Devil’s Death Throes

A lot of water has passed under the bridge since former President Laurent Gbagbo of Ivory Coast decided not to honour the verdict of the people of his country. Deservingly and appropriately, he has been ostracized by the civilized world. The busy schedules leaders of the West African sub-region are coping with in a bid to restore peace and normalcy in that country is a better option than allowing democracy to be thrown to the dogs in consonance with the wish of Laurent Gbagbo. The cost of coping with a civil war in that country is mammoth and really unimaginable for those of us within the axis of the fire of weapons to be engaged in such a conflict. The matters arising from the Ivorian confusion are as interesting as they are weird. We are told that former President Jerry John Rawlings engaged some Generals in a discussion at the Flagstaff House from the contents of a statement from his office. Much as we welcome any attempts at restoring peace and allowing the verdict of the people of Ivory Coast to prevail, these should be done in the appropriate context. Mr. Rawlings’s engagement with the Generals sounds amazing, given the fact that he has not been assigned any such role by the African Union or even the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), even as he longs for such a role. Engaging service chiefs including retired Generals when there is a President and Commander-In-Chief renders the man in charge useless and unworthy of the position bestowed upon him by the good people of this country. If it were possible to apply for such roles, we would have counseled that the NDC founder did so through the ECOWAS Secretariat in Abuja so that perhaps he could do what Thabo Mbeki failed to do for the AU. With Victor Gbeho in charge of the Secretariat, perhaps it could serve as an impetus. Another bizarre development we have observed since the past few days is the increased momentum by hired men to do the dirty job of the embattled Gbagbo in Ghana. So cacophonous are they when they turn to the subject that many simply tuned off their sets. Making an industry and a source of livelihood from protests and unworthy causes is an enterprise such persons have perfected over the years. They have sold their conscience and believe that they sound credible when they lie on the airwaves. Unfortunately, they appear to be floundering in unchartered waters as they dangle doctored details about the Ivorian elections with reckless abandon. With no sense of shame, they continue to do what they have lived on for years. Their attempts to introduce the socialist ideology mantra into the rotten Gbagbo politics worsen their unseemly efforts. Laurent Gbagbo has reached the end of the road of his political career and all those who sing his tune because of the dollars being dispensed to them, through the Ivorian embassy in Accra, do so at the risk of the little skin attached to their bones. ECOWAS has a mission to accomplish- uphold democracy and the integrity of the ballot box in Africa- and there is no stopping them. Not even the labelling of pro-Ouattarra elements as imperialists will stop the ousting of Laurent Gbagbo. In his death throes, Laurent Gbagbo will do everything including hiring journalists in Ghana to wash his dirty and bloody linen in the streets of Accra. A useless enterprise!