- As NPP gurus accuse him of “gross arrogance”

Kwabena Amankwah

Some leading members of the opposition New Patriotic Party have described President Mills’ statement that he will hand over power in 2017 as a clear indication that he would not only employ any means to remain in power, but will also, like his friend Laurent Gbagbo did in Cote d’Ivoire, be adamant to quit after he has been rejected at the polls.

Addressing the 3rd General Assembly of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church at Ho in the Volta region last Thursday, President Mills gave indication that the 2012 election was a foregone conclusion, and that he would exit the presidency in 2017.

“After all, when I was sworn into office on the 7th of January 2009, I was given a peaceful and stable country, and I want to assure the people of Ghana that come January 7, 2017, I will hand over a peaceful nation,” President Mills told the congregation.

The declaration by President Mills has attracted sharp criticisms from Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe, Ghana’s former Ambassador to Serbia, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, NPP General Secretary, and Boakye Agyarko, Nana Addo’s Campaign Manager, who say his statement smacks of gross arrogance and a total disrespect for the electorate in whom the mandate to rule reside.

“There is a clear case of sharp contradiction between how President Mills has been portrayed as a humble, peaceful man and what he actually represents. A humble President will not create the impression that the 2012 election is a foregone conclusion. This means he does not have respect for the electorate who have the power to decide who should rule them after 2012,” Dr Nyaho Tamakloe noted in an interview with the New Statesman at the weekend.

To Mr Boakye Agyarko, President Mills should not forget to appreciate the fact that the verdict of election 2012 is the exclusive preserve of the Ghanaian electorate, stressing that President Mills cannot “arrogantly dismiss that verdict which justifiably rests in the hands of the people of Ghana.”

The position of the NPP bigwigs is shared by Kwasi Amakye Boateng, a Political Science lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, who has also taken on President Mills, describing his declaration to hand over power peacefully in 2017 as unconstitutional.

Speaking on Asempa FM, Mr Amakye insisted the declaration by President Mills was unwarranted, stressing “nobody has given him the mandate to rule for the next four years after 2012.”

The senior lecturer reminded the President of the fact that the mandate to rule a country is not a gift, urging him to rather concentrate on improving the living standards of the citizenry rather than thinking of another mandate. Mr Amakye Boateng finds it difficult to fathom how President Mills could presume that he will have another mandate after 2012, knowing very well that internally he was not allowed to lead the NDC again without a fight.

He described President Mills’ assurance to deal with trouble makers as a threat to a certain group of people, adding that the President is “a man of many words and few actions”.

In the view of Mr Amakye Boateng, the implication of President Mills’ statement, juxtaposed against his conduct, is that he will explore all means to win the 2012 elections.

But, Dr Nyaho-Tamakleo has warned the opposition NPP will not compromise on any attempt by President Mills and the ruling NDC to subvert the popular will of the people.

“They should not think that we are cowards who will sit down and allow them to employ foul means to entrench their administration in which majority of Ghanaians as well both leading and grass roots members of the NDC have expressed a vote of no confidence ahead of the 2012 elections,” the former Ghana Ambassador to Serbia charged.

In the view of the leading NPP member, President Mills will be badly disillusioned to think that the electorate will renew his mandate in the 2012 general elections.

“He is only day-dreaming and this stems from the fact that he is completely out of touch with the realities on the ground. Perhaps, what he has forgotten is that the suffering masses have now seen through his lies and deceit. The very people whose lives he promised to better are now saying his administration has made them more impoverished. How on earth can he expect them to give him another term,” he queried.

According to Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe, the mandate to rule resides in the people of Ghana who have clearly indicated that “they are sick and tired of the inept Mills administration. For him to give the impression that the 2012 election is a foregone conclusion indicates that he and his people will want to remain in power no matter circumstances.”

“It is very amazing that President Mills thinks the 2012 election is a foregone conclusion. He seems to have forgotten the fact that all leaders are re-elected based on their performance and it is going to be based on his performance that the people of Ghana would give him another mandate. The way he is going now, there is no way the people of Ghana would give him the mandate in 2012 and he should take a cue from Rawlings and Kufuor who handed over when they knew that it was time for them to hand over,” the NPP guru charged President Mills on Citi FM.