I thought I heard the Chinese ambassador to Ghana, Ambassador Shi Ting Wang saying to Ghanaians, that his wayward country men and women who have come here to destroy our environment in search of gold, are not to blame, but we are.
Shi Ting Wang said it is our mission in China who allowed such undesirables to enter into Ghana by giving them visas and it is our own people who lead them to where they can get gold. But does this imply that they can corrupt the environment by doing things they could be executed for, if they did that in China?
In my opinion, all that Shi Ting Wang is telling us, is so long we want to destroy our country and need help from China, they will be gladly obliged.
China is telling us something and we need to wake up and do the right thing. But this undiplomatic and irresponsible talk from the ambassador should not be allowed to simply go away. The Chinese is only revealing China’s foreign policy on Africa and that is, to corrupt a few people and corrupt the whole land.
China’s intention is to destroy our arable lands and serene environment so that within decades we will be importing our staples, namely cassava, plantain, maize, etc., etc. including drinking water from them. Then they will come in and buy our lands for pittance and own Africa including Ghana.
I heard once in diplomatic circles that whenever the Chinese are bringing down workforces, they will go for hardened criminals languishing in jail and air freight them down here. They are to look for minerals and do anything to acquire them.
Then they go back home and have their sentences squashed because they have made China richer. Can Ambassador Shi Ting Wang confirm this?
The other day another Chinese ambassador, Madam Sun Baohung, had the nerves to warn Ghanaians against classifying her country men and women as criminals who come here to violate our laws and destroy our environment all in the name of searching for gold. And during the National Democratic Congress’ regime, one Chinese official invited in to talk to his people about how they are destroying our ecosystem, asked us to rather think of the loan China has given us to develop our country and leave his people alone. As if we were not to payback those loans.
China’s agenda here is clear. Destroy Africa and leave her arid and empty. For this is not the first time outsiders have come to take our minerals. The West did so for centuries, however, they went about it in a very civilized and decent manner, leaving our land and water bodies as rich and clean as they came to meet them.
This is a wake-up call for us to realise that no one will sympathize with us when we destroy our land, our waters and our environment.
Our ancestors in their wisdom to keep the environment in top shape, turned some forests into “Forbidden Zones” and made everyone stay away from such areas under the pain of incurring the wraths of the gods. Today, the custodians of such areas are now giving them away for pittance to be turned into deserts and poisoned lands and waters, while the “aggressor” goes too beautify his country and make it richer. We are becoming our own enemies.
In those days when I was an officer in the credit section at Agriculture Development Bank’s Adabraka Branch Office, we gave out Yamaha outboard motors to fishermen on outright payment or on loan. The condition was that anyone who wants the motor must come along with the chief fisherman of the area he operated in.
At one time some chief fishermen kept coming with people who did not look like fishermen. When I asked about their true identity and warned that selling to non-fishermen could have dire consequences, I was told they were canoe-owners.
It turned out that these gentlemen were traders who came to buy the outboard motors, paid off the chief fishermen for “good work done” and they kept the motors in their warehouses.
There was a time when the fishermen needed outboard motors badly but unfortunately ADB had none in stock. Then these traders opened up their stores and openly displayed brand new outboard motors which were priced more than three times the previous price. The chief fishermen then trouped to me to complain, and I simply told them that I had earlier advised them against fronting for traders and that there was nothing I could do about it; this was the price to pay and they should go and look for money to buy the outboard motors.
I do not want to envisage Ghana and Africa in such situation. We should rise up, close down the mines and drive the Chinese out of town. We should apply all laws regarding foreigners entering into areas reserved for only our nationals.
How do we feel when we attack Nigerian traders, our own kith and kin, but leave out the Chinese who are out to destroy us and send us to perpetual poverty and servitude? How do we feel when we round up a few Nigerians involved in crimes but set free Chinese who are doing more harm and evil to us and even shooting and killing some of our nationals?
Perhaps we can excuse this irresponsible talk by Shi Ting Wang, the Chinese ambassador, because it seems we have seen in China a new god and colonial master.
It is about time we rise up and become principled people and fight hard to restore nature’s gifts to us, found in clean water bodies, rich greenery, very fertile lands in a country filled with milk and honey.
By the way, is there no one to call the bluff of these Chinese and tell them in the face to stop these irresponsible and undiplomatic talks?
Hon. Daniel Dugan
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect The Chronicle’s stance.
The post How Undiplomatic and Irresponsible Talk appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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