Indeed! Nana Akufo Addo’s “All Die be Die” Mantra Already in Action

“Remember, the mind thinks in pictures and symbols, not words. So as we worry, we are seeing ourselves failing. We can sometimes bequite vivid imagining this failure. We see ourselves embarrassed, flopping, standing with egg on our faces. The rerunning of these tapes in our heads becomes a habit, and it then affects all our behavior.” --- Alan Loy Macginnis in, “Confidence”

History has it that, since the inception of Ghana’s fourth republican multi-party democracy in 1992, which resulted in the landslide elections victory of H.E. Former President Jerry John Rawlings of the NDC, against the then NPP presidential candidate, Professor Albert Adu Boahen, the NPP started crying foul since then, with unfounded allegation of rigging, which made them boycotted the then first parliament and culminated into writing, “The Stolen Verdict”, by no other person but, Nana Akufo Addo of all people. However, when they won the elections against the NDC in 2000 and 2008, the incumbent NDC government never alleged NPP rigging the elections, nor refused to concede defeat. But Nana Addo, who was not destined to be President, alleged rigging in the 2008 elections when he lost, and refused to concede and congratulate late President Mills. He rather took the Electoral Commission to court, praying to the Judiciary to prevent them from announcing the results of the second round elections.

And clearly, history has repeated itself now when Nana Addo and his gurus refused to concede defeat, after the obvious victory of the NDC from the recently held free and fair elections, which has attracted commendations and congratulations from the international community, as well as fair and favorable international media hype-giving Ghanaian electorate the accolade and compliment of this peaceful and orderly process-which is not the normal norm in a sub-region, known to be always bleeding and burning, whenever there was an elections. In fact one media outlet compared some African countries to Ghana like toddlers, trying to learn “ABCD”, when it comes to organizing elections and even admired the extent to which Ghanaians understand democratic governance and the rule of law.

Looking at the spate of congratulatory messages pouring in from the African and Western leaders to the President, in the midst of the current protest by the NPP, it is obvious that, these international diplomats were well aware before the elections, through the media reportage that, the NPP out of its desperation for power have already made up their minds, they must win the elections by hook or crook means. And would plunge the country into war in the ‘unlikely’ event of losing the elections. Many were those instances that Nana and his surrogates went ballistic-ranting, raving and raging with temperamental undertones - a contributory factor that made them took a commanding lead of a whopping 13 out of 17 cases of use of abusive language, courtesy of the Media Foundation for West Africa. They even exhibited this war monging attitude in Kumasi and other metropolis across the country, few weeks before the elections.

True to Nana Addo’s “All Die be Die” mantra, his NPP supporters decided to implement to the letter and spirit of this ‘policy’ on Monday, when they attacked the Multi-Media crew, following the convoy of the President of Benin and Chairman of the African Union, who went to Nana Addo’s house to calm and console him. But thanks to the intervention by some security officers, who took them to Nima Police Station, which is very adjacent to Nana Addo’ s residence, they would have been lynched by these desperate supporters of the NPP. And their ‘crime’ was simply due to their radio station’s projection, by declaring President Mahama the winner of the elections, after they declared themselves winners earlier on, but became losers later. It is even a big embarrassment to Nana Addo himself and the entire country, for his blood-thirsty supporters to defy simple diplomatic courtesy-by disrespecting a whole President and Chairman of the entire African countries, by attacking his media crew, what a shame!

These same supporters also stabbed a member of the NDC around the vicinity of Nkrumah circle. But the most serious threat from them came yesterday when the mammoth crowd of their supporters gathered at Mr. “All Die be Die” residence, one of his “Akyem-Kyebi” cronies was heard in a cell-phone-video captured statement, encouraging their kith and kin to arm themselves with cutlasses and weapons, not guns, because they have no license, as this guy was heard saying in Twi. So that, they could attack their opponents to fight for their ‘right’. And this video went viral across the social media. We were really encouraged by the President’s swift and sudden command to the security agencies to be “on red alert” in order to subvert the rowdy and raucous behavior of the NPP. Since Nana and his surrogates intend to challenge the outcome of the results at the court, hence they should restrain their supporters to remain calm and make the country safe and secure. As we read in the media, there are thousands of NDC supporters who garnered President Mahama over 20% percent of the entire votes at Akyem-Abwakwa, the home town of Nana Addo, but they were left in limbo and dilemma, since they could not jubilate, fearing to be first victims of “All Die be Die” attacks.

We therefore want to warn Nana Addo and his cronies not to take the gentle-mannered and cool-tempered demeanor of H.E. the President for granted and cause anarchy and mobocracy in the country. Else, they will be dealt with ruthlessly. And I would like to opine to the AMA urban planners or Department of Urban Roads to make Nana Addo’s residence junction a ‘trotro’ stop, and name it with a bold sign, “All Die be Die & Freebies” Avenue or Street. This may sound sardonic, sarcastic and satirical to you my dear readers, but upon sober thought, you would see it as a deterrent for our future politicians to be extra circumspect in their choice of words and would remain an indelible history for posterity and up-and-coming generation of Ghanains to read and write.

Ghana is bigger than all of us, and if the NPP wishes to win power in subsequent future elections, then they need to render a sober reflection in the wisdom of Martin Luther King who once said, “We must accept finite disappointment in order not to lose infinite hope.” And it is only when they drive lesson from this quotable quote, change their ethnocentric and superiority complex and calibrate their message to the electorate to be more pragmatic and practical, that Ghanaian voters will sympathize with them and bring them back into power.

Husseini Y. Baba AlWaiz, Press Secretary, NDC New York