Why Akufo-Addo should sleep with one eye open

As a matter of fact, the late President Mills prepared adequately for the presidency, unlike his immediate successor, Ex-President Mahama.

But in spite of his readiness to serve the nation to the best of his ability, the detractors within his own Party needlessly kept nagging, squalling and grouching about his style of leadership.

President Atta Mills of blessed memory, in my humble opinion, had good intentions for Ghana, but his unfortunate twilight was masterminded by the remorseless conspiratorial plotters who surrounded him.

Of course, as it is expected from every credible opposition, the main opposition party back then rightly put the late Mills government on its toes. But the needless and fierce opposition came from some disgruntled members within the NDC Party.

If not for the shenanigans of the conspiratorial plotters that surrounded him, the late Mills would have been very successful in his short spell in government.

Take, for example, back then, some disgruntled NDC Party members like Kofi Adams (the current NDC National Organiser) and his minions uncharacteristically formed an opposition group called ‘Friends of Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings (FONKAR) with a view to unsettling President Mills and his government.

Kofi Adam’s and the other contumacious members of FONKAR stuck to their guns and needlessly vilified and relentlessly breathed down the neck of the late Mills until his unfortunate death in July 2012.

Do you remember Kofi Adam’s alleged secret tape in which he vowed to unsettle former President Mills until he (Mills) loses the presidency?

The late Mills was attacked unfairly by some prominent members of his own party, most notably, Ex-President Rawlings during his tenure in office and after his untimely demise.

The astringent and infamous attack in my view came from Spio-Garbrah, who was alleged to have said that President Mills was running the affairs of the country with team B ministers.

President Mills subsequently responded to Spio-Garbrah’s exposition: “When the Team A comes they will see what is going to happen and I am proud to be associated with B. I am the captain and also the coach and we shall win and deliver for the benefit of the people of Ghana (See: I am proud to captain a team B-Mills; ghanaweb.com, 7/01/2010).”

Apparently, it was the same J. J. Rawlings who defied all the stiff opposition and chose his then Vice President, the late Mills as the flagbearer for the 2000 general elections.

Disappointingly, however, Rawlings did not give President Mills the breathing space to govern the country as he inexorably breathed down the neck of the late Mills.

The NDC Party founder, J. J. Rawlings, was alleged to have claimed that the death of President John Mills in 2012 was a life saver for the ruling National Democratic Congress (See- ’Rawlings: ‘Mills’ death saved NDC’; starrfmonline.com, 18/03/2016).

“Speaking to GHONE’s Nana Aba Anamoah in an exclusive interview, Mr Rawlings said the NDC was in a terrible state under the Professor”.

“If God hadn’t invited him, and I am saying it again; NDC would have been in opposition in 2012”.

“It was terrible, the climate was really bad for us; we all knew about it, we were just keeping quiet”. “It was his departure that gave NDC a saving grace,” he stated.

Shockingly, the embattled Eastern Regional Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Bismark Tawiah Boateng, claimed that his party made a 'mistake' by presenting the late John Evans Atta Mills for the 2008 elections (See: ‘Mills was a mistake president’-NDC chairman; ghanaweb.com/adomonline.com, 19/10/2015).

“According to him, the party knew very well that the late President, who died some months to the 2012 general elections, was ill and could not perform the hefty task required of a President but yet presented him just to win power”.

“Sometimes, I wonder why Mills became the president because it was a total mistake allowing him to run for president and subsequently dying because of ill health...," he said.

To me, the late Mills suffered unnecessarily in the hands of obdurate political opportunists who probably did not get their way in his government and then decided to make things difficult for him.

The late President Mills, as a matter of fact, had his shortcomings, yet he had unparalleled moral uprightness and inquisitiveness as a leader. Indeed, the late President Mills adhered to moral principles as compared to the other conspiratorial plotters in his government.

But despite his seemingly good intentions for Ghana, the late Mills somehow capitulated and allowed the cabals in his government to have their way and duped the country, including paying out dubious judgement debt (purported to be around GH800 million) to individuals who had no contract with the government of Ghana.

We would therefore humbly appeal to President Akufo-Addo to prevent the conspiratorial plotters from attempting to steer and wreck the ship for all of us.