Former Foreign Minister and the man considered to be the most popular of the candidates for the New Patriotic Party leadership race has charged Ghanaians to prepare themselves with the necessary expertise and for Government to ensure that proper arrangements are put in place to create the space for Ghanaians to take controlling stakes in the country's oil prospects.

Addressing over three thousand university students on the grounds of Mensah Sarbah Hall, University of Ghana, last Friday, Nana Akufo-Addo said all indications are that Ghana has struck oil in significant commercial quantities. While describing it as great news, he warned that the country must begin putting into place the necessary, responsible "Ghana First" arrangements to "avoid the situation where it only mainly benefits a privileged few and foreigners.”

The MP for Abuakwa South and former resident of Legon Hall told the future leaders to see Ghana’s prospective oil industry as “one major novel area which we, especially your generation, should all engage our minds in to fully explore and prepare ourselves for the challenges and opportunities that oil money offers.”

Experts predict Ghana’s oil deposit can contribute as much as $50 billion to the economy in the foreseeable future. The man aiming to be “our next President” urged Ghanaians to approach this “significant economic opportunity with a can-do and must-do attitude.”

He envisages ‘oil-rich’ Ghana as offering an extraordinary God-sent opportunity to push to the limit his vision of ‘Ghanaian Economic Empowerment.’ His GEE initiative foresees a kind of economic patriotism, where in his words, “we need to look more and more to ourselves within Ghana and among Ghanaians in the Diaspora than we have in the past,” by developing and pursuing “a clear policy of Ghanaian Economic Empowerment. To do so, we should not be shy of introducing policies that look, first and foremost, after our own people at every level of our economy.”

Addressing an enthusiastic crowd of Legon students last week, Nana Akufo-Addo said Ghana’s oil prospects present a perfect opportunity to balance social justice with the free market concept of globalisation.

Addressing an enthusiastic crowd of Legon students last week, Nana Akufo-Addo said Ghana’s oil prospects present a perfect opportunity to balance social justice with the free market concept of globalisation.

"Of course, I believe in rewarding winners, but we cannot fail to ensure that every Ghanaian benefits from this - it should be broad-based in the opportunities and rewards it offers."

Nana then went on to admonish Ghana’s future leaders to see how they can prepare themselves for the fortunes ahead, which the experts say are likely to start flowing in five to ten years time.

He is prompting the country to start the process of training a balanced mix of Ghanaian geophysicists, engineers, as well as operations and support experts, such as lawyers, accountants, and brokers.

"The fundamental issue is that we want to maximize the way that our oil resources can benefit our people. This requires that we train our youth to become earth scientists, petrol chemical engineers, petroleum geologists, petrophysical experts, etc."

He continues, "Of course, we will need the help of foreigners from the beginning, but the arrangement must be one of knowledge transfer rather than continuous dependence on their knowledge."

Between 1970 and 1975 Nana Akufo-Addo specialised in the oil and gas industry as a young corporate lawyer with Champs Elysee-based Coudert Frères, the French arm of a major US law firm.

Despite the excellent opportunities of self-enrichment that his law practice in France held, Akufo-Addo, aged 31, returned to Ghana to take up politics. This was three years after the Busia administration, in which his father was ceremonial head of state, had been overthrown.

In 1977, after significant pressure from the professional bodies, the Head of the National Redemption Council military junta, General I K Acheampong agreed to hold a referendum on the acceptability of the "Union Government" concept which was intended to entrench military rule and stifle any hope of a multiparty democracy in Ghana.

Gen Akwasi Amankwa Afrifa invited Nana Addo, and they put together a formidable political umbrella group against Kutu Acheampong’s attempts to form a one-party state under the guise of UNIGOV.

The alliance formed under the People’s Movement for Freedom and Justice included political stalwarts such as William Ofori-Atta, Komla Gbedemah, Adu Boahen, Sam Okudzeto, Obed Asamoah, K.S.P. Jantuah, Jones Ofori-Atta, Johnny Hanson and Nii Amaah Amartefio (Mr No).

Akufo-Addo showed his organisational skills as General Secretary of the broad-based PMFJ, which led the "No" campaign in the UNIGOV referendum, ultimately bringing about the downfall of Acheampong on 5th July, 1978, and the restoration of multiparty democratic rule in the country in 1979.