Corruption – Episode 4

Corruption – Episode 4

© Akoto Alexander

Inside The Presidency Banquet Hall.

Hon. Hajia Ramatu: Honourable Johnson, I presume this is the beautiful Mrs Johnson?

Hon. Johnson: You are very right Hajia, as the old adage goes, “behind every successful man is a prayerful woman”. This is the very woman who has kept me on track and never turned her back on me before.

Hon. Hajia Ramatu: Ah well done my dear, I have always sung your praise and been looking forward to meeting you some day. I am blessed to meet you on this special occasion my dear, thanks for everything you have been doing for my colleague here and I must confess, you are very pretty and I love you gorgeous dress, it compliments you beautiful stature. I have always known your husband to be of a man of taste and class.

Mrs Johnson: I feel flattered with your words this evening Hajia, I have also heard great things about you and how articulate you are. Marvin has told me how your advice and constructive criticism has kept him on his toes anytime you attend meetings. We are very grateful Hajia.

Hon. Hajia Ramatu: For Johnson I have him at heart like a son and a colleague, his welfare remains paramount to me and I won’t be surprised when he is elected as the flagbearer of this great party in the near future. Please don’t change or start giving my boy problems which will make him lose focus.

Mrs Johnson: I won’t do that Hajia, trust me on that.

Hon. Hajia Ramatu: I trust you my dear, let me go round and at least say hi to one or two people before they drink to stupor.

Hon. Johnson: Hajia, please did you come with Alhaji? I don’t want him to see me first and accuse me of not looking out for him.

Hon. Hajia Ramatu: My dear don’t worry yourself, he refused to come with me. We will talk later. (walks away)

Hon. Nii Nortey: (joins the Johnson’s) Did I miss anything?

Hon. Johnson: Nothing at all my brother, we were just socializing and catching up on some family issues.

Hon. Nii Nortey: Oh forgive my manners Becky, I don’t need to ask you how you are doing because I can see my brother is taking very good care of you. You are always glowing and looking radiant, it seems you keep getting younger by the day.

Mrs Johnson: There you go again Hon. Nortey, you keep flattering me anytime we meet. You politicians will never change from using sweet words to get everyone around smiling. Please did you come with my sister?

Hon. Nii Nortey: Of course my dear, you know your sister will never miss such occasion for anything. She went to the washroom before I joined you guys here, oh there she comes.

Mrs Nortey: Hello Mr and Mrs Johnson, how are you doing?

Hon. Nii Nortey: (cuts in) My dear you forgot to use the right adjective, it’s not easy to be a parliamentarian and represent your constituency so always bear in mind. We are your husbands alright but when we are outside the house we are Honourables.

Mrs Nortey: Please forgive me for omitting your title honourable, it won’t repeat itself again.

Hon. Johnson: Am okay my dear, you know for you our wives we can’t bear you any grudges not even for a second.

Mrs Johnson: Vivian I have something to discuss with you so let’s go to your seat so we talk about it before our husbands start to talk politics that is not our field.

Hon. Nii Nortey: I presume you are not going to gossip about us because they say where two or more women are gathered, gossiping is the order of the day.

Mrs Johnson: That is where you are wrong, we are going to discuss some business related issues. Gossiping is a tool of the devil and we don’t intend to purchase it.

Mrs Nortey: Tell him for me Becky, he still have the primitive way of thinking which I tell him to grow over it. My dear let’s get going before he starts his political lecture. (walks away with Mrs Johnson)

Hon. Johnson: (whispers to Nii Nortey ) Bro your President is in with his entourage.

Hon. Nii Nortey: (whispers back) Don’t be silly bro, are you not a Ghanaian? The fact that you didn’t endorse him doesn’t mean he is not your president, the earlier you get this out of your mind, the better for us. We have seen leaders come and go here Ghana, during their first year of office, they try to be difficult just to impress the masses and impose rigid laws but when the corruption virus attacks themm, they will be begging for corruption lessons from the experts. Now put on a smiling face as he comes around to exchange pleasantries with us.

Hon. Johnson: (extends his hand to shake the president’s hand) Your Excellency good evening. I must confess you are looking extremely dazzling in your tuxedo.

President R. Mensah: Good evening my up coming cabinet minister, your compliment has swept me off my feet that I nearly let the cat out of the sack. Thank you for all the things you did for me during the campigning and election time, your constituency voted massively for me so I will see to it that, you and your people don’t lack anything. Hon. Nortey, your story is also not different from that of Hon. Johnson.

Hon. Nii Nortey: (gives the president a handshake) Ah thank you very much your Excellency, I know you are a man of your words and you will never let us down. Always bear in mind that we are at your service at any given time.

President R. Mensah: I am extremely happy to hear that, let me welcome the other guest. We will talk later after the party but hey where are your wives?

Hon. Nii Nortey: We came with them your Excellency, they are seated over there discussing only what God knows.

President R. Mensah: I presume they are discussing about the position that awaits both of you. (gives a broad smile as he taps the shoulder of hon. Johnson)

Hon. Johnson: Your Excellency indirected you are giving us the assurance that we have some positions awaiting us?

President R. Mensah: Let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope for a better future. We will talk later my honourables. (walks away to meet the other guest)

Hon. Hajia Ramatu: And what did you two hear that you are putting on this smiling face? I believe you heard some good news from him?

Hon. Johnson: He only came to play with our minds without saying anything definite. He claims he has some positions awaiting us but he never mentioned the exact position to any of us.

Hon. Hajia Ramatu: He better put us at places that we can get the monies we spent on campaign. I don’t have up to five thousand cedis in my bank account now, for me I have plans that after a year I should have over three million dollars in my account.

