2012 Election is a Referendum on ......

2012 Election is a Referendum on Free SHS, NDC Unbridled Corruption, Lies and Propaganda, Arrogance & Impudence

As in the erstwhile SMC 1 Achampong-led referendum on Union Government (UNIGov) of 1976 in which the government sought the determination of Ghanaians between a so-called military cum police and civilian government and multi-party democracy, this December 2012 general and Presidential elections will seek the determination of Ghanaians to either elect Nana Addo as President of Ghana for Free universal basic education up to SHS, free health care for under 18s, pregnant women and the aged, rid Ghana of unbridled ‘Wayomimania’ corruption, kick out NDC governance of lies and propaganda, kick out NDC arrogance and impudence and disrespect for others or endorse John Dramani Mahama and his NDC only to continue lingering in discriminatory privileged free education only for communities of the three Northern Regions of Ghana irrespective to their socio-economic status. In the UNIGov referendum, the government lost mercilessly in spite of heavy pre-election thuggery, intimidation and rigging on polling day by government machinery because the choice was so obvious. Since Ghana’s independence except NPP administration under JA Kufuor, all regimes have apparently been oblivious to the fact that abject poverty pervades all Ghanaian communities.

From 1965, by Presidential fiat, cocoa farmers had to sacrifice 2/3 of their output earnings for government use to sponsor education and other development projects. This commandeering of farmers income impoverished many a cocoa farmer where they had to pay for the education of their own wards whiles paying for others as well. Today, as a matter of human negligence which has attracted nature’s response, a savannah vortex has swept and continues to sweep across almost all the cocoa-growing forest areas of Ghana, decimating the number of cocoa-growing families and communities, a phenomenon which is a threat to our cocoa industry and the entire environment. These are unique unsung environmental, climatic and socio-economic realities on the ground that only the sympathetic and all-embracing human-centred heart of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo finds gravely alarming and lamentable for all indigent families across the country, hence worth taking into serious consideration for positive amendment aimed at benefiting all Ghanaian children. Beneficent nature is so merciful that when it takes away with the left hand, it provides by compensating enormously with the right hand, hence by divine providence we have oil which has boosted our cocoa-based national income two fold. Not only is Nana Addo looking forward to making education for all free to SHS level, with oil boosting the national income, a people first-thinking President-to-be in waiting has a similar dream to make health care free for all Ghanaian children, the aged and pregnant women.

On the flip side of the political coin is the care-taker President, John Dramani Mahama, who by virtue of being a Northerner, benefitted from free education through to university first degree and beyond, in league with his NDC group argues among other negative references that free education for all Ghanaian children to SHS level is an abomination, it is impossible, it is not economically viable, it will create floodgates of future Ghanaian intellectuals, it is un-judicious, it is reckless, it is hasty and un-implementable and indeed many more such negative, nihilist, selfish and obscurantist dissuasive references.

As to why it is an abomination for all Ghanaian children to benefit from free universal basic education to SHS level but not an abomination for children in the communities of the three northern regions is unexplained. Unfeeling John Dramani Mahama, in the simplicity of his mind and oblivious to the plight of about 75% of Ghanaians who are not employed by the public sector, sees poverty as endemic only in the northern communities whereas in fact, his parents were affluent enough to foot his educational bills unscathed. John Mahama and his can’t do-spirited cohorts are desperately convincing Ghanaians that free universal basic education to SHS is impossible yet it is possible in other parts of the world including neighbouring Nigeria. I and many others have benefited from free education even up to university here in the UK, so why can’t we do it in Ghana even minimally to SHS? Is it not time for cocoa farmers, other crop farming families, the public and private sector workers to enjoy some levity on their fee-paying burdens? Can do-spirited Nana Addo and we the NPP are convincing Ghanaians that if it is possible elsewhere, then it can and will be more than possible in Ghana under the right and able economic management team which is only available in the NPP intellectual group who think beyond the periphery of the box. It is possible because the NPP would not indulge in the ‘Wayomising’ profligacies of JDM; because NPP is a serious Party not an ‘edey bee keke’ outlaw’d cowboys group, rather NPP is a conscientious conscious people-centred Party of un-paralleled record on social interventions; the party that lives up to its promises; the Party with no room for propaganda so no position for propaganda secretary’s office in any of our offices across Ghana.

After John Mahama has failed in convincing Ghanaians that free SHS is not economically viable because Nana Addo has indicated to Ghanaians where the funding would be sourced from, desperate Dramani Mahama has shifted his argument to quality, unable to think and realise that quality is a property that must be established, implemented and enforced but not conjured. In 23 years of P/NDC rule, quality education was never achieved because they have no clue as to how to do it. They would rather call for CDRs to teach in schools and colleges when reputed educators threaten to go on strike for making reasonable demands which the government does not heed to. In their laeotropic communist thinking, Kwesi Botchwey and Tsatsu Tsikata promised utopia by sheer conjecture and proclamation but rained on us dystopia for 23 years. In their paranoia, they don’t know how to go about governance except cheating, lying, bullying, propagandising and corruption so they see all things possible as impossible, typical among them is the NHIS which they campaigned against. Nana has shown the way for free quality basic education for all to SHS so he says and stresses on Teacher first, yet stunned, hollow, bewildered and confused John Dramani Mahama struggles and argues un-intellectually and unreasonably to the contrary by ‘chooboing’ as if chooboi is all what it takes to govern and to lead a nation to success.

