LOSING COMPETENCIES TO ALLIANCE

By: NASRULLAH IBN MUTAWAKIL 

FOSO COLLEGE OF EDUCATION 

@WEC SECTOR

0540317575

When you hear the name of Abraham Lincoln, usually what comes to mind is “democracy”. I am talking about “the government of the people, by the people and for the people”. On the other hand, what do you think about when you hear the name of King Tenkamenin? Some readers might say this is gibberish or perhaps this name never existed. Well, that’s based on their best of knowledge.

King Tenkamenin was known as the “people’s king.” He ruled over the old Ghanaian Empire in the 9th century, and was regarded as the father of democracy, both in declaration and in practice. He ruled 1000 years before Abraham Lincoln became president. But thanks to history, the king who died in 1075 was not regarded as the “FATHER OF DEMOCRACY” probably because he was an African. Historians who consider the ancient king as the father of democracy believe that democracy had once been part of Africans before the abolishment of slave trade.

This history gives me the freedom to write on the heading without fear even though the subject matter is like the fly which perches on my scrotum; nobody will tell me to kill that fly with carefulness. I am an African and a fante to be precise. History tells me that my ancestors emigrated from the old Ghanaian Empire and that gives me the impression that my gene is an embodiment of democracy.

I am only stating a genuine concern without any derogatory remarks or whatsoever as an affirmation of our democratic principles.
I do not know the exact people to which the above heading is targeted. Interestingly, I am assured of one thing, the clock is ticking and sooner than we think, 2019 will be here. Again, we will be headed for another delegate congress to elect a new set of leaders to run the affairs of the Teacher Trainees Association. Election matters. Election does not only give us a new set of leaders rather, it also enforces internal democracy within organizations, institutions and so on. Election gives rise to very new beginnings especially one that comes with accountability, hope and justice for all. Election is the weapon of the delegates of an association or the peaceful weapon of citizens. It is only during election that, the voices from our thumb becomes louder than the mouth and for this I now know that I am talking to some delegates out there.

Currently, I feel like I am that old man in the Nigerian proverb which usually goes like “what the old man sees whiles sitting, the child will climb the highest mountain and will see nothing.” I am only 25 years of age and if for nothing at all, I know that in Teacher Trainees Association of Ghana, election is all about alliance. You can be the best candidate for any portfolio in our fraternity but should your alliance fail, you will lose. “This has been the practice of members belonging to the association since the association was established in 1996,” said the ex-officio. The unfortunate response you get when the question, why we need an alliance during elections, is asked.

 Usually when I hear such response, I think about the history of TTAG. I think about the presentations and the misrepresentations. The presentations which we have always known is about the first step of the Trainees agenda to serve as the emancipation tool for the total liberation of the student front. This was started by our brothers from the three Northern Regions with the formation of Association of Teacher Training Colleges in the Northern Sector. I believe that the presentation simply makes us aware of how this initiative began with an “IDEA”. I mean the idea of bringing trainees together without considering the sector (in their case, it was region) they belonged to. It tells us indirectly of how the one who brought the idea led a team of great thinkers to be the pioneers of what has become the association we have today. These great thinkers came from various colleges to form a single unit.

The misrepresentation on the other hand, tells us what today’s generation has been doing. It is like the story of the man who married four wives and had many children. The four wives wanting to achieve marital success for themselves, brought forth the idea of an internal alliance where the first and second wives became great allies while the third and fourth wives also formed theirs. The two separate alliances saw the husband move to either side only when the idea favored his personal interest. The husband who had children out of wedlock, would have to enter into a barter system with either of the two alliances to secure a place for the kids he had out of wedlock.  The alliance favored whichever child was picked to represent either of the alliance without considering the strengths\ competencies they possessed. To be continued…..

As to how this alliance emerged in TTAG, is not known to the current generation and they seem not to care. What seems to be of importance to them is the benefits derived. It is like the goat which thought it was dirtying the wall of its owner until it realized that its coat was peeling off. The idea of alliance of course would have sounded very good to me if I was in the shoes of any candidate but unfortunately this idea has caused enmity amongst some people that I know in some sectors. An alliance that seemed to have been between sectors has now become a thing for inter-colleges. And whoever sowed the seed of alliance, sowed a seed that would gradually create divisions in our association.

The tragedy of our time is that all the ex-officios, if not all, are in support of the idea of alliance without recognizing the disaster we are in, or perhaps we are headed to. They have forgotten that the existence of an alliance curtails that internal democracy we need to enjoy in the association. Competent aspirants who are not able to garner support during primaries automatically have no backing of the sector when they decide to contest at the national front. If they persist with the intention to pick up a form at the national front, with the slightest of mistake, they will be disqualified without enjoying any form of benign consideration.

That is what our association has become today. Every sector wants to have a taste of the highest power and will do anything for it. There is no competition in our national elections. The only competition in our elections is who wins the heart of the odd sector. There is no power in our manifestoes during congress. The only power is the strength of the alliance.
We know culture is the way of life of a group of people but one characteristic of culture we may have forgotten is that, culture is dynamic.

It means culture changes with time. Unfortunately, the culture of our association is yet to change with time. The culture of our association is all about win! win! win! for aspirants who hope to attain a certain portfolio in the associations’ elections. They are the people who will do anything to gain that top notch without considering the mission of our association. They are the people who have so much confidence in the alliance. They are the people who are connected to the instigators of the alliance and like GOD, when the alliance speaks, everything has to bow.

I believe our practice of alliance needs rethinking. I am confident that if people are made to contest for positions at the national level without going through the sector, we will see many competent aspirants contesting for various positions other than two competent aspirants we usually see. We will see a renewed spirit of hope being injected into the association. We will see people vote based on policies and not alliance.  It is on good policies that our association will thrive and achieve it aspirations.

There are people who do not believe that we can take alliance out of our elections. I understand their skepticism. It is like that of the vulture who says that even though its eggs are not edible, it can only be nursed on a high tree because it is hard to trust man. Until we truly adopt that form of self discipline, we would only depend on the alliance as it comes with its future consequences like political infiltrations in our associations.

I wish ourselves well as we ponder over the proverbs of the Yorubas “the dog that wants to get lost refuses to heed to the whistle of the hunter”. Let’s change now!