Martin Amidu Declines Award

FORMER ATTORNEY General Martin Amidu has declined an award offered him by a civil society organization, Centre for National Affairs (CNA), saying accepting it personalizes the ills which he is asking Ghanaians to join him in fighting.

Such a crusade he noted should outlive an individual adding that accepting it would negate this objective.

In recognition of what the Executive Director of the NGO, Ransford Osei Yaw said was his selflessness in fighting for the cause of the country, the CAN sought to confer on Mr. Amidu Tuesday the citation-attached award of the ‘Knight Commanders of the Most Excellent Order of the GOLD COAST.’

While offering him the award, Mr. Osei Yaw stated he was also responding to the call by the former Attorney General to people to join him in fighting for probity and accountability in respect of the Woyome case.

“We of the Center for National Affairs wish to salute you and offer a hand of support in your quest for truth. We are not only interested to join the citizen vigilante as you implored but we deem it a divine obligation as a civil society organization to support any move that aims at fighting people involved in organized crime against the masses of our dear nation,” a letter to Martin Amidu pointed out.

The award which he declined according to the civil society organization is also in recognition of his crusade against corruption and in appreciation of his efforts in that direction so far.

“We shall, by your kind permission invite the media to cover the award ceremony which we propose to be held on Tuesday, March 6, 2012 at the Revolutionary Square. We are hopeful that your genuine commitment for accountability and probity would inspire many Ghanaians to place the welfare of the state at the center of their individual and collective pursuits,” the invitation letter stated.

While expressing his gratitude for the organization’s gesture and for the response to his clarion call for Ghanaians to support the crusade against corruption, Mr. Amidu in a reply to the invitation said, “I am with the utmost regret unable to accept the honour and the award.”

Accepting the award he stated in the letter, “will defeat and undermine the very purpose of my efforts in this direction for over the past thirty years, and particularly my immediate press statement and interview with Citifm which was to ask every patriotic Ghanaian to become a Citizen Vigilante generally in matters that affect and impact upon his or her life as a beneficiary of the proprietary rights and interests of the Republic of Ghana.”

Continuing he pointed out that all he wanted was for “patriotic Ghanaians to be Citizens Vigilante over the pre-trial pleadings and processes as well as trial processes of the case of the Attorney-General vs. Alfred Agbesi Woyome to ensure that the case for the Republic of Ghana is competently presented to the Courts for an informed decision to be made on the matter.”

This he noted “is because due process of law without competent and efficient pre-trial preparations on both sides is hollow. It was not my intention to personalize the very important national issues affecting the rights and interests of the Republic of Ghana for personal recognition or populist projection of a selfish or ambitious personality.”

He explained it was not his intention to give such an important national interest a partisan coloration or interpretation.

He recalled a colleague lawyer’s information he received on 3rd March 2012 via text message stating that “there is actually a facebook page called Citizens Vigilante in support of Martin Amidu.”

He said his reply to that was “it should be Citizens Vigilante in Support of Ghana. It needs to be depersonalized to outlive any individual….”

If the Centre for National Affairs is able to mobilize and sustain the interest of patriotic Ghanaians in the defence of the financial rights and interests of the Republic of Ghana against unwarranted and unconstitutional expropriation he stated “you would have done honour and given intangible awards to all Ghanaians who sought and are seeking probity, accountability, and transparency in the body politic.”

He added “the urgent task now is to put Ghana first in this matter. It is my prayer and hope that this reply to your letter does not become another avenue for partisan political debate.”