Should Ghanaians Have To Provide Height Boosters To Nana Akufo-Addo Just To Become Presidentiable?

It is now obvious from various discussions and debates that Nana Akufo-Addo is not presidentiable because he does not have a positive result-driven platform to develop Ghana; and he does not have the leadership trait to lead Ghana as well. In my previous article entitled "Can A “Funny” Man Become President In Ghana?", I made reference to the critical role physical appearance can play in political leadership, especially when it comes to height. This statement is not discriminatory, it is not heightism, but it is a scientifically driven account when it comes to leadership.

The idea that height affects the chances of attaining leadership positions is consistent with a large body of evidence from the psychology. Based on the flip flop in the baseless promises being made by Nana Akufo-Addo just to gain vote clearly indicates how psychologically unstable he is, thus not presidentiable. I am not denying him a leading role. Although this affirmation may be painful to some minorities, and too difficult to accept, Nana just cannot lead because he does not have the character and the traits to become a leader of a nation, Ghana.

Today, my position on physical trait and political leadership is consolidated by stance taken by IEA in Ghana to help NPP's Nana Akufo-Addo boost its image. The IEA provided the NPP candidate with a 1-foot raised platform hidden behind his podium on which he stood to tower over his much taller contestants for an obvious psychological advantage..... According to Mr. Wayoe, the IEA had confirmed the presence of the raised platform......... If the NPP flag bearer were tall, would he had needed a height booster?

Nana Akufo-Addo is pretty short. In general, short statured men, like Nana Akufo-Addo, are unsuccessful in career and politics and they are unlikeable tyrants in need of compensating for "something" they are missing. Nana Akufo-Addo is so short that he needs a raised platform to elevate himself to the level of his peers or to enhance his height, thank God that his party is so grateful to the action of IEA to the point that NPP will accept such gratitude if offered again.

This statement from a party leader illustrates the point that the NPP is aware of this major and key deficiency and knows very well that it does not have a credible candidate to be elected president. I hereby quote: "... Responding to the claim on the Dwaso Nsem show, Communications Director of the NPP, Nana Akomea said the decision to provide some elevation for his candidate was made by the producers of the programme to make filming the event easier....“If it is offered again we will accept it.”

Does this mean that a line item should be included in the national budget to provide height enhancers (for instance, enhanced shoes, customed fabricated platforms, etc..) for Nana in case he were elected? This is a serious questions because Nana, if "elected", (and this is unlikely) he will be representing our country abroad as well and are our host countries also going to be compelled to provide height boosters to the Excellency Nana Akufo-Addo during press conferences?

A study by Texas Tech University indicates that the electorate has a universal preference for tall leaders with a "physically formidable" stature because of "caveman politics". The study states that favouring tall people is a prehistoric trend, now applied to political leadership races. Early humans preferred their larger peers as leaders because they were thought to have better survival skills, it asserts."Some traits and instincts that may have been acquired through evolution continue to manifest themselves in modern life," said Gregg R Murray, political science professor and co-author of the report. We believe similar traits exist in politics. Even in the US, statistically the numbers indicate that when two major parties compete, 53 percent of the time the taller candidate wins. So, the odds are slightly better than a coin flip. Nana just cannot lead because he does not have the character and the traits to become a leader of a nation, Ghana.

John KOFFISON New York, NY (USA)