Friday,
October 26, 2012
I have said it
several times already that former President Kufuor will do himself a world of
good if he zips his mouth instead of saying what hurts his image and detracts
from the NPP’s political fortunes. He won’t listen and is now unwittingly
eroding much of what Akufo-Addo needs to make any headway at the polls.
Kufuor is a problem
for several reasons, especially the negative impact that his tenure had on the
NPP’s public image, which was a major factor in the 2008 elections.
Certainly, his 8-year
tenure wasn’t all a waste. He accomplished feats at many levels, including the
social intervention (Schools Feeding Programme, Metro Mass Transport, National
Health Insurance Scheme, etc.). But at many other levels, he flopped, which was
a major reason cited by those who voted against Akufo-Addo.
His administration
couldn’t tackle the systemic and endemic problems that have continued to hinder
economic growth. Cosmetic measures such as the floating of bonds and
redenomination of the Cedi didn’t assuage anything. Nor did other measures that
only opened up the system for further exploitation and undermining.
Such measures
benefited mostly those walking the corridors of power or pulling strings from
afar because of the clout they wielded in the NPP as power brokers teleguiding the
Kufuor administration.
More pointedly too,
Kufuor’s administration presided over corruption and promoted nepotism,
cronyism, and tribal politics, much of which combined to work against
Akufo-Addo at the 2008 polls.
That is why Kufuor any
self-congratulatory utterance by Kufuor is met with derision. His latest
pronouncement that Akufo-Addo has the “team” to rebuild Ghana sent me
head-over-heels, laughing my heart out in disbelief. Akufo-Addo has a team to
rebuild Ghana? Where is that team?
Is it the political
novices surrounding him whose youthful exuberance is leading them astray to
resort to vilification of the incumbent in the vain hope that it will pave the
way for them to win the elections? Or those among them like Anthony Karbo who
are wasting their time plotting to destabilize the country? Or those in the NPP’s
Communication Team like Sammy Awuku who are better known for the goofs and
political immaturity than anything else?
Or the castaways from
Kufuor’s own government who can’t persuade Ghanaians that they have now acquired
the requisite acumen to solve national problems? The likes of Jake
Obetsebi-Lamptey who see political power only in terms of property-grabbing?
Pathetically, such property is state property that belongs to all Ghanaians but
is appropriated because such characters are in power and have easy access to it.
Where are the members
of Akufo-Addo’s team, Mr. Kufuor? At least, the faces showing up don’t command
any awe as seasoned administrators with any laudable acumen to make any
difference.
Had Kufuor mentioned
any name, he would have given us more to ponder; but he didn’t, which throws
into question his own honesty and credibility. Those he worked with had
portrayed themselves as Ghana’s “intellectuals” and men of substance who had
made their wealth outside politics and won’t grab state property. What did we
see, after all?
Let’s remember that
this Akufo-Addo was a pillar in Kufuor’s government but failed to impress as
Attorney-General. Remember the Tsatsu Tsikata case and the government’s loss of
face following the Supreme Court’s ruling against it over the creation of the Fast
Track Courts when Akufo-Addo failed to defend the government’s interests?
From far away
Australia where he chose to hang on, junketing after attending the Conference
of Commonwealth Heads of Government instead of joining Ghanaians to celebrate
the country’s independence anniversary at that time, Kufuor swiftly divested
Akufo-Addo of that portfolio, sending him to the Foreign Affairs Ministry where
his incompetence didn’t take long to manifest.
He did so to prevent any
further damaging of his administration by Akufo-Addo’s incompetence. Then, he
packed the Supreme Court to win favour. That singular act has hurt our
Judiciary ever since.
There is no evidence that
Akufo-Addo himself is an astute leader. What is his track record in any
leadership role to warrant his being fingered as the answer to our leadership
crisis? I don’t see it.
Some alleged
malpractices also occurred under his watch at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The theft (or loss) of Ghanaian Diplomatic Passports being kept in the vault of
his office occurred. We are being told now that some of those passports went
into the wrong hands to promote their drug trafficking.
Then again,
Akufo-Addo couldn’t do anything to help the 44 unfortunate Ghanaians ensnared
in Yahaya Jammeh’s Gambia and murdered, after all.
We recall how
Akufo-Addo took more delight in empty showmanship on foreign trips than doing
anything practical to support Kufuor’s agenda. No wonder he chose to step down
in his bid to contest the flagbearership of the NPP in readiness for the 2008
elections. He lost the elections.
The pointy is that if
Akufo-Addo himself were competent, the story would be different. Again, we note
that one of the major factors that worked against him was public perception of
Kufuor’s poor performance and his government’s inability to solve the country’s
problems.
Worse still, the cronyism,
nepotism, and outright corruption that Kufuor presided over have made him a
laughing stock. Transferring their negative impressions to Akufo-Addo, the
electorate voted against him, denying him the Presidency.
You see, Kufuor can’t
rationalize these issues to know that he was a huge contributor to Akufo-Addo’s
defeat. Today, he is out again, making utterances that will definitely not
redound to Akufo-Addo’s political fortunes.
Do we not know that a
bad-blood relationship still exists between him and Akufo-Addo just because of
his preference for Alan Kyerematen? It is an open secret. So, whatever Kufuor
thinks he is doing to support Akufo-Addo is not genuine. It is a ploy and will
sink him instead.
Were I to advise
Akufo-Addo’s campaign team, I would urge them to keep Kufuor at bay and go it
by themselves. Kufuor evokes the greed that characterizes Ghanaian politics, awarding
expensive medals to himself and cronies at the expense of the tax payer and
manipulating the situation to enjoy a package of end-of-service benefits that
would have deeply hurt our national psyche had it been implemented.
But will they listen?
I trust them not to because they are more focused on preaching to the choir
than reaching out to those who need better messages than the “huhudious”
promises that have dominated Akufo-Addo’s electioneering campaign efforts.
They are more
invested in reassuring their fanatical supporters who will never turn against
them than attracting uncommitted voters or those who might become sympathetic
to their cause if properly appealed to.
For now, the
desperation that is driving Akufo-Addo’s campaign will becloud his sense of
judgement, and we expect him not to listen to anything of the sort that some of
us are drawing attention to. In the end, those diehard NPP loyalists will vote
for him but it may not be enough to win him the day. The situation may worsen
as Kufuor and others continue to make pronouncements that irritate the people.
- E-mail: mjbokor@yahoo.com
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