All hail our decisive President-elect, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo

By Daniel Damptey Danquah

What a man! Indeed he is a man! Even Nature cannot but admire this man of high principles and ideas; this man brimming full of energy and offering genuine national services in all its ramifications. Indeed he is such a man!

Who can beat him? Who can wrestle him to the ground? And who is this icon of a man? He needs no introduction at all, as his name has become a household name throughout the country. Yes, his name is Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo.

Yes, Nana, you are our man and the Champion of Champions. You are our beacon of hope, a darling of the people and God's own elect. Yes, you are unstoppable. Your moment of glory has come for you have been elected President of this country. You will make Ghana and the entire black race proud because of the laudable policies you will introduce in the country.

And just as the Queen of Sheba did, great people including Presidents and Kings from far and near will flock to the country to see the great victories that will be chalked under your presidency. Who will surpass you? Who will come so close to comparing his/her achievements with you? None! No Challenger!!

I would like to use this opportunity to congratulate you and the Vice President – Elect, Dr. Mahammadu Bawumia on your decisive victory in the presidential elections held on December 7, 2016. Your victory confirms the adage that no person or power can destroy the person whom God has blessed.

At the beginning, the task appeared insurmountable. Here was a cabal of unpatriotic elements who were armed to the teeth and well dug in the trenches. The matter was made worse when most of the security forces took sides with the ruling government. You remained undaunted and picked the number five slot on the ballot paper just like David who picked 5 stones when he was going to fight the uncircumcised Goliath, the Philistine.

It was only evil-minded person who continued almost on daily basis to cast aspersions on your character and credibility. The President and the NDC taunted, abused and called you unprintable names. They even went to the ridiculous extent of cursing your ancestors. Paid agents including journalists, traditional rulers, musicians and the clergy said you were cursed and could never be President. They said they would retire you from Politics in the December Elections.

The Gbese Mantse said he would abdicate his throne if you won the Presidential Elections. Mzbel, a musician said that she and her family would relocate to Burkina Faso if Nana Addo won the Presidency. Now that President Mahama has lost the election, will the King makers and the Elders of the Traditional Area initiate the process to remove the said Chief from the stone? Will Mizbel also do the most honorable thing by relocating her family and herself to Burkina Faso in line with her vow? After all, the “Nkomfem” are still in Burkina Faso and so “hunger no go wire am”

But, you knew the stuff you were made of. You put your trust not in man nor mammon. You dairy mantra was and still remains “The Battle is the Lord’s”. And like David when he was going to fight Goliath, you said “Thou comest to me with all the instruments of co-ercion ¬(including the Security Forces, the Greedy Bastards, Babies with Sharp Teeth, and Evil Dwarfs¬), but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts”.

Your victory is significant in one sense. It is about your resilience. You put all your trust in the hands of Almighty God who created you and knows the purpose why He made you the way you are. Indeed, this is the most opportune time for you to ascend the Presidency of this country. It couldn’t have come at any other time.

You see, there is a saying that “Gold fish has no hiding place” You are the Gold Fish in the Ghanaian Politics. As we all know, gold in its crude form has to go through the furnace in order to refine it. David was anointed King of Israel, but it took several years before his coronation took place. In between the “Anointing” and the “Coronation” he passed through a lot of trials and tribulations.

In a similar vein, God put the seal of the Presidency on your fore head many years ago. Your selection as Flag-bearer of the NPP for the third consecutive time was the turning point in political history of your life. It was known to all and sundry that you were the chosen one – “God’s Own Elect” There is conclusive evidence that your long period of waiting has prepared you adequately for the Presidency.

Your charming and charismatic personality will make all good people gravitate towards you as you ascend the Presidency. Under your administration, darkness and failure will have no place in the dictionary of the country because you will look squarely at the faces of these drawbacks and ask them to evaporate and make way for your laudable and people's friendly policies. You are the very embodiment of Light and Greatness. Who can match you? You are a man of high principles, unequaled in the history of this country.

Who can beat you and who can match your impeccable credentials? None! As you take hold of the mantle of leadership on 6th January, 2017, my greatest prayer is that God should continue to endow you with the Wisdom of Solomon and make you great before the children of this world. May the Great dreams you have for Ghanaians and the rest of the world be realized under your government. May Ghanaians never lack peace and the blessings of the Lord in the course of your administration!

I see a cloud of uncertainty being lifted off the entity called Ghana. Earlier on, in the course of the electioneering campaign, I saw President Mahama making desperate calls to you to come and take over the leadership of this country. He said he never knew the burden would be so great for him.

But just before you emerged, I heard the looming darkness emitting discordant tunes. At the point when everything appeared to go bleak, a ray of hope surrounds your physical presence. Mahama took off the crown and waited anxiously to hand it over to you. His hands were shaking as he held the crown. He walked slowly to you. He lifted the crown and put it on your head.

He intoned: “Nana, you are the man, God's own elect. You are favoured of the Lord and a rare gem. You lead and I will follow. You are our decisive President in waiting. You are indeed the great man our forefathers spoke loftily of”.

The journey to the Presidency has not been easy. You encountered the ugliest, bitter and the most beautiful things during the period. Friends you had trusted told negative tales about you. Some deserted you. But nothing disturbed your mien as you continued to wax stronger in all that you did. It is indeed God's own purpose of making you great. May the Good Lord keep and bless you. May the Lord keep you and make his countenance shine upon you and your family. May the Lord give you peace and above all may He keep you from all evil.

