Opinions of Friday, 23 October 2009

Columnist: Ras, Einstein

Kudos to Mo Ibrahim

Great men have come and gone yet their names live on and refuse to die. We can mention great men like Steve Biko, Kwame Nkrumah, Sekou Toure, Patrice Lumumba to mention but a few and these are men whose thirst for honesty makes them live way after their deaths. It is thus true that good name is better than riches but too bad some greedy bald heads think otherwise. I remember somewhere in 1999, when the NPP led by Kuffour outdoored their manifesto at the Manor Park Church back in the UK. This aspiring President at the time Kuffour looked so honourable and ready to take Ghana to the next level. I was so touched by his action that my cousin and I, then students decided to contribute to the campaign so as to bring the change we longed for.

It is also true that the devil you know is better than the angel you don't know and obviously, I believe a lot of Ghanaians would look back and regret for ever putting Kuffour in the highest office of the land. It might be true that there was more money in circulation during the 8 year looting reign of Kuffour all because his comrades had access to the tax payers money all in the name of the property owning democracy which they adored during their reign. They had so much money at their disposal that, they could afford to shower our money on their numerous girlfriends whereas the masses died in abject poverty and this is certainly one of the trademarks of the wicked. The Kuffour I saw at Manor Park was a man who desperately needed financial support for his campaign and wasn't a well off individual. This man was a man on a mission right from the day he took over from Rawlings. As a component of their property owning democracy agenda, they started acquiring houses all over the place with some being state owned houses (as in the case of Jake Obetsebi Lamptey). By the way, how come this man is not being invited by the Ghana @ 50 commission as he must know a lot about dealings there.

Kuffour had acquired the infamous Kuffour Hotel and I even wonder if he doesn't own the Villagio apartments which is just too close to his house. Is it true his daughter Nana Ama owns 50% of the shopping mall and is it true he has something to do with the Sahara Oil Company as well as Micheletti? No President in the history of this country has been associated with more corrupt asset acquisitions than Kuffour. Haruna Esseku claimed that the man was very much interested in Kickbacks and it is a shame this great son of the land was "punished' for telling Ghanaians the truth about the devil who pretended to be an angel from afar. It is a shame that elites such as Kuffour can be so greedy and ignorant considering the way they dealt with the Ghana Airways Sale not forgetting the Vodaphone Sale. No logical person would ever enter into the kind of agreement Kuffour entered with Vodaphone particularly if he cares about the masses.

Mo Ibrahim should be commended for not giving out this year's award to someone like Kuffour because he would have diminished his awards to nothing had he given it to Kuffour. He cannot stand on the same pedestal and Festus Mogai ( Last year's recipient of the award) and Joachim Chissano (the first recipient). Mo's decision not to give the award to none of the nominated candidates must be a lesson to all greedy leaders across the world. Kuffour must have been awarded or hailed by the world's number one (1) terrorist at the time George Bush but every logical person would agree with the fact that birds of the same feather flock together. Mo, Kuffour had shamefully released armed robbers in the last minutes of his tenure obviously because of his lack of sympathy for the already suffering masses. Honest men within his own party would attest to the fact that the man was such a greedy individual who served the interest of himself, his family and that of his boys such as Kojo Mpiani who is alleged to be the brain behind Fairllop ( is that true?). He had also turned very vocal men such as Otabil into mummies and these people couldn't even talk when the whole country was brought to a standstill during the run off in last year's election obviously because they had been paid off.

When we were growing up as kids, the so called "men of God' lived in the midst of the masses so as to learn more about them and comfort them with God's word but today, these criminals have allowed themselves to be purchased by greedy men such as Kuffour with houses in the plush Trassaco Valley but this isn't strange at all as Jesus Christ talked about the commercialization of the church (remember the people selling doves in the temple in his time?). Mo, these men, just like Kuffour do not have the truth in them and only God will judge them. Think about GIA and how Kuffour reduced our national asset into nothing and still kept pumping money into such a dog just because his boys had an interest. This greedy President had ordered the sale of 2 Presidential Jets during his last days in office obviously because of his interest (possibility of a kickback).

Think about a leader who would want to build a Presidential Villa when majority of his people were struggling all because of the massive looting during his regime not forgetting the emergence of Cocaine deals all around us. More stolen cars had found their way into the country and always ended up with customized numbers just to help elude the security services and it would surprise you to know that most of the owners were Sympathizers of the corrupt Kuffour and his inhumane government. I strongly believe the real culprits of the MV Benjamin Saga are Politicians who are still at large and not the people who were used as scapegoats (I stand to be corrected though). Kuffour was just a confused leader who just didn't get the priorities right and I wonder what the illiterates would think of the literates knowing the disgrace people such as Kuffour must have caused us.

Mo, I also forgot to let you know that more young women took up prostitution all because of the high patronage by Kuffour and his fellow criminals. Incidents at the CAF awards during his tenure should confirm the beau nature of this greedy man. Kuffour and his comrades had turned Ghana into an immoral ground and I personally know of his permanent room in one of the hotels around Achimota where he checked in his victims. God will in fact bless you for disgracing this dishonest one who is in the same league as Iddi Amin since he awarded himself with metals worth more than the annual salary of the average Ghanaian. Shame unto you JA Kuffour

Nkrumah left a legacy which we can all be proud off but Kuffour has surely left a legacy of greed, flamboyance and criminality and we must all congratulate Mo Ibrahim for exposing this corrupt leader in such a disgraceful manner. Imagine what would have happened if they had mistakenly given the award to such a dishonest man like Kuffour. He would be the first Ghanaian President to end up in jail if there were any justice in the world but oops! there is no justice in the world today