A win for Nana Konadu will be a win for the country:

"Margaret Thatcher wasn't of my politics, obviously, but I remember

my dad was a really strong conservative and in the 1970s, I remember him

telling me, 'there is no way the British people are going to elect a

woman as Prime Minister'. She won three elections.

"People are less prejudiced than you ever think they are,

they're more sensible and more modern and more understanding and it

should be the best person for the job, irrespective of race,

irrespective of gender, irrespective of anything else." - Tony Blair.

Women are more than half the population of Ghana. So it perfectly makes

sense to have a woman at the top executive job - it is democratic. And

not just Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings as Commander-In-Chief, but more

women into top civil service jobs.

Aside the fact this, Konadu Agyeman Rawlings is as qualified as any

politician - male or female to lead the country. Her winning the ruling

party's primaries would be a very good thing for our women, for equality

and for our democracy.

A lot of women shy away from high ranking competition with men. The fact

that the former First Lady is challenging a sitting President proves

her toughness and decisiveness required for executive position like that

of President.

I have been intrigued by the reasons a few detractors in the media have

put up against her. Their argument, is not about whether or not she will

be a good President, No. They are saying she should not run because she

is the wife of a former President. How disingenuous!

Where in the constitution of the Republic of Ghana or that of the NDC,

does it say that a woman cannot be president if her husband has been

there before? And how could people ask her not to run when every

credible survey indicates that the sitting President will lose the next

election if he is candidate of the NDC?

There are enormous benefits of living history at Jerry Rawlings' side

for several years, but "Nana Konadu is a woman of substance on her own."

Some have even said she is too ambitious and that they don't like that.

Are these folks seriously suggesting that it is OK for a man, like -

Addo Kufour, Nana Ado, Kwesi Awhoi, John Mahama or Alan K - to have

ambitions but not for a woman? Can anyone name any serious politician

who isn't ambitious? The absence of ambition in politics is a recipe for

failure.

It makes one wonder, if such school yard innuendos, are the worse things they could

say about a woman whose life has

been put under every magnifying glass every journalist in Ghana could

find. What a deceptive way to judge Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings!

Others have said she can't be president because she has enemies. The

fact that a small band of vociferous journalists hate her doesn't mean

she should run away from trying to do something good for her country.

They talk about a young man who was manhandled by an over-zealous

security detail. The question is, how many parents - Muslims and true

Christians alike, would not be upset about a young boy trying to corrupt

their daughter?

We have situations where girls have been raped or abused by their

so-called boyfriends. Every parent has a duty to protect their children,

especially their teenage daughters.

Many people may disagree with how the over-zealous soldiers treated

Master Selassie Gyentu, or Konadu Agyeman's subsequent response to the

incident. I respect their right to disagree with the method, but it does

not take away the fundamental moral obligation of every parent to

protect their daughters from misguided boys. We must understand that the

former First Lady is a Catholic.

If you pray to God as Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings does, if you have never

left the church, you would know that it is not only immoral but

irresponsible for a parent to encourage this boyfriend-girlfriend

twaddle.

Thank God her daughters have turned out fine and better than the

daughters of her critics. Their daughters and sons (the critics) have

been wild and crazy and had many boyfriends or girlfriends.

Asking people not to consider voting for Konadu Agyeman not based on

what she'd done in the last thirty-two years of work but what she is

alleged to have done some fifteen or so years ago is warped bias of the

worse kind.

If there is evidence of corruption to find on her, I bet some of these

misguided politicians parading as journalists would have found it

already. There is simply no smoking gun; the attacks and regurgitated

reports from this small band of journalists are quite stale and boring.

Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings was persuaded with deep reluctance to step

into the race for the leadership of the party. As she aptly put it in a

recent interview - "you should know that the easiest thing for me would

have been to stay aloof and join the chorus boys" but certainly there is

work to do for mother Ghana - The country is hungry for leadership.

The small group of detractors in the media, have relentlessly thrown mud

at her, but she is unfazed. These journalists and their sponsors have

had more than 20years to prove that Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings or her

husband are corrupt but have failed. They have never proven her

culpability in the "Scancem agreement." All we have been subjected to

from these squalid little rags we call newspapers, are rehashed and

regurgitated investigations that were closed more than twenty years ago.

These Journalists are afraid that, contrary to their vilification,

Ghanaians will see a woman who is genuine, knowledgeable, smart and

appealing if they do not blunt her side of the story or twist the facts

to suit their agenda.

The truth is, she will make a big difference for all of us, boys and

girls, women and men, rich and poor - everyone will benefit from her

presidency.

The country doesn't just need a leader who can renew and re-energise the

ruling party or make us feel good about ourselves. We need one who is

also

capable of delivering hard truths to the NDC when required.

Her breadth of leadership skills and experience, combined with her

clear vision of where she wants to take the NDC and Ghana also, give the

NDC its best chance of winning the next general election.

Comparatively, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings appeals more to young

voters, women, the business community and the base of the NDC than the

President. She is on her way to doing the impossible and we must give

her enormous credit for that.

The President, John Mills has his strengths too, does he? Well, choosing

him as the NDC's candidate in the next election will be like putting

the soil on NDC's grave. President Mills' style of running the country

makes building a bungalow today slower than building a cathedral in the

11th century. It is painfully slow and there is no storyline that will

get the country turning to him again.

Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings is promising an exciting new path for her

county and party. Unlike her challenger who is not hearing what

Ghanaians and his party are worried about, she will listen the injured

voices, the anxious voices that have despaired of being heard. She will

listen to those who have been left out and try to bring them in, and

those that are left behind, she will help them catch up.

Nana Konadu has demonstrated she has the courage and steeliness to take

risks and adopt uncomfortable positions. That is one of the many things

missing in our current leader.

She will restore the lost public trust in politics, promote job growth and do the

things that President Mills has ducked.

Delegates must be bold and vote overwhelmingly for her. A win for Konadu

Agyeman-Rawlings will be a win for the country. Perish the thought, if

Mills wins, Ghana loses - it would be a setback for women, a failure, a

rejection not only of Nana Konadu but of everything women stand for.

On delegates depend the fortunes of the NDC and Ghana. They are to decide the

important question on which rests the progress, happiness and unity of

our party and country.

They are to decide the happiness and

liberty of millions yet unborn. If they do the wrong thing, you betray

the memory of those who have given so much. It is their right and

responsibility to determine who leads our party. I pray they act worthy of themselves.

RAS MUBARAK

skype.com/ras.mubarak