I
want to write a play about judgment debts, and given the seriousness of the
subject and its rather grave impact on our economy and society I believe that
the drama should be a dark tragedy. As I see it, Judgment Debt, the Play should
be all dark, sombre and moody with the characters moving in shadows like
silhouettes against a fading wall. It will be silent and the only sound will be
of wailing, as of the Bible passage in Matthew 2:7:
“A voice has been heard in Rama,
weeping, and great lamentation: Rachel weeping [for] her children, and not be
comforted, because they are not”.
Our
tragic wailing would be long, tortured and hollow – unforgettable screeches of
Ghana weeping for her children but she would not be comforted because
prosperous they are not. The play would begin with a long parade of famished
children carrying their broken chairs to schools under trees, followed by
unborn babies who have died and gone prematurely to Heaven because of lack of
medicines and hospital equipment; unpaid teachers, contractors, and national
service personnel would follow; farmers, fisher-folk and all kinds of
victim-folk would have their dismal turn on stage; potholes dressed as pots
with holes will strut upon the stage; coming at the rear would be the
unemployed, or the de-jobbed masses (with apologies to Wendy). The play being a
Greek tragedy the rest of us who fall somewhere in between the cracks vacated
by the main dramatis personae would form the participating chorus.
As
with all good tragedies we need a hero and a foil, which will be easy casting
in this case. Cometh the hour, cometh the man, or in this case, cometh the men
because ultimately, the drama has to be about two men – Messrs Agbesi Woyome
and Martin Amidu whose places in history will forever be tied securely to the anchor
of judgment debt no matter which way the billowing gale of history will blow.
In true tragedy fashion, different people will have different heroes depending
not on the unfolding drama but their personal faiths and beliefs. That is the real
character of politics in Ghana in the second decade of the 21st
Century. Let us hear this verdict from the Qur’an Chapter 4, Verse 85:
"Whoever recommends and helps a good cause
becomes a partner therein, and whoever recommends and helps an evil cause
shares in its burden."
There
is another way of looking at this drama. It is the theatre tradition known as
the Theatre of the Absurd, in which nothing makes sense, perhaps except to a
small band of insiders who are playing roles only they can understand. In this
version it would be hard to tell whether we are celebrating or lamenting
judgment debt because the lead characters would go looking for debts all night
long and hug them like long lost relatives who will be presented to a bemused
nation every morning. New revelations of judgment debt would be met with
fanfare and ice cream for the children and champagne for the adults. Days
without new judgment debts would be days of woes. Judgment debts are like the
Prodigal Son – the longer they have been away the bigger the welcome party, and
indeed the more profligate the better.
Once
again, as with the Greek tragedy, in this absurdist version, we the people will
duly constitute the participating audience; now passive, a bit talkative when
required; show us the money and we will talk. If you will be my paymaster I
will be your long-lost serial caller. We the people, just like the main
characters will not have a clue what the fuss is about but we will jabber on
because the chorus has to say or sing something for Christ sake. Sure, we
understand it is all about power and the use of same to get rich quick. We
understand it is not about us at all; indeed we might as well, as Bertolt
Brecht advised, call on the politicians to elect a new people to govern since
we have become useless bystanders looking on as they amass power and wealth and
rub it in the sores of our wounded dignity.
That
ought to be the proper tone for Judgment Debt – The Play, but unfortunately,
the play in my head threatens to become a comedy every time I give voice to the
characters. It cannot be anything but comic to imagine another hero of the
Judgment Debt Movement, Mr. Okudzeto Ablakwa, whose daytime Job is the Deputy
Minister of Information, spending night after night going through the archives
looking for judgment debts. On stage we could put his feet in buckets of cold
water and give him loads of coffee and colanuts to keep him awake as he goes
through his onerous but patriotic task.
Comedy
is about role reversals and making the improbable happen such as the Minister
of Information reportedly introducing his own deputy at the latter’s recent judgment
debt show. However, in the stage version all this would be cleared up in a few
revelatory dialogue lines:
Questioner:
Minister, may I ask you why you had to introduce your deputy and be the MC for
him at this press conference?
Minister:
Are you referring to my colleague Minister as my deputy?
2nd Questioner:
Minister, the previous questioner was referring to your deputy sitting next to
you…
(The
Minister bends left as if to take instructions from his deputy)
Minister:
Aha, I see your confusion. My so-called deputy is actually a full minister
Chorus: How? What?
What do you mean?
Minister:
Yes, Ghanaian journalists are complacent. If you had paid attention you would
have noticed that my so-called deputy is now the Minister for Judgment Debts, a
position that has been created secretly by His Excellency the President in line
with the Better Ghana Agenda.
3rd Questioner:
Minister…!
Minister
rises to his full height.
Minister:
ladies and gentlemen, you may have forgotten that His Excellency the President
studied at the feet of our former mentor, the Master Strategist himself, who
taught us that the most valuable military tactic is surprise and attack. In
secretly creating a Ministry of Judgment Debt His Excellency the President
deployed this tactic to great advantage and the enemy has been outflanked. At
the end of the day, if the media are circumspect with their reportage and
everything inures to the benefit of the nation as a whole we will all
appreciate the wisdom of His Excellency the President…
Chorus:
What? How?
Minister:
Well, my young deputy here is in actual fact my boss, and indeed the boss of a
certain former attorney general who was not privy to the strategy…
As
he speaks, the curtain draws slowly. The legend JJ – Jaguar Jokers is embossed
on the velvet curtain. The chorus breaks into Ephraim Amu’s eternal anthem:
Yɛn ara asaase ni/Ɛyɛ abɔdenden ma yɛn/Mogya a Nananom
hwie gu,/nya de too hɔ maa yɛn
Aduru me ne wo nso so/Sɛ yɛbɛyɛ bi atoa so/Nimdeɛ
ntraso nkotokrane/ne apɛsɛmenkomenya
Adi yɛn bra mu dɛm ama/yen Asaase hɔ do atɔmu sɛ
Ɔman no sɛ ɛbɛ yɛ yie/oo Ɔman no se ɛnyɛ yie oo/Ɛ yɛ sɛ
na ɔsɛ, ɔmanfo bra na ekyerɛ
In translation: This is our own cherished land/
acquired through the blood our ancestors shed for us/
It is now our turn to continue what our ancestors
started/ Pride, cheating and selfishness has scarred our character/ and
diminished our affection for our land.
Whether or not this nation prospers/ Depends on the
character of the citizens of the nation.
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