Opinions of Wednesday, 30 May 2012

Columnist: Boateng, Chris Gyamfi

Akuffo Addo & Joyfm, thank you for the Bawku Ocean

Barely three months ago, the NDC took a hard and unpleasant decision of boycotting the so-called multi-media group of Ghana led by Joyfm/myjoyonline due to their political bias in favor of the opposition NPP and their attempts to foist Mr. William Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo on unsuspecting and peace loving Ghanaians. In fact, it took a lot of considerations and brainstorming before the NDC rescinded its decision, all for the sake and unity of our dear nation with the thought that the multimedia group would turn over a new leave and play a neutral role, being truth and objective in their reportage as well as giving unfettered assets to all political groups in Ghana.

But nay! The multimedia group, behaving like the proverbial pregnancy which can never be hidden forever, have shown their true colors once again by glaringly declaring their political stand for the NPP with their lies and deceptions all calculated to deceiving Ghanaians into thinking that Addo Dankaw Akuffo Addo commands the largest following among his peers. For instance, in its news report of May 27th of this year, myjoyonline planted a picture indicating huge crowd purported to emanate from Bawku where the NPP candidate and his running mate Bawumia held a rally http://politics.myjoyonline.com/pages/news/201205/87326.php.

Interestingly, a closer look at the picture indicates that the scene is far from Bawku and that the crowd shown in the picture may outnumber the entire Bawku population. Furthermore, a closer look at the picture depicts a blue sea at the background and a watch tower which most of us who are familiar of Accra can note that the place is nowhere but somewhere around the Mantse Agbona where the NPP held one of its insulting and inciting rallies recently. Or is it because Akuffo Addo is so endowed with the Midas touch that he can commandeered an ocean to emerge in far away Bawku? I challenged the multimedia group to take me to the precise location in Bawku where this picture was taken or forever bow their heads in shame.

It’s quite amazing and amusing that the NPP and its so-called pro-media groups are not taking a cue from the same failed shenanigans they pulled on Ghanaians in the run-up to the 2008 elections where they rented crowds, giving them T-shirts, 500 Ghana Cedis and bottles of apio each to boot (Kasoa comes to mind), while concocting and bribing for favorable opinions polls. But what did we see at the end of the day? Akuffo Addo was mercilessly beaten inspite of all the electoral fraud that took place in the Asante Region.

The multimedia group is being admonished that they can do whatever to deceiving some simpleton Ghanaians but a majority of the populace know that the NPP is a cabal of criminals being backed back a corrupt, shameless and a criminal enterprise called the judiciary and a party led by the devil’s incarnate called Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo who is hollow, bogus and morally bankrupt to rule Ghana.

I must hasten to add that despite the multimedia group’s desperate attempts to pull a fast one on the electorates, most discerning ones, including some staunch NPP functionaries have known Akuffo Addo insde-out and outside-in and therefore are scratching their heads as to where the country will be heading towards in the unfortunately event of electing this man to the highest office of the land.

This observation is well captured below by an avid NPP activist of their flag-bearer, thus:

"At the verandahs and stadia, people are asking if … Akufo-Addo can attack an MP and Minister when he is not even the President, what will he do when he is the President? . . . Serious political analysts are flabbergasted that a politician of his age, pedigree, and experience will emphasize, not once but twice, this potency which only start and fuel the speculation of lack of judgment, at best, and womanizing, at worst. The issue then is squarely whether the NPP or the country can afford a President who is perceived as arrogant and who promotes his potency in the Castle, or wherever the brand new $75M India-built Presidential mansion will be located."? Kwaku Azar. Dear readers, once again an ardent NPP activist in the person of Professor Kwaku Asare, domiciled in Florida, USA and christened Kwaku Azar on Ghanaweb’s Say It Loud, drummed it louder while issuing the strongest indictment on their flagbearer and mudding the waters for William Addo Dankwa Akuffo as quoted above. Like I wrote the other day, it will be deemed unwise to doubt the frog who resides underneath the waters informing us that the crocodile had kicked the bucket. Indeed, Professor Kwaku Asare (Kwaku Azar) features prominently in the NPP and therefore by writing such a scathing piece on Akuffo Addo and renouncing his character speaks volumes of the person who is trying desperately to lead our dear country.

