Valerie Sawyerr writes…Bird of the night

Vilified even in death, Professor Mills stands taller than the vilifier! Lied about even in death, Professor Mills stands higher than the liar!! Indeed, he who God has blessed, no man can curse!!!

In Shakespeare’s ‘Julius Caesar’, Casca said in Act 1 Scene III ‘And yesterday the bird of the night did sit

Even at noonday upon the marketplace

Hooting and shrieking’.

On the evening of February 13, 2018, the day of Martin Amidu’s Parliamentary vetting, I lay down to sleep. I tossed and turned! Then I prayed:

“God, the Bible says you are no respecter of persons. I know that you allow mortals to get away with so many things because of your mercy and your grace. But I also know that when the time is right in your estimation, you mesmerise and confound us with your wisdom in exposing what should be exposed for the betterment of mankind. Your will is supreme Lord – may it be done according to your wisdom knowledge and judgment. … Because you are a God of truth, I know you will not use ‘perceptions’ to judge us … because you are a God of truth, I know that you will not use information from ‘open-source methods’ to condemn us … because you are a God of truth, I know you will not use ‘unconfirmed intelligence’ to sentence us.”

I drifted into sleep, then I heard the voice of Professor Mills from far away – illusion or reality, I cannot say – “Remind Martin Amidu that God has mastery over his soul and that he will account for all evil. Encourage him to repent before it is too late because God is still a God of grace … but judgment day will come”.

I woke up seeking answers to questions:

a. Martin, for a while now you have been saying that you fell out with President John Evans Atta Mills because he tried to prevent you from pursuing the Woyome case. On Tuesday, I heard you say that you fell out with the good Professor because of a ‘breach of trust’. Which is the truth please?

b. Martin, on Tuesday I heard you say that you made allegations about the former Attorney-General Betty Mould Iddrisu to President Atta Mills. He then arranged a meeting where she was present for you to recount your allegations. This is what you considered ‘breach of trust’ because her husband was your ‘brother’, so he should not have called you to recount your allegations in her presence. Did the wise Professor arrange that meeting so that Betty would have a chance to respond to your allegations, please?

c. Martin, one of the basic tenets of Natural Justice is the audi alteram partem rule. I know you are very much aware that this Latin phrase means ‘listen to the other side’ or ‘let the other side be heard as well’. It is the principle that no person should be judged without a fair hearing in which each party is given the opportunity to respond to the evidence against them. As a self-proclaimed Citizen Vigilante and Defender of the Constitution, do you believe in application of the rules of Natural Justice please?

d. Martin, did you think you could make such strong allegations against a fellow Minister and the learned Professor would keep them secret and strike her a blow without giving her a chance to be heard? Kindly help me understand why? Are you above the law… or is it that when you speak no one else should speak? Are you the be all and end all… the beginning and the end?

Indeed, all who knew the astute Professor knew that he did not suffer bullies and cowards lightly. You could not get away with any backstabbing allegations without him arranging a meeting between accuser and the accused. He was a man who walked the talk. Many a time, appointees had the shock of their lives when after making allegations against others, they would be in Prof’s office when the other party would be ushered in by his ADC, and Prof would ask them to recount their allegations in the presence of the person they had accused. That was one of Prof’s ‘fair-play’ tactics. It made him unique in a vicious political environment riddled with backstabbing, petty accusations, major allegations and ‘wizardry witchcraft’.

So Prof called Betty to respond to your allegations in your presence and all of a sudden hell broke loose? There was screaming like a barn owl (Tyto Alba), shrieking like a bobcat (Lynx Rufus), wailing like a banshee (some call it Ignis Faatus), prancing around like an orangutan (Pongo Abelii/Pongo Pygmaeus), use of language and gestures unbecoming of an appointee towards a sitting President, even attempts in chimpanzee (Pan Troglodytes) style to physically assault a sitting President?

Why? Because it is against your custom for him to call the wife of your elder brother (Alhaji Mahama Iddrisu) in your presence to listen to your allegations and defend herself, even when the wife of that elder brother is the same person you were accusing of the most horrible crimes? So because of your ‘custom’ the rules of Natural Justice should be disregarded?

You are lucky that quintessential gentlemen like Mr. Bebaako Mensah and Mr. Martey Newman were the ones in the room and you know they are unwilling to break their silence. That is why you can provocatively brandish Bebaako’s name all over the place with bravado saying – ‘Ambassador to the Vatican, call him and ask him’. You are very lucky! But one day, even the quintessential gentlemen will speak. Do not push them too far!

