If pledges and assurances were to be a yardstick in judging the lifestyle of persons, then the defeated Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party in the 2012 election can be said to have transformed from his unyielding and war mongering style of living to a more decorous and peace loving person.
With less than a week to the ruling on the election petition at the Supreme Court, Nana Akufo-Addo, whose claim to fame in the last election was his much-loved war mongering slogan, "All-Die-Be-Die" has in a 3600 fashion turned on a new life and now blowing a horn full of peace messages.
Obviously denouncing his munch vaunted "All-Die-Be-Die" and “Winning-Power-At-All-Cost” mantra, which was highly criticized and condemned by many well-meaning Ghanaians but sturdily defended by some of his apostles, Nana Akufo-Addo, who is the 1st petitioner in the case has now assumed an Evangelist and is preaching peace at any medium available to him.
Finding solace in the need to remain a peaceful man and refrain from the bellicose posturing, the twice defeated presidential candidate has resorted to social media and the usual print media to tell his followers he does not subscribe to violence and therefore, all his supporters must accept the outcome of the case even if it doesn’t favor him.
In a facebook post last week Friday, Nana Akufo-Addo wrote: “We are one Ghana and I am totally committed to working to ensure peace and stability for the Ghana project… “We may have our differences but what joins us together is more important, I believe in you, I believe in the can-do spirit of the Ghanaian. I believe in Ghana, and above all, I believe in God”
As part of efforts to rope in his supporters into the peace boat, Nana Akufo-Addo, whiles attending a funeral at Oda in the Eastern region over the weekend seized the opportunity to reiterate his abhorrence to war and violence, stressing that, he is determined to go by the verdict of the Supreme Court no matter the outcome and advised his party supporters to do same.
He advised his party followers through the state owned and widely circulated newspaper, the Daily Graphic to comport themselves and refrain from negative acts that have the tendency of endangering the peace and stability of the country and defeat the purpose of which the party went to court.
Nana Akufo-Addo together with his running mate, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and NPP party Chairman, Mr. Jake Obetsebi Lamptey, petitioned the apex court of the land after the announcement of results of the 2012 election by the Electoral Commission, which elected Mr. John Mahama as President.
According to the petitioners, the EC and President Mahama colluded to falsify votes to deny Akufo-Addo his second attempt of becoming President just like his father, Mr. Edward Akufo-Addo.
They also alleged that the last election was fraught with widespread irregularities of voting without biometric verification, over voting, unsigned pink sheets by EC’s Presiding Officer and duplicate serial numbers on results declaration forms, otherwise known as “Pink Sheet”.
The petitioners are praying the Supreme Court to annul over four million votes, majority of which are from their opponents strongholds to declare Nana Akufo-Addo first round winner of the last election.
For the past months, the nine Justices of the Supreme Court hearing the election petition and the country at large have had to endure the pain of going through eight months of hearing and uncertainties.
The court has fixed Thursday, August 29, 2013 for the final determination of the case.
In order to maintain the peace and stability of the country, which has made Ghana a beacon of hope for African democracy, religious bodies, civil society groups, failed presidential candidates and well-meaning Ghanaians alike, have all embarked on a journey for the need for both parties to accept the outcome of the case.
This peace campaigns by the various groups has caused both President Mahama and Nana Akufo-Addo to come out openly to pledge not to do anything that will plunge the country to violence like other African countries.
