Anlo Rejects John Evans Atta-Mills For 2012

The writings are now very clear on the walls! John Evans Atta-Mills should dare us not when the chips come down for the 2012 primaries of the NDC. He simply does not have what it takes to lead and unite the NDC party, and Anlo would not support a man who lacks integrity, leadership qualities, and the spirit to unite a grassroots party like the NDC. Therefore, when the roll call is up for the numbers for the 2012 primaries of the NDC, John Evans Atta-Mills should not count on Anlo votes, period! Anlo will either boycott the elections or consider credible alternatives offered by other political parties if the party makes that unpardonable mistake of choosing or imposing Mills on the NDC.

We waited patiently for the President and the Commander-In-Chief of the armed forces, John Evans Atta-Mills, to put his house in order, but he has failed miserably as a leader. We waited for him to gain control of both governance issues and issues afflicting the party, but he left those to greedy ministers who cannot differentiate between the spoon that continues to feed them and their families, and decided to burn the very bridge under them while crossing the river.

I recall with regrets the issues that bedeviled the once peaceful environment of Anlo, particular Anloga, before the 2008 elections. When Nyonyo Agboada and his underlings terrorized us incessantly for more than five years with the connivance of the Kufour administration, our only hope was in a change of government which could bring that era of terror to an end. I personally had to walk the very stretch of the coast from Anloga to Keta before boarding a vehicle to Aflao to cross the border to Lome. The tortures, the rapes, and the destructions Nyonyo and his hooligans left in the wake of their attacks are well documented and are still fresh on our minds. The dead and their families are still waiting for answers to why those unfortunate victims were killed, who killed them, and how they were killed? But for Atta, business is as usual.

Interestingly, Atta-Mills, the believer in the constitution, a mantra he alludes to anytime he fails, only had to turn around and employ the security forces to impose another fraudster on Anlo while the case is still pending before the law courts he believes in. Interesting times ahead as we approach 2012!

The campaigns have just begun and we are waiting patiently for Atta to file the nomination papers and declare his intentions to contest the NDC primaries and we will let him understand what we think of him. What a shame that for over two years since assumption of office, the NDC government cannot put a finger on those who caused the mayhem in Anlo but turned around to employ the security forces to impose another fraudster. I promise there can be no peace without justice!!! The spirits of those murdered in Anlo are still crying in the wilderness under a government that pride itself with “justice for all.” There are other teething issues which we would address at the right time.

It is unfortunate that the NDC leadership considers Anlo in particular and the Volta Region in general as its “world bank,” but the issues these people bring to the table do no matter in the scheme of things. The NDC leadership is still under that erroneous impression that come what may, Anlo and the Volta Region will continue to vote for the NDC. The NDC would wake up to the rudest shock of its shameful conducts over the last two years. Times have changed and the people have woken to the stark truth and the realities of John Evans Atta-Mills politics of “do nothing.” We are watching what is unfolding in the north of Africa and beyond, and we would take the appropriate steps to ensure a non-performing government is told the truth in the face.

How many votes do those so-called executives of the party have? It is interesting some are in haste to declare their support for a president who is getting nowhere. This is only after they received their share of the people’s tax that is being shared across the country. But the truth is that if money could not buy votes for the NPP in 2008, then there are lessons for this failed president to learn. Money can buy the executives but not the grassroots.

Let us consider another issue here. The Anlo Youth Council solicited the support of Prof. Kofi Awoonor, the Chairman of the Council of State, to lobby for the establishment of one the campuses of the proposed University of Health and Allied Sciences in the southern part of the Volta. His response was he could not do much and directed them to contact the MP for Anlo Mr. Humado, who by the way is the Vice Chairman of the Committee task to work out the modalities for the establishment of the University. The Anlo Youth Council did make a proposal to Mr. Humado, and his fascinating response was that he was not the Chairman of the committee; as the Vice- chairman, he claimed, he could not be of much help. So it came to pass that the sod was cut for the establishment of all the campuses at mid-Volta.

This is not to whip up disenchantment against our brothers in mid and northern Volta. In my discussion with some folks from north Volta, they concurred completely that those who rode on the back of Anlo for the past four decades, who are still in the thick of things because they know no other way of survival, were only self-seekers who have rather antagonized Anlos unnecessarily with Ashantis especially but for no reason than their own selfish interest.

Obviously, universities have their own economies. Students in tertiary institutions create markets for vendors of all kinds of items. They spend in the local economy in so many ways. By reason of this and for equitable distribution of the country’s resources, a southern campus of the University of Health and Allied Science was a just demand from southern Volta. After all, while Ho can boast of a nurses training college, a polytechnic and other private tertiary institutions, Hohoe has a post-secondary teacher training college. For the southern stretch from Aflao through Anyanui, there is not a single postsecondary institution. Therefore, it was a just demand before God and man that this issue was considered on its merits.

But the “father of all” does not get it. Well, these are the issues that would inform our choice in the 2012. It is not because Jerry Rawlings hails from Keta and the NDC is Ewe party. We are sick and tired of self-seekers who have done nothing to help the people of the area and only go about on the back of the people to exploit the system.

We are aware Humado must be nursing a third term ambition now that he is appointed a Sports Minister. We are waiting patiently for him to return to seek the endorsement of Anlos. If executives who have votes at the primary do not see the harm these individuals are doing to Anlo, then they should go ahead and vote him again after receiving their bribes. We will ensure we get the right persons to represent Anlo come what may. No more Humado!

I hope our Fante brothers and sisters would not consider this as a stab in their back. We tend to impute tribalism in all we see. But if the Fante caucus of the NDC and the NDC as a whole can present a new candidate, why would we not support him/her if he/she is able and ready to deliver. For John Evans Atta-Mills, he will only realize who he has been as a president when he becomes an ex-president sooner than later.

The man is a complete failure and a disgrace to himself, his family and those around. Let’s all wait to see what happens in 2012 and beyond. If we have to ensure that the NDC return to opposition and repackage itself for 2016 or 2020, so be it.

Your comments and letters are welcome to the address and email below:

William Axovi Gbetodeme

C/o E.P. School/Church

House: Near E.P Burial Ground

Anloga

willieaxovigbe@yahoo.com