It was the peculiar lot of 251 Ghanaians and non-Ghanaians alike to receive awards this morning for their service to the nation in particular and humanity in general.  Most of the recipients are men and women with a tall list of accomplishments. They include eminent statesmen, consummate politicians, meticulous scholars, prominent chiefs, professional journalists, renowned diplomats; and classical comedians.  

Indeed, majority of the awardees have reached the pinnacle of their careers. And they deserve to be honoured for using moments of their time and every atom of their energy to serve the nation. At the ceremony, President Kufuor again underlined the need for peace and reconciliation as oxygen for rapid national development. This he said is the legacy he wants to bequeath the nation so he would be addicted to this cause until the last day in office.  

It is unfortunate that what was intended as a magnet to bring the nation together has rather tended to put it asunder. The awards have re-ignited the culture of disputation as they are refracted in partisan lenses.  The opposition NDC, symbolised by its founder, Jerry Rawlings and leader, Atta Mills have rejected the awards to further widen the gulf between them and the ruling party.  

Verbal stones from other quarters have also been flying in direction of the awarding authorities while the awards suffer such satirical smears as dongomi or koose. Indeed, many objective and independent minded people have been clutching at straws to rationalize why and how certain personalities got their names on the award list.

Lander teaches us that a naked truth is better than a well dressed lie.  And the naked truth is that some mistakes have been made in the selection exercise. The list is too elastic and the mode too liberal to accommodate certain names. Some awards frankly speaking are an exercise in bad timing. Some of the awarded should have been given more time to blossom and shine.

This however does not justify a boycott by the opposition.  The boycott indeed is the most inappropriate weapon unleashed at the most inauspicious time to even the political score.  This is the time to build bridges of    peace and not walls of division.  Before the fog of controversy over the awards evaporates we need to be super-serious and over-scrupulous in giving future national awards. 

A strictly bi-partisan approach would do.  To all the men and women who were honoured today for their unquestionable loyalty and meritorious service to the nation we say 'Ayeeko'.  May the rest of the nation marshall the motivation to equal or even exceed their achievements since all who sacrifice for the nation would not labour in vain.  God Bless Our Homeland, GHANA.

By: Affail Monney, a journalist