The Other Side of NPP’s Rigging Allegations

Once again another successful election period has ended and all credit must be given to the Electoral Commission (EC) and Ghanaians. We deserve commendations for holding the most serene elections in Ghana’s history.

One thing though that is taking the shine from this year’s polls is the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) allegations of systematic fraud perpetrated on Ghanaians by the government and led by the Electoral Commissioner, Dr. Afari Gyan.

Despite civil associations such as CODEO, ECOWAS Observer missions, CHRAJ among others describing the just ended elections as peaceful, transparent and fair, the NPP now supported by parties such as PPP and NDP have stuck to their claims of the elections being rigged in favor of the President-elect John Dramani Mahama.

Whilst others have sought to justify the NPP’s challenge of the election result in court describing it as having the potential to add something to our young but fledging democracy, I want to take a look at possible reasons why the leadership of the party may want to hold their current view.

Firstly is the attempt to maintain Nana Akufo-Addo as the flag bearer of the party for the 2016 General elections thus the ‘psy-ops’ being operated on NPP supporters that Akufo-Addo did not lose the elections but was robbed of it.
 
Many political pundits have argued that Akufo-Addo may just have to retire his Presidential ambitions and allow others to take over the flagbearership of the party after failing twice in his attempt to become President. But with this convenient excuse of him being robbed, delegates of his party may have to give him one last shot since there exist a precedent in Ghana’s history where the late President Mills was tried thrice before he became President.

Secondly is the National and Regional executives’ unwillingness to accept the fact that they have let down their supporters once again thereby exposing their incompetence. This posture is very human especially for these executives who have assured their party faithful that by hook or crook Nana Addo will win the elections.

Another reason though sounds weird is that, the NPP haven checked their finances after loosing elections two times consecutively, maybe playing on the mind of the President-elect in order to get some financial compensation for the expenses made during the campaigning. This is very possible for a corrupt President who fearing his position being challenged in court may dole out some money to the NPP to silence them.

Again, it just might be that some judges of the Supreme Court have promised to help the NPP’s course should an issue like the one currently being raised is brought before them. This particular reason is very unlikely but in a country where the NPP is seen to be controlling the judiciary, it cannot be left out. If this happens to be true, I personally suspect the delay in sending the matter to court maybe a ploy which involves some members of the top echelons of the judiciary carefully crafting NPP’s case.

An assurance by some foreign powers to the NPP may lead them to take their current stance on the elections. This reason is one that is very plausible considering happenings around the world where the ‘powers’ that be like to install puppet regimes that they (the powers) will like to control.

Forget about all the congratulatory messages being sent by these foreign Presidents, they are just being diplomatic. One thing that lends to this credence is why the NPP insists on holding demonstrations instead of heading straight to court knowing very well these protests will not change a vote.

Interestingly, it started with the NPP alone crying foul, now the PPP, the NDP and just yesterday, the PNC have caught up with the song of rigging. Before we realize, the international community will begin to change their perception about the elections and call for a re-election.

Lastly is the scenario where after the elections were announced by the Chairman of the EC, some Deputies at the EC have assured the NPP of being able to manipulate the results should they complain of irregularities. The manipulations could lead the court to think something fishy went on during the counting and tabulation and thus call for a re-run of the elections.

I will like to state at this point that, the writer of this article has no proof or whatsoever of any of the possible reasons why the NPP will be crying foul. This piece is an imaginative work which could be true considering the NPP alleged that fax machines were hacked into.

The ’War’ That Killed Ya-Na

Some sections of the Ghanaian public believe Ya-Na, the King of the Dagbon area died as a casualty of war. They say a war was fought at the palace of the late King and as a result he and 29 others lost their lives.

This seemingly is a nice reason not to arrest anybody for the gruesome and heinous crime done against a respected King. With this excuse all the participants of the ‘war’ are guilty and as such everybody in that area must be responsible.