A critical overview of Akuffo Addo’s traits and actions indicate that the man doesn’t have what it takes to lead a country and that he woefully lacks leadership qualities, as well as being reckless and violent. Let’s just consider two or three scenarios relating to how this man fared when he was a cabinet member in the NPP government and also as a member of parliament.

Just gloss over the massive leadership paralysis that characterized his administration at the attorney general’s department and let’s focus on how he stood aloof like a dummy at the foreign ministry department. As an ipso facto minister, Akuffo Addo couldn’t and did not exhibit leadership qualities by stamping his authority when a parcel of land earmarked for the foreign ministry building at the airport area was shared among some NPP leaders. The shallow and untenable explanation offered by his so-called nephew with dubious character and questionable law certificate Otchere Darko was that his uncle knew that it was immoral for the land to be shared by the NPP echelon, hence his refusal to participate in it! Can you believe this? Akuffo Addo considered that act of stealing government property as immoral but as the substantive minister and a lawyer who touts his civil rights credentials with the least opportunity and with the oversight responsibility of the that land, didn’t take any steps to protect the piece of national property? How serious is this man? How genuine is this man in his quest to lead with his deceptive slogan of believing in Ghana? This particular negligence is profoundly pathetic, disgusting, irresponsible and disingenuous on the part of Mr. Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo.

That parcel of land falls under the jurisdiction of the foreign ministry which forms a microcosm of the macroscopic Ghana and therefore if Akuffo Addo couldn’t manage such an insignificant portion of Ghana, how can we trust that he can manage the whole country? And like Chaucer says, “...if gold is rotten, what then will iron do?” For what is the guarantee that Mr. Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo would not look on unconcern when foreign entities invade and take possession of our oil fields? Even though he would consider it immoral for such marauding and encroachment to take place, he will not exercise any leadership control to redeem the oil fields. And this is the person who wants to lead Kwame Nkrumah’s Ghana? Over my dead body! I will reiterate here once more and question if Akuffo Addo did take any calculated steps to bequeath any spectacular development for the Akyem Abuakwa constituency where he was duly elected (albeit the intimidations and brutalities meted out to his opponents) by his people and served as a member of parliament for 12 whole years? The only legacy we can think of and Akuffo Addo is very well noted for is the demonstration of his violence and brute perpetuated by him and unleashed by his goons on anyone who dared challenged him for that seat.

Is this the person some people consider being decisive and therefore should be entrusted with the destiny of Ghana? The man is bogus, negligibly incompetent and morally bankrupt and must therefore not be entertained near any leadership position, let alone the presidency of our dear nation.

Look, it is one thing reading speeches written by somebody, and another thing doing and saying something substantive and significant for the collective good of the country. Even incoherent Sir John can read speeches written for him by presidential letterhead forger Mocta Bamba.

Akuffo Addo’s lacks of foresight and leadership qualities come to play whenever he makes extempore speeches. How on earth would any serious leader poke fun and desecrate the dead when given the opportunity to eulogize no mean a person than a former member parliament? Or, how on earth could any serious leader with good intentions to rule a country make polarizing speeches like ‘yen Akanfuo” which seeks to pitch one tribe against the rest of non-Akan Ghanaians or making extempore speeches such as “all die be die” which invokes nothing but a bloody violence and a war? Or describing others as voting one way while he himself supervises a –one way voting in both the Asante, the Akyem and the Kwahu areas of the Eastern Regions? No wonder Akuffo Addo has amply been described and aptly gauged as a careless and dangerous individual by both discerning Ghanaians and objective foreign observers. Ghanaian voters must be cautioned and reminded that Mr. Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo doesn’t have what it takes to lead the country and that he has exhibited massive failures which know no bounds in the annals of Ghanaian political history and therefore voting for him means placing the country in the valley of perpetual damnation.

I’m Koo Boateng and I approve of the above message.

Chris Gyamfi Boateng, Philadelphia, USA.