During the 2nd Republic, ex-President Edward Akufo-Addo, whom Ghanaians were told was afflicted with gout, was flown out of the country for medical treatment in London.

This made no news in those days.

The only aspect that made news was that he was accompanied by a Nero-surgeon. Naturally, the medical bill was paid by the State. Although the 2nd Republic is decades away, we have had instances where the state had footed the bills of certain personalities outside the country for medical attention. The list ranges from paramount chiefs through high profile political personalities to the ordinary.

In fact, during the tail end of the last government, Nana Ato Dadzie, the then Chief of Staff was forced to come out with the list of many people who had benefited from state sponsored medical treatment outside. That tall list was reluctantly made available for all because such matters are highly private and confidential.

For a number of reasons, leading politicians, particularly Heads of State are given cover in relation to even medical treatment. Probably, that is why the people were not told of the actual sickness of the head of state of the second republic when he was flown out of the country for medical treatment. Even in the United States, where most Presidents receive their medical treatment from the Bethsaida Navy Hospital in Washington D.C. coded means are used for their drugs to make it difficult for people to infiltrate.

Therefore, the use of pseudonyms either for security, medical or any other reason clearly constitutes routine practice among many eminent statesmen all over the world. In fact, when he was alive, the late American multi-billionaire Howard Huges concealed his identity for more than three decades particularly in relation to his security and medical programmes. That is why The Ghanaian Voice finds some reactions in relation to a small outstanding medical bill of the ex-President in a hospital in Berned, Switzerland astonishing.

For a bill of less than SF 7000 to create such a furore must be a matter of national concern. Impression must not be created that Ghanaians are being so petty. It is true that all public officials are accountable to their people, but we must try as much as possible to respect the privacy of individuals irrespective of their social and political standing. It will not be in the national interest if medical dispositions of our political leaders always find their way in the public domain.