Interestingly, you would want to ask yourself if anybody ready for a war will allow the enemy to reach his compound before responding appropriately bearing in mind that women and children live in that compound. This compound turns out to be a palace where you don’t expect to have everything for war as is seen in the olden days.

To make the excuse more reasonable, the ‘it was a war’ preachers say the late king had armour in his palace. Yes you don’t expect a highly placed King to have only house knives and hoes in his house, even individuals have sophisticated guns they use to protect themselves. But as to whether the armour really existed or not, I think the security personnel can tell.

If really it was a war, there are still crimes committed in wars and those perpetrators of these war crimes must be brought to book. For it is in finding the killers of the Ya-Na that a lasting solution could be observed in the Dagbon area. Demonstrations against the court rulings that acquitted those alleged killers shows how deep the problem the killings have brought.

Qathafi of Libya is been threatened of war crimes though rebels are attacking his country and he is doing his best to prevent the rebels from taking over.
So the Ya-Na may have protected and defended his family from the hands of the ‘warers’ and we all know he died a brave King. So justice must be done for his people.

Kangmbuli Muslim Community: an Epitome of Islamic Excellence

Some people have said Islam is a religion of terrorists while others say a world dominated by Islam will spell doom for all humankind. Some even say when Islam takes over the world, one can no longer engage in alcoholism and fornication (funny right? you can watch this on a documentary ‘God’s Warriors’ broadcasted by CNN). Yet these critics who say all these do not know much about the most peaceful and noblest religion, Islam and how communities which have practiced what Islam preaches have achieved decency, peace and natural and everlasting love.

I want to hereby share with the public the ‘biography’ of one such community that has proven beyond doubts that Islam is the way for this troubled world. This community is the Kangmbuli Muslim Community. But before I continue I want to express my profound gratitude to GMSA-UCC for embarking on this knowledge seeking tour to this community.

The Kangmbuli Muslim Community is a town situated in Nzemaland in the Western Region of Ghana with a population of about 5000. As its name depicts, it is a community where every single inhabitant is a practiser of the Islamic faith. In other words, all the over 5000 people in the community are Muslims.

The town of Kangmbuli is over a century years old and is a product of the Trans-Saharan trade. The founder of this noble and progressive community is Abeka Ganga who was during his living years a trader and the King of the people of Ampain. King Abeka Ganga before his reversion to Islam though dressed as a Muslim was an idol worshipper with over 300 idols. His inspirations and motivations for starting the community came to him through his dreams as a form of revelation.

During his trading days when he traveled between Ivory Coast and Ghana, King Abeka had a dream. In the dream he heard someone call him by the name Thahir. Dumfounded the king never understood the message behind the dream. Subsequently, he had another dream and this time he was being called by the name Daud.

In 1901 when the king fell ill and traveled to Accra with his wives to seek treatment, he met the country’s first National Chief Imam, Mohammed Baako. As was common during those days, King Abeka confided in the Chief Imam for an interpretation of his dreams. It was during this time that King Abeka came to understand the meaning behind his dreams.

His first dream was a call for him to join the Islamic religion and the second a prescription of the name he should be called by should he heed to the former dream. In agreement and in total submission to his destiny, King Abeka Ganga reverted to Islam.

Haven become a Muslim, and returning to his kingdom, King Daud Abeka Ganga resorted to spread his new found religion. He preached to his people to join his new faith. While some accepted his call, others did not. So the new revert decided to start a new community at Kangmbuli while those who did not heed to his call remained at Ampain.

To establish his new town on the basic foundations of Islam, King Daud traveled to Sekondi and later to Axim to look for Islamic scholars as teachers. He later had a substantive teacher, Mallam Suleiman from Damong in the Northern Region who taught his two sons Nuhu and Abdulai.

Upon his death, Abdulai became the Imam of the community and Nuhu the propagator of Islam in Kangmbuli and the whole of Nzemaland. King Daud’s nephew Alhaji Issifu also supported his two sons in the running of affairs of the town. Descendants of these three personalities still remain in the helm of affairs of this unique community.