Hon. Nii Nortey: This woman, you are smart and swift like the thunder flash.

Hon. Johnson: We need to be cautious in our dealings ooo, I don’t trust this guy (president) at all. If you have observed, even when he laughs, you see no teeth of his. My late mother warned me on those kind of people, she said those people are very wicked.

Hon. Hajia Ramatu: For you Johnson, sometimes I wonder who adviced or pushed you into politics? You are so cold and soft, see in this game of politics erh, if you are not smart or fast, you will go home empty handed and people will mock you and your family when you end your political career without anything to boast of.

Hon. Nii Nortey: Tell him for me Hajia, he sometimes behaves like he is not living in Ghana. Those who come to you every morning with their problems, have they ever wondered where you get money to be sponsoring them always? Hey shine your eye oooo for Santa Claus is only seen during Christmas festivities. Those who were screaming and chanting hosanna! hosanna!! hosanna!!!, were the same people who screamed crucify him. My late father who was a chief auditor served the government deligently for almost 40years, he refused to take bribe or any form 0f gift from the people and institutions he audited, guess what? He came on retirement living in a single room with his seven children. In school my colleagues whose parent worked with my father were living good whiles I had to live under the mercies of those idiots. What pained me the most was when a teacher in my school used my dad as an illustration when we will treating a topic in government. My colleagues laughed at me to the extent that, if not for my determination to go far in my education and life, like I will drop out of school. From that very day I vowed to myself not to end up like my late father who worked earnestly for his country but came home on retirement with chicken feed. Johnson our destinies lies in our own hands because none of us can tell when we will lose our seats in parliament.

Hon. Johnson: You have spoken wisdom into my head my brother, you are always the person who draws my attention to things I don’t know or see. It seems our man has something to say to us so let us join our wives and listen to what he has to say. (they join their wives to listen to what the president had to say)

President R. Mensah: Good evening ladies and gentlemen, thank you for finding time this evening to drink and dine with me. I know most of you are exhausted and would have been in bed by now after the elections right through the transition period and that of the swearing in ceremony, I want to sieze this moment and thank all the people I contested the flagbearership with for doing a clean campaign and not turning us apart by insults or words of defamation. To every single delegate who imposed his or her resounding confidence in me to give me the ticket to contest as the flagbearer of this noble party. I want to assure everyone who voted for me to gain victory for this party after being in opposition for 16 years that we will stay in power for a very long time because my led government is going to put measures in place where everyone will have his or her share of the national cake. The journey to this place has not been an easy one as I had to travel across the length and breathe of all the sixteen regions of this country and it’s constituencies to canvas for votes. Also to everyone who supported in kind, cash and prayers I remain indebted to you and I stand here today as your Commander in Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces that, Ghana will work again. Before I take my seat I would like to end by saying a very big thank you to my pretty and prayerful wife who has always been supporting me with her prayers and motivating me when I try to give up. My first lady may God richly bless you and on this note I thank each and everyone of you for honouring my invitation, please there are more to eat and drink so feel free and enjoy the party. May God bless our noble party. God bless our homeland Ghana. God bless us all.

The presidential ball went on till late in the night and the curtains was drawn down.

Hon. Nii Nortey: (speaks to the wife) My dear, we have a close door meeting with the president which I don’t know when it will end so I have instructed the driver to take you home.

Mrs Nortey: I hope you will come home straight because I have an important discussion with you.

Hon. Nii Nortey: Vivian, I believe it’s not money related because I don’t have a dime to spare. You know very well the amount I spent during the campaigning, election and Christmas time.

Mrs Nortey: Nii don’t let me start my things here. I don’t want to create a scene here.

Hon. Nii Nortey: When I come home we will talk about whatever thing you have down your sleeves.

Mrs Nortey: I will be waiting for you then. Cletus take me home.

Hon. Johnson: Sweetheart, the driver will take you home right now.

Mrs Johnson: Oh but why? Are we not going home together?

Hon. Johnson: No my dear, we have a close door meeting with Mr President and I don’t know how long the meeting will travel so please take the lead home with the driver. I will get a car to the house when the meeting is over.

Mrs Johnson: I thought after the elections was over I was going to have you for myself but it looks like it was only a mirage I saw.

Hon. Johnson: My dear you know everything I am doing is for the betterment of our future. I promise after everything settles down, we will go for three weeks uninterrupted vacation at the Bahamas or Dubai.

Mrs Johnson: I have heard you my love, I know what you can do. Please take care of yourself and don’t do things I won’t do.

Hon. Johnson: Hahahahaha, I have heard you my first lady. Nana Kwame please take my wife home for me and no overspeeding as you are taking her away from my sight, even if a mosquito bites her, you are in trouble.

Nana Kwame: Boss you know with me she is in safe hands. (zooms off)

Hon. Nii Nortey: If not for the fact that I am now in the public domain I would have divorce this boom I call my wife. She nags a lot and she love money too much.

Hon. Johnson: Please take it easy before your blood pressure goes up for something bad to happen to you. We have better things to think about so don’t let her problems get to you.

Hon. Nii Nortey: You are very right my brother, our guy called me when I excused myself during the party that the girls are already waiting for us in our various suites. Here is the aphrodisiac I promised you earlier on, take it before we go in for the meeting, by the time we are done the medicine will be active in your blood stream……….

Is Hon. Johnson been manipulated by his colleague MP?

Do you see any looming danger approaching?

Don’t just be that silent reader, let’s stay interactive with your views and comments.

To be continued

ALL EPISODES