Does Nana Addo have a credibility problem when it comes to drugs??

Nana Akufo Addo likes to present himself as a straight-talking, regular guy. But it's an act. Regular guys don't go to Lancing College and are not called to the bar at middle temple, and straight-talking guys don't pretend to be regular guys after growing up in one of the most privileged homes in Ghana history. Not only was Akufo Addo's dad president, he is also from the Royal Akyem kingdom.

Now, as Akufo Addo's regular guy act is wearing thin, some of his other deceptions are becoming more obvious.

Nana Addo ran for president in 2008 promising to tackle the menace of drug trafficking by appointing drug Czar who will be elevated to the rank of a member of cabinet, and also to raise the tone of public discourse in Ghana. He was not saying merely that he wouldn't sniff cocaine. He was talking about basic honesty, promising to look facts in the face, not to spin (too much), and to give an honest accounting of his actions. Yet Nana Addo’s reaction to reports in the Wikileaks, by both Dr. Kwesi Aning and Kwesi Pratt, that implicated him in drug use, raises doubts not only over his honesty but, still more, over whether he has the personality to lead Ghana. When set in the context of his failure to tell the public about the veracity of the drug allegations hanging around his neck like an albatross, it raises profound questions about Nana Addo's credibility, honesty and competence.

Dr. Kwesi Aning in a damning revelation to the US embassy as reported in the Wikileaks not only confirmed his knowledge of Nana Addo’s drug use but also referred the US ambassador to the Germans intelligence service for verification. “When asked about rumours of Akufo-Addo’s cocaine use, Kwesi Aning admitted that Akufo-Addo had used drugs in his younger days, but that was now under control.” He added cryptically that “you can check with German intelligence on that.” The question is does the German intelligence also have records of Nana Addo’s drug use? For someone who describes himself as a friend of Nana Addo to use such words on him is not only worrying but very terrifying. Juxtaposing Kwesi Aning’s comment with what Kwesi Pratt is also reported to have said in the same Wikileaks makes you want to puke.

Kwesi Pratt admitted that he had personal knowledge of Nana Addo’s drug use, but that it was not cocaine. “Nana used to smoke a lot of marijuana,” Pratt said, “and I’m telling you, a lot. Even in the morning, there used to be a cloud around him and you could see he was high.”

These are serious charges politically for Nana Addo, who is running for the high office of the president of Ghana. It is also serious charge substantively, because it challenges the credibility of Nana Addo as against the fact that his close associates continue to deny the drug allegations against him. Even Gabby Asare Okyere-Darko, one of the close confidants of Nana Addo admitted not too long ago that Nana had experimented with drugs in the past. This is what Gabby wrote: “The majority of Ghanaians below the age of fifty have been exposed to wee use, one way or the other. Even if Nana Akufo-Addo, who grew up in the flower, liberal age of the funky sixties in both England and Ghana, had experimented with grass, like many students do, what in modern PR tactics informed the NDC that they could win by tagging the man, who carries the tag ‘yenim wo firi titi’, as a dangerous, hopeless, reckless drug abuser?”

Nana Addo himself has consistently refused to give a straight answer to the drugs question, from which many people suspect that there was definitely a drug problem. Someone should be trying to root out the truth. How can it possibly be that both Kwesi Aning and Kwesi Pratt have knowledge of Nana Addo’s drug use and they were able to say it loud to the US embassy officials? There has to be a connection. Besides there is countless number of people in Nana Addo’s inner circle who are either convicted drug barons or money launderers. It beat my imagination why Nana Addo should still have the likes of Nana Poku Ofori Atta; a convicted money launderer, Yaw Amfo Kwakye; an ex-drug convict and Raymond Amankwah; an incarcerated drug baron as associates. It raises a question of Nana Addo’s credibility on drugs. If the crab comes out of the river to announce the death of the crocodile who are you to challenge the crab?

I have heard some insiders within Nana Addo’s camp argued that the likes of George Bush Jr., Bill Clinton and even Barak Obama had in the past experimented with drugs but what they have lost sight of is the fact that, these leaders have openly admitted to their drug use and the Americans have forgiven them. Can we say the same of Nana Addo? Two principal issues must be looked at critically- -the issue of narcotic drugs and the attendant issue of personal safety and security of the people of Ghana. The Cocaine & Crime Crisis under the NPP was no secret, and Ghana became the cocaine hub of the continent. The cocaine crisis became so endemic that it threatened the very socio-cultural and political foundations of our nation. Ghana cannot afford the cost of electing a leader who is so much engrossed in drug scandals. Many people believe that Nana Akufo Addo single-handedly through his actions and inactions as Attorney General helped open wide the floodgates of cocaine and its attendant boom in crime and insecurity in this country. How will Nana Akufo Addo explain the rationale behind the discontinuation of the Frank Benneh (A Geneva based diplomat who was arrested in Switzerland on charges of dealing in narcotic drugs) trial as an Attorney General? What about the de-confiscation of the Assets of Raymond Amankwah, a convicted notorious international drug baron who incidentally happens to be Nana Addo’s brother-in-law?

It is important that we tell our children the truth as to what is good or right. Nana Addo owes Ghanaians the truth and he must lay this matter to rest now or never. Remember, this is the man seeking the highest office of the land, and much is expected of him. Just allowing your spokespersons to refute this serious allegation against your person is not just good enough.

I want my children to grow without knowing drugs and I think that is the prayer of every right thinking members of society. We know what drugs have done to countries like Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, etc. We need a responsible leader whose fight against drugs would be second to none. Whatever the Akufo Addo apologists may say, it remains a fact that Nana somehow got involved in drugs as we are being told by people who claimed they have a close association with him. Ghanaians should be insisting on a coherent explanation from Nana Addo. We cannot have a drug baron as a leader of our nation.

Nana Addo will have an uphill task ahead of the 2012 elections, with his credibility eroded on every issue. Too many people cannot be wrong and I suspect there is more to Nana Addo and this drug issue. It is time for the adventures of Nana Addo in the flower, liberal age of the funky sixties to be revealed. Over to you Nana.

I shall be back!!

Emmanuel Dela Coffie

www.delacoffie.wordpress.com