Three key pillars that have sustained this community are knowledge, inter-marriages and unity. Two of these pillars are very obvious when one enters the town the first time. It is common to meet a child in his/her teens who has completely memorized the whole of the Qur’an and has therefore earned the title of Hafiz. Also are signs of unity that are very conspicuous.

Today, this community that started humbly is a beacon of example to the rest of the Muslim communities. For their love of unity and labour, Kangmbuli is very revered in the Western Region. The Government of Ghana also recognizes this and is always willing to lend a hand of support to the community whenever they needed it.

Through their hard work, the Muslims of Kangmbuli have the social amenities that they readily need. They have a Senior High School that run all courses except science, health centre and a large mosque among others. Their mosque is so large a row in the mosque can take 75 persons. For Friday’s congregational prayer, the mosque accommodates over a thousand Muslims.

The people of Kangmbuli whose clan name is Ezenwule indeed are practisers of the Islamic religion. They have adopted their own way of maintaining sanity, peace, security and cohesion through the use of Shariah. Anyone who engages in social vices such as fornication and stealing is publicly rebuked to deter others from committing such offences that Islam strongly prohibits. It is therefore not surprising that one feels a sense of peace and goodwill when entering this religious town.

One thing that is worth mentioning is how neat and groomed the surroundings of this town are. It is almost impossible to see filth scattered around as it is the case in other parts of the country. Their main mosque is well kept with nicely laid prayer mats. Also is the good sight of children as young as 4years willingly rushing to the mosque whenever the call for prayer was said. I had an experience when a little boy walked up to me to ask for the ablution pot. I was amazed because in my community, a boy that age will walk straight into the mosque without bothering whether he had performed ablution or not.

Undoubtedly, Kangmbuli remains a role model to other Muslim communities and the country at large. And for those who think a world dominated by Islam will be a catastrophic one should pay a visit to this inspiring town of Allah. The indigenes of Kangmbuli deserve commendation for keeping the fire of hope for Islam burning and for having a society that is peaceful, neat, devoid of negative western influences and progressive. For this reason, I want to ask the blessings of Allah on the following people of the community.

Imam: Alhaji Zakaria Abdulai
Leader: Alhaji Musah Abeka
Islamic teacher: Sheikh Ustaz Harun
Clan leader: Mahama Abdulai
Founder: King Daud Abeka Ganga

Long live Islam

8 Benefits of Blogging to the Blogger

This post is the remaining part of my earlier post, 8 Benefits of Blogging to the Blogger.

5. Blogging gives you new contacts
Blogging opens the door to new friends who come to you through the internet. I have friends from India, Phillipines, South Africa, US, UK, Nigeria just to mention a few.

6. Blogging makes you healthy
Are you wondering how?
Well, expressive writing like blogging produces many physiological benefits. Research shows that it improves memory and sleep, boosts immune cell activity and reduces viral load in AIDS patients and even speeds healing after surgery.
A study in the February 2008 issue of the Oncologist reports that cancer patients who engaged in expressive writing like blogging just before treatment felt markedly better mentally and physically as compared with patients who did not.

7. Blogging will enhance your CV and get you a job
Simply having a blog that you spend time on shows positive aspects of your personal character.
Employers want to see that you are motivated and have some degree of intelligence. Regardless of your blog’s contents, a blog shows you have some degree of intelligence.
Just write blogging and the address of your blog at the hobby side of your CV. Also mention your blog in the interview to get the employer to read your blog. If it is a good blog with good grammar and clearly articulated views, be rest assured you are one leg through.

