Reconcile with Rawlings and leave a legacy

The Member of Parliament (MP) for the Kpone-Katamanso Constituency, Joseph Nii Laryea Afotey-Agbo, has urged President J.A.Kufuor to pave the way for reconciliation between him and ex-President, J.J. Rawlings, before vacates office.

This, according to him, would be a living legacy that would linger on the minds of unborn generation for years to come.

The Kpone-Katamanso MP, who made the statement at a press conference held over the weekend by his constituency’s branch of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), said anytime he though about the situation he became very sad.

According to the MP, the sort of remarks President Kufuor had been making when prominent members in the country, including international personalities, called on him to consider reconciling with the ex-President showed his unreceptive and unwillingness to reconcile with Mr Rawlings.

Me Laryea (a.k.a Lion) said the sour relationship between the two most important leaders in the country was permeating through to supporters loyal to both of them, adding the earlier something was done about it the better.

He said if the two leaders reconciled, the same friendliness and unity would pass on to their followers through Members of Parliament and Assembly members to the rank and file of their respective parties.

Explaining his point, Lion said sometime last year, UN Secretary-General Mr Kofi Annan, personally spoke with President Kufuor to consider reconciling with the ex-President; but President Kufuor remarked, after a brief hesitation; “How can I arm my enemy?”

“Look at the huge amount of money spent by the state to conduct the reconciliation exercise in this country to bring about peace and unity; and if our leaders keep telling us to unite as a people but lead contrary lives themselves, won’t their call become futile?” the MP bemoaned.

He pointed out that during the handing over ceremony in 2001, when the ex-President mounted the platform, he made a sign to indicate that both the NDC and NPP have the same vision to build this country; only with different ideologies.

He continued, “So if the leaders of these two political parties, obviously the most popular in the country, do not come together, then it is posterity that would suffer; just as the popular saying goes, ‘when two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers.’

“We are always loyal to our leaders; we go to them, we chat with them and they tell us all the problems and difficulties they encounter. As a result, it is like we are trying to do something to satisfy them by taking entrenched positions when it comes to matters important to them.

“That is why in the law-making chamber, we find members from both divide so close; but when it comes to debating issues on television or radio, you see how emotional we become,” he explained. “if we do not unite, we will continue to have such problems.”

He also called on all politicians in the country to be faithful, loyal and sincere to the people who put them in the positions they occupy because they (politicians) were in the minority while the electorate are in the majority.