The Importance Of Public Opinion; Dr Amoako Baah And The Mahama Administration.

I have taken time to critically analyze submissions by Dr Amoako Baah on our contemporary politics because of his academic position and his huge interest when it comes to discussing matters concerning the current administration. Listening to him yesterday, I heard series of distortions and misrepresentations with his submission and deem it appropriate and deem it appropriate bringing them out for us to dispassionately discuss it. If the government is to be based on the will of people or, in other words, on public opinion, the people must know what they want. They must also be able to pass intelligent judgment when an issue like the Workers Pension Scheme arrangement is presented to them. A passive, ignorant and indifferent electorate cannot be the basis of a sound democracy. It is thus no exaggeration to say democracy depends on education, and one of our first duties as citizens is to educate ourselves and to understand that education is a process which continues all our life. This is the reason why I got scared and felt very uneasy listening to the head of political science department KNUST Prof Amoako make very weak and assumptive submissions and making them appear to be gospel truth. What our good Professor must know is this, that, Public Opinion is just another name for the sum of our thoughts and wishes, we are all engaged day by day in creating public opinion but if we are careless or apathetic or badly informed, the opinion we utter will be wrong opinion and they will go out to poison or distort the general flow of thoughts that was what Dr Amoako displayed on News file yesterday. I see some strong determination on the side of Doc to help get this government out of power and in executing the practical agenda to facilitate this position, he is compromising his academic or professional ethics and putting all his students into a state of confusion. There isn't an iota of truth in this theory that all workers are in support of this strike action forced on them by leadership, there isn't anything scientific about that position if leadership's wishes always represent the will of the masses then I will foolishly say all Ghanaian support every action taken by leadership of the country that can't be possible not even within the government �sown party. A lecturer of his stature need not venture the pedestrian market when making academic discussions. To make a blanket statement that this particular administration is the most corrupt ever, is unfortunate and may be, that could best describe where the level of our university education has gotten to. He made another baseless, false and reckless statement on how the demised President Prof Mills and EOCO handled the matter when it first came up. The host wanted him to touch on how fraudulent judgment debt payment has affected us as a people, a very serious topic which ought not to have been treated with that thick political lenses by Doc. The issue has had serious effect on the nation so in discussing it, there was no need for that selective approach. Judgment debt payment and fraudulent practices associated with it has been in the system since Nkrumah's era, when discussing such an issue, I don't think we can or must ambush people who would touch on reasons for such judgment debt, if administrative lapses caused these debts, it must be unearthed so that we all find a comprehensive solution to the menace. If Doc lands in the pedestrians� zone feeding himself with newspaper reportage as he stated emphatically on programme, then he must be made aware that lazy newspaper reading is anything but a help to self-education. It can be mere sensationalism. Some of our journalists are just engaged in mischievous nonsense they at times create a wave of anti-government feeling which is now the stock-in-trade of men who wish to destroy the democracy we enjoying. And doctor must know that each time he repeats this kind of gossip, he is really poisoning the source of free society. If on the contrary, our opinions are sound and balanced, we are helping to build up our democracy. We have lot of examples to give. He is a PHD holder in political science so must know that all the great reformers of the 19th century Elizabeth Fry, John Howard, Lord Shaftesbury, Florence Nightingale all relied on balanced public opinion to rally them, once the evils they were attacking were put before people's mind and consciences, and they were justified in that reliance. We sometimes meet people who are contemptuous of the power of public opinion. They say government is managed by powerful, selfish cliques and nothing gets past them which is opposed to their interest, Doctor Amoako tried creating that impression, but is that true? If that is true as Amoako wants us to believe, and cannot be remedied, then, of course, the whole theory of democracy breaks down. But the reality on the ground doesn't represent this position. Ending, I will advise our good lecturer to be circumspect when discussing such sensitive and important national issues, his perception about the government and ideological disposition must not destroy the reputation he has been enjoying because of his academic position. We still need academician who may hold contrary position on government policies but in churning out such alternative views, we must see intellectual fairness and genuineness. Lastly I don't really mind the entrenched position taken by Doc and others on this President but personally I know how this man and those who worked at his office as Vice President nearly had problems with certain personalities in the erstwhile Mills administration because of his tough and uncompromising position on this judgment issue may be that would be captured in his future memoirs. Certain changes which were effected after Mills� death and continue to be made are based on these past developments something I will comprehensively touch on later. He isn't an angel, a Normal human being working with people coming from different background one must therefore understand certain negative developments which may show up but, he determination and genuine efforts to get these problems fixed must also be looked at. Like captured in Macbeth, there is no art to construct the mind from the face, also, on many occasions have people we repose so much confidence in, turn to become monsters in our life, this Akufo-Addo fixation must be watched carefully, no right thinking person can or will say age has no direct bearing on our performance as human beings, physically our condition deteriorate as we grow and our mental sharpness begin to go down it is just normal and natural. I wouldn't recommend anything like one party dominating our politics but at the same time, wouldn�t recommend reckless political decisions which have the potential of destroying all the little gains.