-Says US-based African Commissioner

Kwabena Amankwah

Events in the Atiwa constituency during the recent by-election are foretaste of the
nasty incidents that await the nation in the 2012 election, says Nana Attah Boamah.
Boamah is a member of the African Commission in the city of Newark, New Jersey, in
the United States of America.
According to him, Ghana’s democracy could suffer a serious setback if the ruling
National Democratic Congress does not demonstrate renewed commitment to
consolidating the nation’s democratic gains, and only remain obsessed with power.
“Even though the generality of Ghanaians appear not enthused about the performance
of the NDC government, and are clearly gearing up to vote it out in 2012, the Atiwa
experience has confirmed the intentions of the ruling party to employ
foul means to hold on to power.
The danger arises once the main opposition New Patriotic Party is convinced they are
the popular choice of the people, and so decide not to allow the mandate of the
electorate to be subverted through foul means by the incumbent NDC,” he explained.
In an exclusive interview, Nana Attah Boamah was worried that the nation now has a
president who does not possess a strong will-power to exert the required influence
over the citizenry, especially members of his party, thus allowing them unlimited
space to misbehave and engage in lawlessness with gross impunity.
“What happened during the by-election, especially the presence of macho people
purportedly hired by the NDC to intimidate and brutalize political opponents, was
very crude and barbaric, and one finds it very difficult to understand why this
should happen in the 21st century, especially under a president who is said to be
‘Asomdwehene’,” he
decried.
In the view of Nana Attah Boamah, President Mills does not deserve the title
“Asomdwehene” because “he does not understand it, and has also failed to live by the
title. Look! To be “Asomdwehene” does not mean you should love and pamper your party
members so much that you keep mute if they are misbehaving and putting the lives of
people in danger. You should be able to ensure peace in all facets of the national
life to show that you are indeed a man of peace. From what has been going on, it is
clear that Mills is certainly a fake ‘Asomdwehene’.”
Nana Attah Boamah also took a swipe at the police, describing as unprofessional
their failure to deal with criminals who are identified with political parties,
especially the ruling NDC.
“If the police can stand aloof and allow elements associated with the ruling party
to unleash brutalities on their political opponents, them they do not deserve to be
maintained with the
resources of the state,” he stated forcefully.
He urged the Mills-led NDC government to sit up and deliver the goods to convince
the electorate about the need for renewal of mandate in 2012, instead of resorting
to intimidation and other crude means to retain power.
Even though he frowns on political violence, Nana Attah Boamah thinks it is about
time the NPP stood up to face the NDC squarely, instead of always allowing
themselves to be bullied only to complain incessantly afterwards.
“If you are dealing with a group that only understands, and thrives on, violence and
intimidation, then, if you are serious party, you should also devise a means to
counter them. The continuous failure to do so will demoralize your activists who
will then sit back and allow your opponent to have unlimited space to exploit you to
their political advantage,” he posited.