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No one can deny that Chief the Honourable M A Nanga, MP, was the most approachable politician in the country Whether you asked in the city or in his hoe, Anata, they would tell you he was a man of the people I have to ad to tell will make no sense
That afternoon he was due to address the staff and students of the Anata Gra at the tiers moved in and virtually took over The Assembly Hall ers sat on the floor, right up to the foot of the dais I took one look and decided it was just as e had to stay outside—at least for the moment
Five or six dancing groups were perforo Women’s Party” wore a new uniform of expensive accra cloth In spite of the din you could still hear as clear as a bird the high-powered voice of their soloist, wholy nicknamed “Grammar-phone” Personally I don’t care toobut you just had to listen whenever Gra Micah’s handsomeness, which she likened to the perfect, sculpted beauty of a carved eagle, and his popularity which would be the envy of the proverbial traveller-to-distant-places who must not cultivate enmity on his route Micah was of course Chief the Honourable M A Nanga, MP
The arrival of the reat stir Even Grammar-phone stopped—at least for a while These people never ca so event I could not reuns as though they were playthings Now and again two of them would uns together frorabbed their children and hurriedly dragged them away Occasionally a hunter would take aim at a distant palm branch and break its mid-rib The crowd applauded But there were very few such shots Most of the hunters reserved their precious powder to greet the Minister’s arrival—the price of gunpowder like everything else having doubled again and again in the four years since this government took control
As I stood in one corner of that vast tu for the arrival of the Minister I felt intense bitterness welling up intheunpowder in honour of one of those who had started the country off down the slopes of inflation I wished for a miracle, for a voice of thunder, to hush this ridiculous festival and tell the poor contemptible people one or two truths But of course it would be quite useless They were not only ignorant but cynical Tell them that this man had used his position to enrich hiht that a sensible ood fortune placed in his mouth
I had not always disliked Mr Nanga Sixteen years or so ago he had beenlike his favourite pupil I re and handsome teacher, most impressive in his uniform as scout of a faultlessly handso an impeccable uniform I am not sure that the art teacher who painted the picture had Mr Nanga in mind There was no facial resea It was enough that they were both handsome and that they were both impressive scoutmasters This picture stood with ar neatly and lightly on a perfectly cut tree stuht red hibiscus flowers decorated the four corners of the frame; and beloere inscribed the dom That was in 1948
Nanga one into politics soon afterwards and then won a seat in Parliament (It was easy in those days—before we knew its cash price) I used to read about hi like pride in him At that time I had just entered the University and was very active in the Students’ branch of the People’s Organization Party Then in 1960 soraceful happened in the Party and I was completely disillusioned
At that ti POP A general election was ih in the country and there was no fear of its not being returned Its opponent, the Progressive Alliance Party, eak and disorganized
Then caht (or so it seeerous financial crisis on its hands
Coffee was the prop of our economy just as coffee farmers were the bulwark of the POP
The Minister of Finance at the time was a first-rate economist with a PhD in public finance He presented to the Cabinet a co with the situation
The Pri to risk losing the election by cutting down the price paid to coffee planters at that critical moment; the National Bank should be instructed to print fifteen million pounds Two-thirds of the Cabinet supported the Minister The nexthe broadcast to the nation He said the dismissed ministers were conspirators and traitors who had tean saboteurs to destroy the new nation