|
Should Akufo-Addo be
prompted before acting?
By Dr. Michael J.K. Bokor
Sunday, January 10, 2016
Folks, when I read news reports that a group calling itself
the Great Democrats had demanded that the NPP's Akufo-Addo
must state his position on Ghana’s decision to host two
Guantanamo Bay ex-convicts for two years, I laughed out loud
and risked bursting my rib cage.
According to Ibrahim Yahaya, the convenor of the Great
Democrats (whether an NDC affiliate or just an amorphous
organization fronting for some faceless politicians), “As a
matter of urgency, Nana Akufo-Addo should let Ghanaians know
his position. By so doing, the people of Ghana would have
the opportunity to determine what he would do if given the
rein of this dear country.”
The group said Nana Akufo-Addo’s view on the matter is
important since he served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and
was once the Chairman of the UN Security Council. (See
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Gitmo-ex-convicts-saga-Akufo-Addo-must-speak-Group-406423).
The question that immediately arose was: Should Akufo-Addo
wait to be prompted before speaking out on matters of
importance to Ghana? And in the case of this resettlement of
such terrorists (whether cleared by the US or not) in Ghana
is a dire one, which no up-and-doing politician will gloss
over unless he doesn’t have what it takes to be a
politician. The point is that merely parading the landscape
as a politician won’t put such a person in power unless he
adds value to himself as the grain to be separated from the
chaff.
A politician with value is an astute politician who wakes up
to reality and doesn’t slumber while important happenings
demanding his attention happen. He doesn’t have to be woken
up by anybody. He wakes up himself because he has what it
takes to respond/or react to happenings of importance to his
own political career that also affect positively or
negatively the interests of the society that he seeks to
lead. Being a politician for its own sake is next to
madness.
A politician who cannot win voter support to be in power is
a waste pipe to be discarded. He is deadwood to be trampled
upon and prevented from fouling our air or polluting the
minds of peace-loving people, if not ending up instigating
them to subvert the very system nurturing them. An astute
politician is quick to read between the lines and to act
appropriately. Not so for Akufo-Addo, at least, from his own
track record.
Akufo-Addo is not an astute politician; neither is Dr.
Bawumia. They are more invested in rabble-rousing and
cooking up statistics to promote their rogue politics than
facing the reality teasing them to act responsibly. They are
not politicians, even if they are doing politics!! A
politician will be up-and-doing, taking advantage of
happenings to offer constructive ideas so they can turn the
table against their opponents. Not so for Akufo-Addo and his
team. When reality beckons, they run away to look for lies
and tall tales to augment their own figment of imagination.
Only then do they come out to poison people's minds!!
The concession given by the Ghanaian government is a painful
reality that a calculating and mentally acute politician
will comment on to political advantage. Not so for
Akufo-Addo. He is afraid of this reality instead.
As a matter of fact, Akufo-Addo's deafening silence on this
important matter speaks volumes; but the only conclusion to
be drawn is that he has nothing to offer. He hasn't been
able to say anything because he has nothing to say.
His being a former Foreign Affairs Minister doesn't even
assuage any doubt about his hollowness. What exactly did he
accomplish in that office to warrant his being looked up to
for anything substantial on the matter? He is incapable of
offering any useful idea, which has made him choose silence
as golden. But that choice carries a huge tag.
Knowing very well that the government goofed by conceding to
the US' manipulation to settle the two Yemeni undesirables
in Ghana, every reasonable Ghanaian has risen up to comment
on the matter. Some notables in the NPP have also done so;
but not their flagbearer and his running mate. Why so?
Because they have nothing to offer.
It is clear that after the Electoral Commission has deflated
them, they are worse than tail-less kites spiralling out of
control to nowhere. In this state, what can they say? Better
to slip out of the public sphere; not so?
Tweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaa!!!
And these are people creating all kinds of impressions that
they can solve Ghana's problems? Another resounding
Tweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaa!!
Some may claim that he is being tactically in not taking on
the US because he is wary of his future if he becomes
Ghana’s President and needs the US’ support. I say another
loud Tweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaa to that claim. Who says
that he will come to power? Counting his eggs before they
get hatched is a problem for him. In any case, who says that
criticizing the US over this GITMO issue is any serious
offence to be wary of? Only incompetent people will think
that way. And Akufo-Addo is incompetent.
When he was Ghana's Foreign Affairs Minister, how much
respect did the US accord him? Have we not read reports that
he was even thoroughly searched at the JFK International
Airport in New York on suspicion of carrying "wee" on him
into the US? (Could be damaging rumours, though).
The truth is that for someone like him aspiring to be
Ghana's President (May God pour ice-cold water on that
aspiration!!), he needn't fear anything, especially if we
consider how the deal with the US has angered Ghanaians.
Outbursts from all sections of the citizenry tell me that
Ghanaians aren't happy about how the deal was struck. So,
why can't the leader of an opposition party step in?
We assume that the way he portrays himself as a shadow
President should give him some bravado to say what he thinks
about the deal. If he is already afraid of the repercussions
of criticizing the US over this stinking deal, we are doomed
should he become Ghana's President!!
I shall return…
• E-mail: mjbokor@yahoo.com
• Join me on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/mjkbokor
to continue the conversation.
|
