Akufo-Addo has dutifully stencilled his name on the World Health Organisation’s mental sheet

We cannot deny or ignore the fact that the corona virus pandemic has brought unprecedented fear and panic to the entire human race.

It is also not far-fetched to conclude that we have been experiencing extraordinary social restiveness and conspicuous indecisiveness by some of the world leaders in the seeming insuperable fight against the deadly virus.

We should, however, take solace in the fact that a handful of world leaders are doing a fantastic job in containing the insidious coronavirus, including the president of Ghana, His Excellency President Akufo-Addo.

Thus, it came as no surprise to some of us at all, when Ghana was named in the top 16 countries that have performed excellently in the fight against the pernicious coronavirus.

Ghana’s Covid-19 cases: 46,803-Recovered: 46,006-deaths: 303-Active cases: 494 (Source: Ghana Health Service, 03/10/2020).

Of course, the seeming excellent performance did not come through effortless, but it is rather due to prudent measures put in place by President Akufo-Addo and his equally hardworking team.

Take, for example, by insisting that travellers take a test 72 hours before flying into the country, and the subsequent mandatory test on arrival will surely minimise infections into the country.

I must confess, having observed Nana Akufo-Addo over the years, I do not need anyone to tell me that Akufo-Addo has the attributes of a charismatic leader.

Truth be told, I have always held a firm conviction that true leaders take the bull by the horn. And that is exactly what President Akufo-Addo has been doing during the corona virus outbreak.

Simply put, it takes massive leadership to combat the seemingly difficult crisis such as the corona virus pandemic.

Well, you may agree to disagree, but the fact remains that the pragmatic steps President Akufo-Addo has taken thus far in curbing the deadly virus show his zestful enthusiasm and charismatic leadership.

Dearest reader, tell me, hasn’t Akufo-Addo done amazingly well by increasing the health workers salaries by 50% for more than eight months, free water for every Ghanaian for more than eight months, 0-50kw of electricity free, half price above 50Kw for every Ghanaian, free transport for health workers, tax incentives, stimulus package for medium and small scale industries, and amongst others?

Given the sterling performance in the wake of the unspeakable coronavirus, I would like to submit that President Akufo-Addo is a true leader.

A true leader, in fact, wants nothing more than to make people independent, as leaders in their own rights. Instead of trying to deceive us with his or her superlative oratory, a true leader reflects our own light back to us.

A true leadership, in practice, must give people a long-term vision that absorbs their lives with meaning; it must point them in a new direction and show how their every action is an indispensable part of a positive change.

More importantly, a true leader always comes up with pragmatic ideas with the view to transforming the lives of his/her subordinates.

We tend to believe that a leader is a person who is well-connected, who is powerful or charismatic or wealthy. We normally judge our leaders by what they have. But a true leader should be judged by his/her extraordinary qualities, not -- ego, impertinent boldness, and self-interest.

A true leader, in theory, sees his/her work as altruistic service toward accomplishing a goal. That is by putting the acquired skills, experience, knowledge and empathetic qualities at the disposal of the needs of his/her subordinates. As the sages say, “Leadership is not just power and dominance; it is service to mankind.”

Ghanaians are indeed most grateful to His Excellency President Akufo-Addo and his ebullient team, including the hardworking and dedicated health workers.

K. Badu, UK.

k.badu2011@gmail.com