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| A specially designed T-Shirt to mark the event |
In following tradition,
the daily dose of ECG’s shameful blackouts was at a high point then, so the 13th
April MEGA FLOAT was accordingly named ‘THE DUMSOR DUMSOR MEGA FLOAT’. Hmmm…!!
The drama started with a news report on Joy FM’S Mid-day news, when they opted
to visit the usual dose of unconfirmed speculative journalism on gentlemen of
the RED fraternity. On hearing ‘Students of Commonwealth Hall embarking on a
Demo?’ as part of their Headline stories, I quickly phoned their newsroom to impress
on them to correct the anomaly. My call was connected and reconnected to about
five different people, until I was told the story won’t be used as a main news
story since in their words ‘it was a developing story’. After explaining
everything, all I got from the supposed ‘news editor’ who chose not to give me
her name was ‘am sorry, but we will send our reporter there, to verify so that
we correct it during our subsequent news bulletins’. She told me their ‘sources
in Legon won’t lie to them, so she is sorry she cannot take my explanations
until their ‘sources’ tell them otherwise. I called the president of the JCR
and gave him the newsroom line for him to further clarify. They read out the
same ‘prepared scripts’ they gave me to him. Very very reckless and
irresponsible journalism.
I dashed back to campus
to meet water cannons and armored vehicles, flanked by over 200 well armed
police men. Their mission? They have
been instructed to make sure the Vandals Demo doesn’t happen. Absolute rubbish!
The same police, led by the regional commander days ahead had been served with
the notice of the float, and they agreed and approved the route with the
students. It is worth stating that the
regional command had struck up an epistolary friendship with the JCR as part of
the planning for the float. In the end the students who refused to mortgage
their rights to some ‘BIG MAN’ somewhere who chose to convert his mobile phones
into remote controls for Ghana Police, were beaten mercilessly. I don’t support
any form of disregard of law and order.
I admire and appreciate the work of every man in uniform who works to make this
country a better and safe place (Of course my admiration excludes the
unscrupulous and zombie minded officers who cannot tell politicians in the face
to leave them alone to do their work), but I was very happy when upon reaching
the Airport police station I saw a
couple of police men treating their wounds as well. At least brave Vandals made them feel how those they
lawlessly manhandle daily feel. Fast forward, Edmond Kombat as SRC prez
guaranteed n bailed the illegally detained Vandals.
Now my observation (
please stop reading if you don’t agree with me). Was sand in the head of the
Joy FM ‘source’, or they were on their usual ‘let me put it out because it is
newsworthy, and apologise later’ style of Ghanaian journalism? Did Ghana police
waste resources to move at the speed of light to Legon based on the Joy FM
report or they were truly ORDERED by some powers from above? Did this obviously
confused BIG MAN order the regional command based on some serious security
intelligence or he/she also relied on the Joy Fm report? We have a problem paaa
oh! A year down the lane, not a simple apology has been heard from either the
Ghana Police service or JOY FM. In all this however, my greatest disappointment
is at the posture of the Old Vandals Association (OVA) during and after the
attack by Ghana Police. Nobody expected the University management to release any
statement to condemn the brutal and uncivilized attitude of the police, come on
it is Vandals we talking about. They will pop champagne at Sarbah Logia n
laugh! But OVA! OVA even though knew the police was wrong, have since that day
been blaming junior members of the Hall for that attack. Their reason? “Well, u
guys should change the way you do some of your things”. “You should have just
called off the Float and stayed on campus, since the National security related
issues were concerned”. My Volta ladies will say ‘LIKE SERIOUSLY???!!”
It is pretty obvious
that we have to change how the Hall does some of its things. Practices which
have been religiously preserved for ages cannot be altered overnight? Isn’t it
our duty as Old Vandals and seniors to train junior members of that great Hall
on how to ‘operate’? This hypocritical attitude of blowing conditional ‘hot’
and ‘cold’ air when it suits us for face saving purposes is unsustainable in
the long term. I can’t end without saluting the Chief Vandal and his able
outfits who stood their ground placidly and made sure they didn’t return to the
CITY without their sons. Before throwing my hands into hopeless despair, let me
resort to prayers, since I still believe in it. I pray for the day a police
commander will resign worthily and tell Ghanaians he did that because of the
interference from some BIG MAN. I pray for the day, our media houses will quit
the polarization and sensationalism and release stories they have confirmed
only. I pray also for the day OVA gets conscious leadership; the kind of
leadership who will appreciate that kingdoms built through years of conquests
cannot be ‘crumbled’ suddenly. What we have now is just a group of shindig
fanatics , certainly not old Vandals. A big shame to everyone who had a hand in
this brazen act, especially Old Vandals like DCOP Freeman Tettey who threw away
the TRUTH he learnt in the Vandal City and chose to do the Zombie dance to
supposed big men. Let me drop my pen before I say things I will regret later.
In this Tweaa era, who knows who is recording me. See me in chambers if you
want to know the role Mary Nkrumah played and the BIG MAN who came to pick me
on campus played that day. Okyena nko!
NII BOYE