**

Feature Article, by Nana Akyea Mensah

It must be a misfortune indeed for one to lose all of his certificates, at a time when they are needed most. And when such a calamity is unfortunately accompanied by a subsequent loss of one's classmates, all of them at a go, then a problem adds up to the trouble to make it a “troublem”. Apparently, the flag-bearer of the NPP, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has a “troublem” because he has not only lost all his relevant certificates, but he has also lost all his classmates in addition to that! This has created a huge troublem of credibility, despite a case being dismissed in the courts about his credibility. Nana Akufo-Addo, the man in the middle of the drama, has decided to be very economical with details throwing light on his past, such as why he left Oxford University in 1962, who and who were his classmates, etc.

Thus, the suspicious silence has naturally goaded the NPP faithfuls who have been quick to take it upon themselves to hunt for classmates for their leader. And in doing so, the NPP is showing us a sorry image of itself, which if not vehemently opposed, risks making the entire nation a laughing-stock around the world! Here is where Nii Ayikoi Otoo comes in. I used to think Sir John was the only comic type the NPP has under its sleeves. That, Sir John's records are unbeatable. Now I know better. I think that no matter what the foibles of Sir John, he can't stand Nii Ayikoi Otoo in a free and fair stupid-commentary competition. The ease with which Nii Ayikoi Otoo made his punches quickly compelled on-lookers to re-think their assessment of Sir John as the party's General Secretary, and gratefully accept, for the first time, that it could have been far worse!

The trouble is that Nii Ayikoi Otoo is no ordinary member of the NPP. He is a leading member and Former Attorney General under the NPP Administration. This is what makes this farce alarming. He was reported to have told Radio XYZ’s Current Affairs Programme, The Analyst on Saturday May 4, 2013 that "there is information suggesting that the 2012 Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party, NPP, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was called to the bar the same year former Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Kwan Yew was." See: Akufo-Addo and Lee Kwan Yew were law mates - Ayikoi Otoo, General News of Sunday, 5 May 2013, Source: radioxyzonline.com

In order to make his case, the former Attorney General actually cited a post on Facebook, as his "further and better particulars":

“There is no doubt at all that Nana Akufo-Addo was called to the Bar in England; People have published it even on Facebook and there was one guy who said when he checked, he even realized that he was called to the bar together with Lee Kwan Yew, the same year that he was called to the bar”.

According to the same story, these comments follow a case which had been dismissed by the court on Thursday May 2, 2013 following an application by Nana Akufo-Addo’s lawyers that the writ be struck out on grounds that it was scandalous, frivolous, and abuse of the court process. The case is at the instance of Former Supreme Court Judge, Justice Francis Yaonasu Kpegah, who filed a writ against Nana Akufo-Addo at the Fast Track Division of the Accra High Court on March 19, 2013, challenging the former presidential candidate’s law credentials.

It was reported that court found the defendant’s evidence vis-a-vis the plaintiff’s failure to file an affidavit in opposition, justified a dismissal of the case. The court said based on the affidavit evidence placed before it, Nana Akufo-Addo was the same person as W.A.D. Akufo-Addo who was called to the Utter Bar of the Middle Temple in 1971 and subsequently admitted and called on the Roll of lawyers in Ghana by the General Legal Council.

This is exactly the sort of comment that throws more doubts than light on the credentials of Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo. As one digs deeper one even comes across attempts at vandalizing Wikipedia with false information. The "post" in question that Nii Ayikoi Otoo is probably referring to is a list of DECEASED MEMBERS of the Middle Temple:

The Middle Temple is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers. The following notable people were called to the Bar by the Middle Temple: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_members_of_Middle_Temple.

Among the list, we have names like Peter Ala Adjetey, Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana (2001–2005). Edward Akufo-Addo, Chief Justice of Ghana (1966–1970) and President of Ghana (1970–1972) Michael Ashikodi Agbamuche Attorney General & Minister for Justice Nigeria (Sept 1994-1997), and the list goes on.

Prominently among the deceased members is the name, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo, forcely inserted without even a space, betwen Fred Apaloo, and his post as Chief Justice of Ghana (1977 -1986) and later Kenya (1993–1995). A little below the name, we have: Kwa Geok Choo (1920–2010), wife to Singapore Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew. How this translates into Lee Kuan Yew becoming a classmate of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, baffles the imagination!

You can see for yourselves on the Wikipedia page that someone is disgracefully trying to literary force Nana Akufo-Addo's name among the dead, simply because they saw “list of Middle Temple members”! Is Nii Ayikoi Otoo trying to say that Lee Kuan Yew was called to the bar in 1971? Wonders will never end! Whilst there are records on Nana Akufo-Addo's father, the late Dr. Edward Akufo-Addo, and Lee Kuan Yew's wife, there are no direct links in any way between Nana Akufo-Addo and Lee Kuan Yew! It would certainly help their case if their testimonies are verifiable at home rather than resorting to fictitious “aboro ekyire” (over-seas) witnesses beyond our reach!

We know where to go and look for Lee Kuan Yew's classmates and where he studied law. According to Wikipedia, *"*He briefly attended the London School of Economics before moving to the University of Cambridge, where he read law at Fitzwilliam College and graduated with a rare Double Starred (double First Class Honours)." According to the website of Fitzwilliam College - University of Cambridge, where he enrolled after the war, reads; "Among many, subsequent lecturers have included *Lee Kuan Yew* (Law 1947), first Prime *..."* So was Nana Akufo-Addo a student at the *Fitzwilliam College* of the University of Cambridge in 1947?

Why would Lee Kuan Yew be Nana Akufo-Addo's classmate in 1971? The fact that faithful NPP sympathyzers have resorted to patently stupid lies to prove the legal credentials of Nana Akufo-Addo, must be very worrying indeed, even for his own supporters. Lack of class mates, certificates, etc have become subjects of intense discussions with a stern silence from Akufo-Addo. The fact that these NPP supporters have resorted to lies in order to make their point, is a sign that they also, like most of the Ghanaian public, have begun to lose confidence in the legal credentials of Nana Akufo-Addo. Hence, the felt need to "do something about the situation". This use of such cheap lies to show that Nana Akufo-Addo is a lawyer by a former Attorney General, is what makes it such a very severe shame!