By Margaret Jackson

November 17, 2012

When the late former Vice President, Mr. Aliu Mahama, was rushed to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra following his sudden illness, he was campaigning non-stop in the northern region for Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the NPP Presidential Campaign for the December 7 elections.

In fact, the late Mr. Aliu Mahama was tapped by the Akufo-Addo’s campaign team to smoothen the way for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the three northern regions in addition to giving political coaching to the NPP Vice-Presidential candidate, Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia. According to ex-president JA Kufuor, his former veep Mr. Aliu Mahama was campaigning with Bawumia when he collapsed and had to be rushed to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital for treatment.

Therefore, it would not be out of place to concur with former President Kufuor who said that, “The late Aliu Mahama was very hardworking and died campaigning for the party”. It is important to let readers know that the late vice-president collapsed on the campaign tour two times, the first time in the Atebubu area and the second time in the Northern Region before his demise. Ex-president Kufuor is quoted as saying that Mr. Aliu Mahama died of stroke.

When the late Mr. Aliu Mahama was admitted to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital and his situation turned for the worse several prominent people within and outside the NPP circles went to the hospital to pay him a visit. Mr. Kufuor was there and so was Bawumia. There were several NPP big wigs that also went to pay Mr. Aliu Mahama a visit.

President John Mahama put aside his presidential campaign and rushed down to visit Mr. Aliu Mahama. These visits vividly portrayed the unity and oneness that bond us as a nation. In fact, it also showed how as a people we should be each other’s neighbour and how it is important to show our love to people when they need it most.

But conspicuously missing from the prominent individuals and groups who paid a visit to Mr. Aliu Mahama at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital is Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the very man Mr. Aliu Mahama was campaigning for when he collapsed.

When Mr. Aliu Mahama was admitted at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Akufo-Addo was busily campaigning and did not see the need to find time to visit him. All that Akufo-Addo did was to send Bawumia to pay him a visit. Insiders within Akufo-Addo’s campaign team who fear for possible political fallout are saying privately that they warned Akufo-Addo to dash down to visit Mr. Aliu Mahama when rumours emerged last week Wednesday that Mr. Aliu Mahama had passed on.

But I am told Akufo-Addo simply stated, “Why waste time to visit someone who is in a vegetative state and will not even notice me if I go there”. A patient who is in a coma-like state characterized by open eyes and the appearance of wakefulness is considered to be in a vegetative state. Ladies and gentlemen, that is the reason why Akufo-Addo ignored Mr. Aliu Mahama till he died sadly at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital last Friday morning.

And immediately Aliu died Akufo-Addo who is in the Eastern Region suddenly cancelled his campaign tour to share some crocodile tears. Akufo-Addo shamefully stated that the passing of Mr. Aliu Mahama was a sad day in the history of Ghana. I think it is a sad day for Akufo-Addo who has portrayed to Ghanaians and his NPP folks that, as far as his presidential ambition is concerned, every other thing does not matter. Not even when you campaign for Akufo-Addo and fall sick and your condition turns very critical like it did to Mr. Aliu Mahama.

I am of the belief that Akufo-Addo is not worth campaigning for let alone dying for. At this moment all what Akufo-Addo thinks, smells, feels, cares, dreams of and eats simply centres on his ambitious quest for the presidency at all cost or come rain or shine. That is why he ignored a whole former vice president who was campaigning for him and collapsed.

With this kind of attitude, I urge voters to take note because if Akufo-Addo can exhibit such a character trait to a high profile person like Mr. Aliu Mahama, what then will Akufo-Addo do to you if you make the mistake and vote for him to become the next President and Commander-in-Chief of our dear and cherished Ghana in the up-coming elections?

We don’t need a heartless person to rule this country. In fact, we don’t need people like Akufo-Addo who put self interest above all other interests. I am drawing the attention of Ghanaians to Akufo-Addo’s attitude when the Melcom Building collapsed about two weeks ago leading to the death of 14 innocent people and the injury of over 86 people.

Akufo-Addo did not suspend his presidential campaign even though the building owner, Nkansah Ayeboafo, is believed to be one of his prominent campaign financiers. We all saw Akufo-Addo as one of the last prominent people to show up at the site of the national tragedy at Achimota. But even when Akufo-Addo got there footage of pictures taken clearly showed that Akufo-Addo was just there to acknowledge cheers from the people at the site rather than to mourn or lend his support to the bereaved families or the injured.

This is the kind of person aspiring to rule over 24 million Ghanaians. I am in total agreement with Mr. Kofi Coomson, the owner of the Ghanaian Chronicle that, I can never go to sleep if Akufo-Addo is made president of our dear country.


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