What about the security men who had to be restrained by Mr. Newman because they burst into the room knowing the sitting President was under threat? Were they also hallucinating? I don’t blame you Martin! You can afford to be brash and brazen when dealing with ‘nice democratic’ Presidents like Egya Atta and Baba JM. I dare you to do it to President Akufo-Addo and you will ‘see your how far’, since he has made it clear that he will ruthlessly devour anything in his path.

I will wait patiently for that day, because that day will surely come. Imagine the look of shock on your face when the President does not wait for his security personnel but he himself lands a solid punch on your ‘bofrot’… after all… All Dieeeee Be Dieeeee! Even Papa J will not be able to save you that day. Pardon me for laughing so hard. Visualising the scene tickles me pink – President AA lands solid punch on SP’s bofrot as JJ tries to separate the two. Saayooooo, onukpa bε dzεmε lo?

By the way did you know that Wikipedia lists Ghana’s ‘bofrot’ as an ‘imported doughnut product’. In Ghana, I guess we could describe it as a round ball of dough (flour, sugar, yeast, nutmeg, salt and water) deep-fried in hot oil to a golden-brown tint – crispy outside, full of dough and air inside.

So all hail the new Special Prosecutor designate! King of kings! Boss-less appointee! He who serves as deputy to an Attorney General and the Attorney- General is not his boss? He who serves as Attorney-General to a President and the President is not his boss? Even when he proclaimed himself the Shadow Vice-President he still did not have a boss?

If you are a ‘man’, tell J.J. Rawlings that he was never your boss. Please let me know the day and time so I will perch on the wall like a fly. I chuckle as I ponder whose defence I would come to. That’s a difficult one! Since I can’t make up my mind, maybe I will just ‘boot’ both sets of balls and run quickly before both turn on me, happily forgetting that they are the two wrestlers and I am simply a humble spectator… oops ‘citizen’.

The Bird of the Night is defined as a ‘nocturnal bird of prey with hawk-like beak and claws and a large head with front-facing eyes’. In Shakespeare’s ‘Julius Ceasar’, Casca speaks to Cicero on the eve of the Ides of March describing bad omens he had witnessed – hearing an owl hooting and screeching in the middle of the day – which he considered a bad omen. Cicero dismissed Casca’s omens, insisting that natural explanations exist even when things appear to be unnatural. Later Casca met Cassius and they discussed the omens. Cassius said that the bad omens meant trouble for Julius Caesar. The Bird of Night was a warning to prepare for a tragedy that would soon befall Caesar.

Did you know that the Flammulated Owl is also known as the Psiloscops Flammeolus and the Night Hawk, Chordeiles Minor?

Papa Alamisi, at your vetting, you dodged the question about your NDC membership with dexterity. Your answer seemed to be that as a nominee for the position of Special Prosecutor, the law enjoins that you must be neutral, so you will be neutral. What exactly does that mean please? Are you still a card-bearing member of the NDC or not? Are you a card-bearing member of the NPP or not? Who are you kidding? Does President Akuffo Addo think it is acceptable to appoint a Special Prosecutor who holds a Political Party membership card? It is a reasonable and legitimate expectation of the citizenry that the Special Prosecutor is not a card-bearing member of any Political Party in the country. Indeed, it behoves on Parliament to ensure your resignation as Political Party member before your confirmation as Special Prosecutor, instead of hiding behind the skirt of Chairman Osei Wusu.

Please do not bring up the matter of the NDC Council of Elders’ directives that no member of the NDC should engage in any public or media tango. As far as I am concerned you are no longer in a position to be a member of the NDC so the directives of the Council of Elders no longer apply to you. Unless you are saying that since you have not given up your card or officially resigned, you are still a member of the NDC. Hehehe Hehehe!

Talking about our revered Council of Elders, I sent them a complaint last year September about some persons who had flouted their directives in relation to me. In October, I received a nice letter thanking me for the mature manner in presenting the matter to them and promising that they were looking into the matter. I have not heard from them after that. NDC! NDC! NDC! The disciplinary structures of the Party must work without fear or favour, if we intend to send Mr. Promise & Fail and Mr. Arrest the Cedi into retirement in 2020.

Bird of the Night! The Great Horned Owl is known as the Bubo Virginianus. It has a repertoire of sounds, ranging from deep booming hoots to shrill shrieks.

In Ghana we call the owl Patu, Petuo, Adzexe, Vigu, Vixu, Viuk! Hahaha! We fear not!! Holy Ghost Fire dey!!!

Shalom!

I am for peace!