going to put its concerns about the elections before the highest court of the land, the questions which came to me from many ordinary voters in Sekondi-Takoradi who believe that the person they voted for was not the one declared the winner by Afari Gyan, was �do we have the evidence to support our intended court actions?� We were then gathering the evidence, so to be honest with you, I was not too sure myself but I gave them hope believing rightly that our leaders are capable of delivering the evidence. I was very much relieved when eventually the NPP held a Press Conference to give an indication of some level of irregularities in the elections which affected Nana Addo�s chances. The questions being asked today by the ordinary people of this country is whether the court will be fair in its ruling �considering the fact that these people have access to state funds and they can easily buy them off�. My response has been that I trust the courts and that the Judges will not sacrifice their integrity for any material considerations. I tell them that Judges at the Supreme Court are not subservient to the authority of any individual or group of individuals anywhere in the country. And that once at the Supreme Court, they do not look up to anybody for any promotion anywhere just as nobody can wake one day and dismiss them from office. In that case, they will protect their integrity by working with the law and making decisions on the basis of the evidence available. I try to convince them but as to whether they are convinced about the impartiality of the courts is another matter. My worry is that all these years, the ordinary Ghanaian seems to have lost confidence in the honesty and sincerity of all state institutions. The Ghanaian has developed a certain attitude and is living with it, which is that, unless monies change hands, no service due them will ever be delivered as and when it is expected to be delivered. Young people who want jobs believe that unless a certain �big man� leads them, they are not going to get the job on merit, litigants think that to have justice, �the judges have to be seen�. In fact in many cases, the judges themselves may not know that somebody is seeing them for something. Ordinary court clerks can collect monies from litigants under the guise of �seeing a judge� who may not even know about it. I cannot speak for the judges but I believe in the courts, certainly if we should lose faith in the courts then this country is doomed because lawlessness will certainly hold sway and the fittest will survive. Judges as human beings may have their political leanings in terms of philosophy and ideology but they are expected to work as statesmen whose job stabilizes society in its overall interest rather than philosophical or ideological considerations they secretly believe in. The matter before the Supreme Court is the first of its kind in the political history of this country. It is a test case that will be cited in many other nations should they be confronted with a similar situation as has happened in our country. The world therefore is watching us, our ability to cross this hurdle satisfactorily will make us all proud as Ghanaians. That can only be achieved if the petitioners provide sufficient evidence to convince the court that indeed the person declared the President did not have the mandate of the people anad the court will also on the basis of the evidence make a ruling. There is some rumour around the court that the NPP people are gentle and therefore even if the evidence is so clear and overwhelming and the court decides not to grant them the reliefs, they will not do anything but as for the NDC, if it goes against them, they will create problems for this country. I hope this rumour remains what it is. Some of the most dangerous people in the world are those who have the patience to tolerate all manner of evil things against them, once their patience becomes exhausted, no amount of persuasion will calm them down and I expect to see same with the NPP. Let us all be calm and wait for the outcome of the matter. I am going to replenish my stock of mahogany bitters and follow with rapt attention the proceedings of the court when it starts. Two tots for the night.