8. You become an entrepreneur and make money from blogging
Someone there will ask how, well this is how
Some people blog to make money. This implies they are entrepreneurs because they have a venture or an enterprise and this venture is the blog which is to make money for them.
Maintaining a money making blog is like maintaining a business. You require innovation, hard work, discipline, perseverance etc.
This is how they make the money. You have a blog say about religion and you have many readers i.e people who read the blog so you advertise the sale of religious wears for a company and the company pays you money for the advertisement. Do you see the trick?
Google also offers a service where you can sign up for free. After that any person who visits you blog and clicks and I mean just click the advertisement, they pay you some few cents. The more people click on the advertisements, the more money you make. You need to have many visitors to your blog in order to get a reasonable amount of money.


I have a compilation of some blogs and how much they make. By the way not Ghanaian blogs.
Perezhilton.com makes $111,000 a month
Techcrunch.com makes $240,000 a month
Boingboing.net makes $ 1 million a year
So you too can make it.

8 Benefits of Blogging to the Blogger

The following post is work I have researched into and will be giving a lecture on at the 11th Annual Islam Propagation Week of the Ghana Muslim Students' Association(GMSA)-University of Cape Coast Branch.

Blogging offers a lot of benefits to individuals who engage in it. Some of these benefits are:

1. Writing habit improves

Blogging involves writing, then you edit, then you proofread and then you post or publish on the net.

Writing for blogs on a regular basis therefore enhances writing skills and encourages other things like critical thinking, communication and how to defend a point. These attributes coincidentally turn out to be what a university student should possess.

For this reason in some parts of the world, submitting essays on papers to lecturers are becoming out of date. Students are rather mandated to write for their own created blogs.


2. Acquisition of more knowledge

Blogging helps you acquire more knowledge since you regularly research for your blog posts. For instance, if your hobby is mathematics and you blog about it, you will be forced to look for new things in maths to publish and in doing so you are keeping the stuff yourself.

And that is one thing about blogging. When you write a post or call it article for your blog and you come later to realize some people from TUNISIA,US, INDIA, NIGERIA, CUBA or anywhere else have read it, I can assure you you will be forced to write more articles and that is where the acquisition of knowledge starts.

Also, wouldn’t you like to be referenced when say a friend of yours writes an assignment for his/her lecturer because that friend got the required information from your blog? Who here wouldn’t like to see the name of his/her blog on my assignment papers?

It means you are also adding more information to the worldwide bank of knowledge


3. You get exposure

What you blog about can easily be accessed by a lot of people all around the world. For this reason blogging is another way to get famous not only locally but internationally.

TV shows, radio programs, newspapers and even other blogs will grant you interviews when your blog starts to get readership.

Just recently, a woman blogger was granted interview on The One Show on Viasat 1. So you see blogging can give you the exposure you want. Just be good at what you blog about and you will get exposed.

Some bloggers have been given mouth watering job offers because they discuss sports, science, politics, mention them very well on their blogs. Others have become writers and written books because people from elsewhere who read their blogs are happy with their articles and are ready to publish books for them.

In particular those of you who like sports, just get a blog and start to write your side of the stories of the matches you watch. Be good at it and I wouldn’t be surprised to see you on TV stations discussing sports.


4. It’s training to become a journalist

Blogging is journalism and it is a step along the road to becoming a journalist.
Many journalists are bloggers and many bloggers are journalists. An example is Ato Kwamena Dadzie formerly with Joy Fm morning show. He has a blog and is a blogger.

For those of you who want to become journalists, I can promise you having a good blog will make getting a journalist job easier for you. Because only a few Ghanaians blog and at the interview I can assure you you will be happy to have started a blog. Just tell the interviewer you have a blog with about 50 readers and you are unique from the other people at the interview session.

A deputy editor at goal.com by name Share Evans said and I quote “blogging is a step along the road to becoming a journalist. By cutting your teeth writing on things that you are passionate about, a blogger can gain the tools to operate in a newsroom environment effectively.”

Europeans are aware of this and so some schools in Europe make it mandatory for journalism students to maintain a blog as a requirement for their journalism program.

I will make available the rest of this presentation in my next post so watch out.