<<Print>>

The now visible no-love-lost relationship between the Asantehene, Otumfuo Asantehene Osei Tutu II, and for that matter the chieftaincy institution and President John Evans Atta Mills is a major study in bad governance. The situation is unlike what it was previously, and it is worrying to observe the degenerating trend. We saw the degeneration long before it reached this complicated stage. We activated the alarm button a number of times but it appeared we did not have the ears of the President as the politicization of subjects like the chieftaincy and security institutions continued with reckless abandon. Political power is not a zero-sum-game and so the Castle or seat of power should do well to hold at bay the nitwits and hotheads who are behind the unsavoury developments. Yesterday, it was Ga, today it is Asanteman. It could be Abuakwa tomorrow. As for the Techimanhene, the least said about his misconduct, the better. Suffice it to state that he has gone beyond the red line of traditional decency. President Mills should wake up. Unleashing the likes of Smith, Ablakwa, Pratt and others would definitely yield such unwanted dividends as being witnessed today. It is saddening to watch things fall apart the way they are. Running the affairs of the country from the seat of government is like walking on a tight rope and chewing gum. Allowing the bull-like elements into a China shop would definitely let loose such prevailing crisis. Now, we are faced with a rare occurrence of the Asante King demanding the President to choose between him and the Techimanhene, a subordinate chiefdom. The Asante King is also asking the President to do something about the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister and Police Commander. What can the President do under such a rare circumstance? Whichever option he adopts would not be favourable to him and we do not intend to shed tears for the First Gentleman because we warned him before he hit the rocks with his floundering ship. The Techimanhene is riding on the back of the politically-fouled atmosphere to openly associate himself with the ruling party to the detriment of the security of the township. As for the security apparatus in the Techiman Township, their plummeted esteem can only lead to a situation of non-cooperation from a section of the location. What this means is that their efficiency at managing security challenges would be greatly impaired and we shudder to think that with time, the anomaly would spread to other areas suffering from state politicization of institutions. No wonder therefore that the Regional Police Commander has been compelled under the circumstances to act unprofessionally as being observed. If the Asantehene wants the Commander transferred from the region, he is basing his position on what for him is the open flirtation by the security chief with the ruling party. When confidence in the security agencies begin to wane, there is cause for serious concern and this for us is understandable. As we stated sometime ago, when such agents openly develop soft spots for particular political groupings, they are courting trouble not for themselves only, but the country as a whole. We call on the Otumfuo to sheath his sword, the misconduct of the Techimanhene notwithstanding. Let him forgive the less influential chiefs in his kingdom who have crossed the red line. We have no country besides Ghana, and it behooves all of us to ensure its survivability.