Unable to win either way, thick-skinned Dramani Mahama callously and recklessly argues that free SHS would open a floodgate of intellectuals in Ghana. What a tactless argument! Dramani Mahama forgets that knowledge is power, that education is the key to progress and development, that education for all is a basic human right. John Mahama wants Ghana to be in a state of socio-economic and development stasis, he is literally denying Ghanaian children and our future generations their basic human rights whiles he has enjoyed it and continues to enjoy it. What a wicked and callous caretaker President we have, yet shamelessly vying to be elected President on 7th December 2012. May God forbid!

John Mahama has come to his wits end. Having nothing intelligible to tell Ghanaians, he brands free quality basic education for all as un-judicious, reckless and hasty. Enkosi daben before Ghanaian children and their parents would enjoy a system that they are entitled to as their basic human right? Should it be in 20 years after Ghana’s coffers would have been completely Wayomised? Should it be after members of parliament have become mega-rich through untold salary increases and huge arrears payments? How does John Mahama see the link between education and development? Of course, it should be now or never. These are issues for you the voter to consider carefully as a guide to making an informed sensible pro-Ghana choice in voting on 7th December.

Further to the above, there are other more serious considerations why John Dramani Mahama and his NDC must be rejected in these elections. John Mahama has used the veil of Presidency to cheat and steal from our national coffers. John Mahama has inflated the heavily-subsidised cost of training Ghanaian doctors under a Cuban scholarship scheme, the excess already pocketed. He is dishonest, untrustworthy, and lacks integrity. If it were here in the UK or elsewhere where the business of politics vis-à-vis the governed are serious-minded, un-indulgent and critical, he would have been made to resign, tried and jailed therefore not fit to run for Presidency.

STX Korea is another deal which has stained his reputation as an uncanny, unforgivable, corrupt, insincere and un-trustworthy person who should not even attempt to vie for any public office in Ghana let alone the high seat of the Presidency. The Korea deal, Woyomi, the Cuba scholarship hype and the Air Force Fighter jets deals are living testimonies known to all Ghanaians whether discerning or not as the case may be, for indeed there are some anti-Ghanaians clad in the identity of Ghanaian.

Lies and propaganda are hodiernal occurrences within NDC settings. Hedge schools that have NDC terminology as schools under trees, 1700 of which they claim to have been given brick and mortar image are mostly sham assertions; many of them have received their rebuttals because they were built decades ago, others were just painted whiles most of the rest are non-existent. In the words of caretaker vice President Amissah Arthur, the single digit inflation claimed by his own government cannot be relied on. He further tells Ghanaians that NDC has not built any houses either affordable or whatever except those built in the PNDC era yet ET Mensah claims NDC has built more homes in three and half years than the NPP did in 8 years under President Kufuor. There are more lies and propaganda unleashed by NDC in their misinformation machinery than I can enumerate in this script.

On arrogance and impudence, image-worshiping NDC have a penchant for idolising their leading personalities by arrogating apophatic attributes that are contrary to their true natural dispositions. Prof Mills was affectionately called a so-called ‘Asomdwehene’ yet an Asomdwehene fanned and flared the feuding flames in the Ivory Coast post-election crises in which he took the stance of ‘Dzi wo fi asem’ whiles gravely interfering in it as an interested third party. Mills the ‘Asomdwehene’ retorted to a polite question by a journalist by asking ‘Do I look like a cat killer?’

John Dramani Mahama in whom the NDC see humility has eristic guts to insult opposition members of parliament as baloney. He insults cocoa farmers and their children whose toil and sweat have made him who he is. A self-professed Dr Tony Aidoo has a doctorate degree from the World University of Impudence, Arrogance and Insults. He pours a plethora of insults on everybody including men of God. Pesky mosquito-buzzing Asiedu Nketia has been brought-up in a culture in which making even a single phrase out of thoughtfulness and prudence is an abomination. Every statement that Asiedu Nketia makes contains no sense, a statement that even a brain-damaged child would not make. The NDC Minister of health, both past and present has had a swipe at nurses and doctors respectively. Kobi Achampong refers to Ashantis as kokooase nkurasefour, Elvis Afriyie Ankra does not even have sympathy for the dead and injuredwhen he makes untoward remarks in regard to a major national disaster that happened to Melcom staff and shoppers. The list has no end yet these are people who arrogate humility to themselves.

On Friday 7th December 2012, the favoured choice to make in this ‘referendum’ is quite simple. This is no matter to be taken for a political dilemma because the choice before you as a voter has no competing values to reflect on. It is such a straight forward a decision between good and evil as can be decided from above without any mental tussle. John Mahama and his NDC’s inability to find a solution to our socio-economic, education, development and political issues confronting us does not mean no-body else can do it. It is like being unable to solve a complex mathematical problem and resigning yourself to convincing others that the problem cannot be solved or that mathematics itself is fatally flawed. NPP have done it before and we assure voters that we can do it with the least hassle. The choice for you to make is Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo for President at No 3 on the ballot paper. Remember to do the right thing by not voting for evil but for progress and prosperity.

Adreba Kwaku Abrefa Damoa; London UK