Kufuor vrs Mills

Accra - If Ghanaians will be dispassionate in their analysis of contemporary electoral matters, they will concede that Election 2000 will be largely fought by the NDC and NPP, as were Elections '92 and '96.

With the election almost two years ago of Mr. J.A. Kufuor by the NPP and the endorsement last week of Professor John Atta Mills by the NDC as their presidential candidates, the scene is now set for one of these two gentlemen to become the president of Ghana to start the real transitional period of Ghana's politics from the military era of Flt. Lt. Rawlings to a truly civilian democratic dispensation.

Who then will become the next president, Kufuor or Mills? Who will make a better president, Kufuor or Mills?

Publicly, NDC and NPP supporters give robust accounts of their candidates, but privately, they also acknowledge the difficulties and uncertainties ahead.

A US based Ghanaian described both Kufuor and Mills as Tweedledee and Tweedledum, after the squabbling twins in Alice in Wonderland. Perhaps that is being too uncharitable to the two men but it shows the kind of colours, hues, shapes and sizes people see them as.

After the Ho NDC congress, an obviously elated NDC supporter in conversation with an ardent NPP supporter asked, "Between Mills and Kufuor, putting politics aside, who do you think is better?" The NPP supporter's answer was quite instructive, "I know Kufuor is a liberal democrat. I know what he stands for. What of Mills? So far he has shown he stands for nothing but Rawlings."

Such conversations are now commonplace as the public debate on who is Tweedledee and who is Tweedledum gathers momentum.

Flt. Lt. Rawlings' rise to power was through sheer bravado - patapaa, in other words. He has held on to power because of a generally tolerant society that has an aversion to violence and bloodshed, which he introduced to Ghana politics.

Contrary to widely held beliefs that "Ghana has enjoyed peace under Rawlings", Ghana rather had some of its most destabilising periods in the twenty years of Rawlings' governments.

Ghana's record as a colony and neo-colony compared to other countries with similar antecedents is an enviable one indeed. The struggle for independence was negotiated, with very minimum bloodshed.

The British handed over and departed supervising a transition that saw the first black African self government taking power smoothly.

The people of Ghana have been extremely tolerant since then, never seriously undermining their governments, both military and civilian save for when the military organise their liberation, redemption, revolutionary and defence councils. The Rawlings years were hewn out of such modern military adventures. His success, if it can be so described, therefore is more to do with the brutishness of such adventures instead of any deftness of hand at handling people and resources in a modern nation state.

Kufuor and Mills, two mild mannered individuals with airs of conservatism are vying to pick up the pieces after twenty years of a thoroughly divided nation. The deftness of hand needed in moving the country forward will now have to come into play.

Both men come to the competition knowing that whichever one of them scores the winning goal, will be expected to fashion and hone both his winning team and the losing team into one super team to score the economic goals for development and prosperity.

Which of the two can deliver the goal?

Professor Mills comes to the field with the awesome assets of incumbency and the baggage of a government, which after twenty years has not delivered prosperity.

Kufuor on the other hand comes on with the limp of being in opposition and the desire of a nation that is badly in need of fresh ideas.

Kufuor's critics even in his own party say he has not shown much leadership since he won his party's nomination almost two years ago. The party is still cash strapped and its voice seems fragmented on many national issues. Kufuor's style also calls into question his ability to put together a "team" as his campaign has not had much visibility due to the paucity of active corner men.

His admirers argue that his quiet style and manners are just what the doctor ordered. His party is his team and if he should win, his party has a huge reservoir of brains to be moulded into a working team. His campaign, they also point out is concentrated in the rural areas where the work has to be done, because it has been taken for granted that urban voters will vote for his party as they did in Elections '92 and '96.

Professor Mills' critics see the professor as something of a lackey to Rawlings. A man without his own mind. It is left to be seen, they argue whether he would delete June 4 and December 31 celebrations; whether he can investigate human rights abuses under Rawlings; whether he can order the reburial of General Acheampong and others, etc.

It is perhaps indicative of the man that during his acceptance speech at Ho, he was a little too effusive, almost time-serving, in his fulsome praise of Rawlings and his wife, even promising that he will knock on Rawlings' door day and night for guidance!

His supporters scoff at such criticisms, citing the man's academic credentials, his savvy and his four-year experience as a vice president as some of his strong points.

Whereas Kufuor has a strong affinity to Northerners, especially Dagombas, who supported him wholeheartedly in his bid to be chosen as NPP presidential candidate, Professor Mills comes across as the Fanteman's Fante. The so- called Fante Confederacy within and outside the NDC was created to prop "one of our own" according to the more rabid critics of the professor.

This issue of ethnicity must be weighing heavily on both candidates as they ponder on their choice of running mate. Will the "nyebros" vote en masse for Mills as they did for his predecessor in the last two elections if he does not choose one of their own to run with him? It is almost certain that the NPP - and therefore Kufuor will settle for a Northerner as a running mate. This way, he will only be continuing a tradition that goes back to the PFP days.

Mills also has some bedfellows like the so-called revolutionary organs who in the normal scheme of things are not his natural allies socially. It may be of great interest to imagine a scenario with Mrs. Mills - not even the professor himself - closeted with Adjei Boye Sekan, E.T. Mensah and others with a revolutionary calling, drinking beer, snapping away on skewers of kebab and planning ACDR strategy on how to choose a running mate!!

The NPP, which has been perceived to be Ashanti, did not sweep the Ashanti Region, as did the NDC in its "World Bank" during the last election. If the Ashanti Region should rally behind Kufuor with over 90% votes as the Volta Region has been doing for Rawlings, then the outcome of this election would be a foregone conclusion. Loftier ideals would want to see matters ethnic swept under the carpet but the reality is that they are always lurking on the surface.

However salacious these conjectures may be, Kufuor and Mills, for better, for worse, are the two gentlemen the people of Ghana will have to choose between to surrender their dignities to for the next four years. That person will then steer the nation through a transition whose outcome can only be guessed.

Which one of them will it be....?

The TALE OF The TAPE

KUFOUR MILLS

AGE Not so young Not so young

HEIGHT Tall Short

LOOKS Patrician Avuncular

ERUDITION Dull Pedantic

EDUCATION Very Good Excellent

DRESSING Diplomatic Civil Service

PERSONAL WEALTH Not Rich Not Rich

SCANDALS Not Serious Not Known

INTERESTS Sports Sports

WIFE Motherly Strong-willed

AUTHORITY Needs Working on Acquired

EXPERIENCE IN POLITICS Long Not much

HUMAN RELATIONS Very Good Very good

CONFIDENCE To be developed Growing

PROSPECTS 50-50 50-50

POSITIVES Good Listener Team Player

NEGATIVES Not very clear Mr. & Mrs. Rawlings

LANGUAGE Decent Decent