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Political and tribal bigotry are destroying Ghana – Professor Asare laments

A US-based Ghanaian law professor, Kwaku Asare, popularly known as Kwaku Azar, has bemoaned what, in his view, is the dilution of Ghana's politics from being based on ideological differences to bigotry.

Professor Asare is popularly referred to as Kwaku Azar

According to him, the situation has become so frightening that the earlier it is remedied, the better it will be for the future of the country.

Writing on his Facebook page on Friday, May 20, the learned professor lamented how unity, honesty, loyalty to the state, among other attributes that used to be the hallmarks of Ghanaians have been thrown to the dogs, causing an increase in corruption, extreme poverty, and insecurity, among others.

He wrote: "Politics, over the years, has become less about ideological differences and more about identities.

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It is no longer about issues, principles, or values but rather about taking the side of political tribes.

"Allegiance to the country has been sadly supplanted by allegiance to the political tribe with the disastrous effect that party members will go to any lengths to damn the facts and defend their leaders from any criticisms or wrongdoings.

"Our politics has degenerated to an ‘us versus them’ mentality, where ‘them’ are seen as dangerous nation wreckers while ‘us’ are the virtuous nation builders.

"In the end, the political struggles in this republic have become about fighting ‘other citizens,’ ‘other CSOs,’ ‘other media,’ rather than against the common things that impoverish us —— corruption, bad governance, willful dissipation of public resources, etc.

"The auditor-general’s reports are to be rubbished or ignored if they expose ‘us.’ Justice means going after ‘them,’ and sheltering ‘us,’ damn what the law provides.

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Protecting the public purse means asking for the balance sheet of CSOs who scrutinize public finances. Media freedom means being a lapdog for government rather than a watchdog that investigates and reports on government wrongdoing.

"The churches we attend, the associations we belong to, where we sit when we watch a soccer game, even the funerals that we attend are all now shaped by politics.

The big winners in this faux politics are the few leaders and their cronies. The big losers are Ghanafuo who see nothing but increased poverty, misery, and decline in their standard of living.

"GOGO seeks to reset the political clock by shifting politics away from an identity towards issues, by asking us to see other Ghanafuo as citizens and not members of the enemy political party, and by shifting our loyalty away from the political czars back to the country."

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