Such Are The Men of Integrity

Men who swear its white
When sucklings see black
Mean who swear the king is clothed
When the blind see nakedness
Men who swear slaps are peck,and punches, pats.

Men who vomit excess food
Though their tummies rumble in hunger
Men who swear they laugh
Amidst streams of bitter tears
Men who swear all is alright, when all is wrong

Men who defend the unjust
Though they preach justice
Men who make the law
Yet cut the long arm of the law
Men who preach accountability yet unaccountable
Men who preach transparency,yet are opaque

Men who carry high the banner of integrity
Yet are deceitful
Men who preach probity
And yet flee the probe of the masses
Men who want an enabling environment
Yet promote an unable one

Such are men who leave children gaping
Thinking the old are dumb
Such are the sacrificers of truth
Such are the murderers of social values
Such are our men of integrity (Dec. 29, '97)


Background

I wrote this sitting in the Newsroom of the Ghana News Agency; i was on attachment as a cub reporter. The NDC was then in power and had tried explaining away some acts of theirs with the claim of being men of integrity. I rememeber that, the present Deputy Minister for Information and National Orientation, Frank Agyekum, then a senoir reporter at GNA was one of the first to read it.