The President's Honour List

By Kofi Akordor
Honour is greater than riches. That is why many people will do anything to protect their honour or what they passionately believe in even at the point of death. In the same way, honour should not be bestowed freely. It must be truly deserved. That adds dignity and reverence to the honour.
State honour is something many citizens look up for. What more will be dignifying to a citizen than to be recognized by the State and honoured accordingly. It is for this reason that those who receive state honours on occasions such as National Independence Day or Republic Day cherish with pride, fond memories of such occasions.
In Ghana, there seven main awards conferred on distinguished citizens of the land by the President of the Republic. The highest award is the Order of the Star of the Ghana, which is in three sub-categories, namely: Companion (Highest); Officer (Intermediate) and Member (Basic). The second award is the Order of the Volta which is in three categories – Companion (Highest); Officer (Intermediate) and Member (Basic).The third in descending order is the Grand Medal. Whichever the category, it is a pride to be a recipient.
These are awards reserved for men and women who have excelled not only in their professions or fields of endeavour but have, by the quality of their lifestyles become role models for their peers and the younger generation.
In the past, those who were privileged to be award winners were limited. One may even be tempted to describe it as special league club restricted to giants in the academia, the elite professions and the nobility associated with our chieftaincy institution.
In recent times there appears to be a clear indication that the net is being cast wider to accommodate those who in the past could not satisfy the rigid standards set by the select committee or whichever body is responsible for advising the President on who and who should not be awarded.
There is every good reason to give recognition to as many nation builders as possible and the national awards should not be the preserve of only those with a chain of degrees or long chains of gold ornaments dangling around their necks.
However, there is an emerging trend which should be checked before the national awards lose their importance and become like a child’s play. Until the select makes its mode of selection public, I daresay, some of the recipients at this year’s awards do not deserve the type of the honour the annual awards carry.
A person deserves such monumental award after he/she has proved consistently that he/she is imbued with patriotism, humility, honesty and above all excellence in whatever field of endeavour he/she finds him/herself. That is why most often these award winners have always found themselves at the sunset of their lives when they can go home with broad smiles on their faces for a mission accomplished.
I was, therefore, particularly surprised that a young musician who barely five years ago was not known by many could after two or three albums be given such a national recognition. Was it the revenue brought in by his music or what? Surely musicians and entertainers generally are important. They keep our depressed souls alive with their music, jokes and other comic acts and they deserve praise. But they need to mature and go beyond a few albums or stagecrafts to enter our history books as heroes.
I quite remember, Ike Quartey, in one of his gross displays of indiscipline, blocked the Accra Stadium main gate with his vehicle. The reason was that they did not allow some the apparachicks following him to enter the facility free of charge. Not even the entreaties of very influential persons will make him burg. It is on record he is the only boxer who lost a crucial bout and people from his own locality jubilated. The man had also engaged in some street brawls.So what was the criteria used to put such a character on such a historic national honour list? It is like you can misbehave but once you can break an opponent’s jaw in the boxing ring, you deserve a national award.
Ghana has produced many great boxers whose exploits did not end in the ring. Outside, they were role models. Such persons deserve every bit of national award. Mention the late Eddie Blay and Barimah Azumah Nelson and nobody will blink if they mount the rostrum to receive a Grand Medal or something even higher from the President. Sportsmen and women are judged not only by their nimble-footedness or the power of the fists. More important, by their demeanour, humility and their willingness at all times to serve as role models to the younger ones and make themselves ambassadors of worthy causes. The great Edison Arantes dos Nascimento alias Pele of Brazil, George Opon Weah of Liberia and our own Azumah Nelson are clear examples of great sportsmen.
The State must not encourage indiscipline by according high national awards to persons who will not submit to lawful authority or humble themselves before their own admirers.
I saw some the name of some evangelists also on the list and I was beginning to wonder what is our priority as a nation. Are we trying to say that people who scream at the top of their voices and make cheap money are the ones who are building this nation for us?
I saw on the list of award winners, an array of very distinguished and dedicated gentlemen and women who have played their part in the development of this country. There was Dr Gotlieb Kofi Noamesi, who has played a great role in the development of herbal medicine in the country. There was Professor Atukwei Okai, a great poet and writer. There were Nana Otuo Siriboe, a traditional ruler and a great farmer and Apostle Kwadwo Safo, who despite his academic limitations has remained a beacon of hope of our technological future.
Such a list of distinguished personalities should not be contaminated by persons who cannot receive the endorsements of even their own peers.
The national award is a heritage we cannot afford to toy with and those who dangle medals suspended on rings with ribbons in the national colours of Red, Gold and Green around their neck should not only be doers but real achievers.