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28.11.2013 Feature Article

Ghanaians Have Lost Trust In All Institutions Including Their Once Dreaded Fetishes—“Abosom”

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No institution seems to be working to satisfaction in Ghana. They are all performing far below people's expectation. It is all because the laws in the country are not being respected as required. The laws are not being enforced and even when efforts are made to enforce them, they are done partially.

Why is the above statement so? It is all because of how corruption has ramified and permeated every fabric of the Ghanaian society. The President of Ghana is the rocket scientist piloting the space craft to the space station. He is intrinsically corrupt on every step on the way when discussing corruption. The presidency is corrupt.

The judiciary, legislature, police service, civil leaders and traditional heads (chieftaincy) are all corrupt.

This corruption, the bane of Ghana's socio-politico-economic development has in many a Ghanaian's mind and estimation adversely affected our once trusted and most feared fetishes (“abosom” in the Ghanaian parlance). From the recent challenges thrown to them through various invocations of their powers but they doing fuck all, one thinks they are in tandem with the changing order that suits corruption.

Are the fetishes also corrupt? Do they accept bribes in the spirit world as pertains in the physical world among human beings as it is obviously ongoing among Ghanaian leaders?

When analysing the much hyped and publicised invocation of the fetish, Nana Antoa Nyamaa, on the Supreme Court judges sitting on Election 2012 petition to ensure only the prevalence and declaration of truth and justice, by one London-based Lawyer Adreba Damoah Abrefa, one may begin to have some doubts.

Discerning Ghanaians and other observers who followed the live telecast of the Supreme Court proceedings on Election 2012 do conclude that the Supreme Court verdict was corrupted. The verdict was as flawed as the written statements by Justice William Atuguba and Akoto-Bamfo reaffirm.

In the face of this, the fetish has not been able to do anything about it. Does the fetish see the verdict differently than discerning human beings see it? Was it not corrupted? Did any of the judges not accept any form of bribes that induced their decision? Is it what the fetish is telling Lawyer Adreba?

Anyway, many Ghanaians believe the fetishes are able to arrest only poor people. Even on Peace FM news today, Thursday 28 November 2013, some presenters questioned if it is not only the poor in society that the fetishes are able to deal with when invoked? They said it is only the poor people that are always found at the fetish shrines having been hunted down as witches, revealing secrets which end up not to be true. They even mocked, "if someone is suffering from “high” fever which may be disturbing hay fever, and start talking rubbish, the fetish claim to have arrested them for being witches".

They went further to say, once a woman went on recounting secrets justifying that she was a witch when in the grips of a fetish until she said to the amazement of all around that she killed Jesus Christ. What nonsense that is?

Are the fetishes in Ghana also as corrupt as the Ghanaian society is? Has Lawyer Adreba wasted his money and energy for nothing? Do we continue to trust the lesser gods? “ASEM SEBE”


Rockson Adofo

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