This is the vision the Lord showed me about your upcoming elevation and the better things Ghanaians will enjoy under your Presidency? The time is coming when all patriotic men and women will stand up and shout in unison: “Nana, Ghanaians are indeed grateful to you. We have never had things so smooth until you assumed the presidency of this country. Your administration has been the best thing that ever happened to this enclave we all call Ghana. Indeed it has been christened the 'Golden Age of Ghana'. You are indeed the true son of your father”.

We thank the Good Lord for your life. Remain blessed for you are highly favoured of the Lord.

In ending this message, I would like you to take note of the following:

1) Please, keep Kwesi Pratt at alms length. He is worse than a vicious and snarling serpent. If you see Kwesi Pratt and a snake, run away from Kwesi Pratt. There is an antidote to a snake bite, but none for Kwesi.

2) It is important that you hold everybody accountable for his/her stewardship. There should be no sacred cow in the country. All those who have brought the country to the state of comatose we find ourselves in should be brought to book. Let people call it with-hunting or whatever name they ascribe to it. But please do the job of “house cleaning” as thorough as you deem fit. Those who have lived above board have nothing to fear. But those who have skeletons in their cupboards should be made to face the music.

3) Retrieving the money illegally paid to Alfred Woyome should be a top priority of your Administration. It should come with interest. All those who collected part of the money for whatever reason should be made to refund it with interest. This is public money.

4) Those who twice flouted late President Mills order not to pay the money to Woyome should face the music. Flouting a presidential directive is the greatest sacrilege in the political history of a country. The culprits should be sanctioned to send a strong signal to Ghanaians that Akufo Addo’s presidency will not countenance any such insubordination. no matter how highly place the person is.

5) Bring to book all those who flouted lay down regulations especially in the award of contracts. For example those who awarded contracts through sole sourcing when the Procurement Act states clearly that it should be on Tender basis. There should be a contract review committee to ensure that all contracts conform to specifications.

6) Set up a Committee to evaluate the way and manner the new day secondary schools were built by Mahama’s administration. We appreciate their efforts on that, even though the costs were highly inflated. But my grouse is with the time used in putting up such buildings. Most of the buildings were constructed in a rush between 6 and 9 months and they are storey buildings. What safety measures were put in place to ensure that the buildings would withstand the test of time and not collapse to bring disaster to the country?

7) Adopt a maintenance culture to ensure that public buildings and monuments like the Sports Stadia, Peduasi Lodge, The Castle and others are not allowed to deteriorate.

8) De couple the Attorney General Department from the Ministry of Justice. In the alternative, a Public Prosecutor should be appointed. I recommend Martin Amidu for the job.

9) Institute a public enquiry into the deaths of former President, Professor John Evans Atta and Honorable J.B.Danquah, former MP for Abuakwa North.

10) Investigate the circumstances which led the BNI to come to the conclusion that the death of Hon. J. B. Danquah was the work of one person.

11) Order a probe into the death of the pregnant woman who died during interrogation at the BNI Cells.

12) Revisit the complaint lodged by the NPP on the killings of 3 of its supporters right in front of the Abglogbloshie Police Station with a view to bringing to book the police officials at the station and those at the Attorney General’s office who refused to act on the docket.

13) Re-organize the entire BNI outfit and the Police Service to ensure that the two security agencies owe allegiance not to individuals but to the State.

14) Re-structure the NHIS Policy to make it work again.

15) Pursue the Free Education Policy and the School Feeding Programme with vigor by removing all deadwoods from positions of responsibility and bringing on board those who understand what those policies mean and who are willing to go the extra mile to ensure their successful implementation.

16) Establish a public school at Israel on the land which has been a subject of dispute amongst three schools and various Land Lord Associations. The land in dispute is part of the National Sports Complex acquired by the late Acheampong Regime. The site was originally meant for AMA Schools. Compensation has not been paid to the original owners of the land and so Government can re-possess it to be used for the purpose which it was meant for.

17) Appoint Presidential Liaison Officers in the Ministries and Departments to ensure that Presidential directives are carried out. This is particularly important in the Sports Ministry to ensure openness and fair play.

18) Reintroducing free maternal care for pregnant women.

19) Reduce fuel prices, electricity, water, renewal of vehicle licence, insurance fees and taxes on other essentials – import duties etc.

20) Make the “One District, $I million” and the One Village, One Dam top priorities of your Government.

21) Put on hold all promotions in both the Civil Service and the Security Services.

22) Recruitment into the Security Services should also be put on hold. Your administration should look into the way and manner the candidates were recruited so as not to fill the Services with party foot soldiers.

23) Establish a Chaplaincy at Jubilee House to see to the spiritual needs of the President and his staff.

The above are not impossible objectives. They lie with the grasp of Nana Addo’s government and it is to their attainment that Nana’s efforts should be concentrated.

“There is a tide in the affairs of men which taken at the flood leads on to fortune”. The tide flowing at the moment is Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, together with his indefatigable Vice, Dr. Bawumia. Ride on, Nana, for you have fought a good fight and have come out victorious.

Once again, a big congratulation to Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo and the NPP team which worked tediously to attain this historic landmark. May the Good Lord Guide you as you embark on the journey to our El-Dorado.

Daniel Danquah Damptey (damptey_daniel@yahoo.com) (Self- Appointed Special Aide to President Elect, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo)