NPP fought the drug menace with ....

NPP fought the drug menace with all weapons in its armoury. NDC policies have rather emboldened drug users/dealers.

“When a wise man dies in the backyard of a foolish man, e get as e bi. Because people go ask say upon all his wisdom, why ebi say na for backyard of a foolish man e come die?” This Nigerian proverb aptly fits the Nefarious Destructive Cancer well well.

An adult should not sit down unconcerned whiles fire is raging on the mountain. What have the President and his Vice done about all the insults being hurled at Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Presidential Candidate of the Osono Tradition? He has been abused, vilified and been called all sorts of names, including being a cocaine addict. Both the President and his Vice who claim to be devout Christians always pretend to look the other way when their vultures, hyenas, sharks rabid dogs and vicious snakes, who are the real addicts malign the name of Akufo-Addo. Last week, I threw an open challenge to the VP to redeem his image but he has not done so leaving us to make our own individual conclusions about him.

But the purpose of this write up is to set the records straight as to which of the two political parties has done a lot to stem the tide out of the dangerous drug menace.

Robert Joseph Mettle Nunoo: He was appointed Director (Corporate Development) of Compimchex Limited, a company whose Directors were busted in connection with 580 kg cocaine with a street value of $38million smuggled into the country on 24th November, 2005. The letter offering him appointment was signed by David Gerardo Duarte Vasquez and was dated 7th November, 2005. The company also had a shop at Osu which sold ladies pants and under wears. Rojo Mettle Nunoo assisted the company to open a bank account and also acquire land at the Free Zones Board. In addition, he said he sold paints to the lingerie shop.

Rojo Mettle Nunoo secured the legal services of his brother, Edward J. Mettle Nunoo to defend the accused drug barons in the cocaine case before the Circuit Tribunal. The brother (Edward J. Mettle-Nunoo) the court records show appeared before Judge Asiedu on August 31, 2006 and March 4th, 2006 in defence of his brother’s (Rojo’s) employer. Reference: Crusading Guide (17th-23 April, 2006) and Daily Guide of Thursday. March 16, 2006.

Judging by the NDC’ own criteria it has set with regards to finding others guilty by the mere fact that they are associated with some convicted drug pushers, it goes a long way to prove that Rojo Mettle Nunoo, by taking up appointment with a company notorious in the drug business and also convincing his brother to defend a notorious drug baron, nothing, not even if Jupiter were to come to convince me will make me believe that Rojo Mettle Nunoo was and is not into drugs.

And this is the person the President had deemed fit to appoint Deputy Minister of Health! And by appointing Rojo as a Deputy to a highly sensitive Ministry of Health, is the President not sending a wrong signal to others that there is nothing wrong with the if one was caught dealing in drugs? And is he not guilty of being an accessory to the crime of drug usage (Guilty by Association)?

Operation West Bridge: It must be noted that the latter part of the NDC rule was characterized by the US State Department Reports designating Ghana as a transit point for drugs. These occurred in 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000. When NPP took over in January, 2001, it went into joint partnership with the British by introducing what came to be known as Operation West Bridge. Itemizers and scanning machines were installed at Kotoka International Airport. Trained sniffing dogs were also brought – all in an effort to fight the drug trade.

Come January, 2009, the Nefarious Destructive Cancer was in power and going by their tag, ‘nefarious’ all the itemizes, scanning machines were removed from the airport to pave way for the drug barons in the party to carry on the drug business unhindered. The dogs were also withdrawn at the instance if the Ghanaian officials.

Our fumbling and Wobbling President told the United States Ambassador that he had enough evidence and dossier on most of his appointees to conclude that, indeed, they might have been compromised in the fight against the drug menace. He therefore entreated the British and American Officials manning the security posts at the VIP lounge to carry out the search on his appointees not in the open, but in secret so that if any of them was caught, the issue will not attract public attention. Refer to the Wilki Leaks.

If the Fumbling and Wobbling Baba Go Slow was serious in fighting the drug menace why should those itemizers and scanning machines be removed from the Airport? Jesus said it is not everybody who says, Lord, Lord that will enter the kingdom of God. The same applies to the NDC. The President went to the Airport, raised up his hands and ordered security and NACOB officers to search him. Of course, no sane person, knowing how vindictive the President is would step forward. It took strong ‘persuasion’ and perhaps some form of “estacode” before a timid NACOB official stepped forward to tap the President on the shoulders under the guise searching him. Since then, no such “search” has been conducted on either the President or his appointees, but the President has travelled out more than a hundred times since the publicity gimmick.

Daily Graphic of Saturday, March 5, 2011 talks about how drug trafficking through Africa was being on the increase. That of Monday, 23rd May, 2010 has Akrasi Sarpong saying that drug cases in the country were on the increase. Then many of the papers have been ‘’ with screaming headlines about how appointees are refusing to be searched. And our President is at the Castle doing nothing about this direct flouting of his order.

The Chronicle of Tuesday, 5th October, 2010 had this screaming headline “NDC Boy s busted over cocaine". The Western Region Police Commander DCOP Hamidu Mahama has confirmed reports that two suspected narcotics drug dealers have been granted bail upon intervention of the NDC big wigs, when the case had not been sent to court. The Big wigs included the Deputy Western Regional Women’s Organizer of the NDC. The two suspects, Ibrahim Ahmed 29, and Tommy Hill Wlker,28, known members of the NDC were arrested by the Police on September 19, 2010 for allegedly dealing in drugs.

Under NPP, drug suspects were not granted bail: Daily Graphic of July 20, 2006 had this headline: “Move to redeem country’s image – No bail for drug related offences” says Government. The story was by one, Charles, Benni, Okine. “The Government has decided to go all out to make Ghana unattractive destination for drug traffickers and users. Consequently, it said, it would do everything possible to ensure that all those arrested for drug offences were denied bail until their cases had been determined by the courts”.

And true to type, the NPP Govt denied bail for the Two British Girls who attempted to smuggle 6 .5kilo of cocaine from Ghana to the United Kingdom. Refer to Daily Guide of July 19, 2007 “No bail for Cocaine Girls" The Greater Accra Regional Tribunal has referred the case of the 2 British Girls, Yasemin Vatansever and Yetunde Diya who were grabbed at the KIA for allegedly attempting to export cocaine weighing 6.5kg and valued at $600,000 to a juvenile court” .

Compare this stance with that of the NDC which freed Abbas and Taggor who had been convicted and sentenced for their role in the MV Benjamin case. The two were jailed by the NPP government, but on assuming the reigns of power by the NDC, the party encouraged the duo to file an appeal. The NDC government deliberately sent junior lawyers to prosecute the case. The two won the appeal. The NDC Government, through the Attorney General gave notice of intention to appeal, but till date, more than one year after the two had been freed, both Abbas and Taggor are breathing the air of freedom – courtesy of NDC manipulation of the judicial system.

NDC frees Policeman in charge of exhibits: During the case involving the disappearance of the cocaine exhibits from the Police Headquarters, the Police Officer in charge of the exhibits was interdicted pending further sanctions by the Police authorities. With the coming to power of the NDC, it has recalled the interdicted Police officer. Does this in any way portray President Mills as somebody who is serious in fighting the drug menace? Absolutely, not!

The Three Dzorworu Women Busted for Drugs in 2002: The original and initial story did not indicate that they were NPP Constituency Executives: The story was given a political twist by the Ghanaian Lens to paint them all as members of the NPP Executives. Those are bare face lies and distortions. Hitler once said that if you tell a big lie, many people will believe it and that is what nefarious and cancerous contraption has done. They were not NPP Executives. I challenge the apostles of distortions and manipulation to reproduce the original story as reported in the Daily Graphic.

Frank Benneh: He was a Diplomat serving in Switzerland during the NDC regime. He was busted for dealing in cocaine. The NDC, for fear of what Frank would say told the Swiss Government that it would try the case in Ghana. He was brought down to Ghana, tried and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment but put “under house arrest” at Liberty Court Hotel. There were many loop holes in the prosecution. The Police Detective who arrested him was not brought to Ghana to testify He appealed against his conviction and won. When the party was leaving office, it destroyed every iota of evidence in connection with the case. NPP was therefore incapacitated. Akufo Addo, as a legal luminary who knows his sauce realized that the case was a bad one and so decided not to pursue it. Today, Frank Benneh is singing like a parrot- that he was doing the trade on behalf of Ghana Government.

Now the posers: Why did the NDC ask the Swiss Authorities to release Frank Benneh so that he could be tried in Ghana instead of the country where the crime took place? The NPP government tried the two British girls who were busted for cocaine here. You see the difference between a government which is serious in fighting the drug menace and a government engaged in publicity gimmick. The NPP government wanted to enact a law where there would be exchange of prisoners between Ghana and some countries and the NDC went “gaga” with the inflammatory message that Akufo-Addo wanted his cocaine friends to be brought to Ghana. Why did the NDC not allow the laws of Switzerland to deal with Frank Benneh? You see how hypocritical members of the NDC could be!

Daily Graphic of Thursday, September 18, 2008, page 14 had names, pictures, nationality, type of drug, place of arrest, mode of concealment, years of sentence and date of conviction of convicted drug dealers published. What better way is there to fight this menace than to subject convicted dealers, their communities and families to public disgrace and humiliation than the publication of such sensitive information in the national dailies? And yet, these enemies of progress with petty and myopic minds refer to the NPP as the Narcotics Peddlers Party! May God forgive them!

Delta Airlines: This plane took off from KIA to the United States and ten people were arrested at the point of dis-embarkment with cocaine. The Ghanaian Authorities claim that officials of the Airline did not allow them to carry out a search on the plane. What a Kweku Ananse story! And the fumbling and wobbling President gave an order that every person using Ghanaian airport, including himself be thoroughly searched. What do you call such a President who gives an order which cannot be enforced by those paid with tax-payers money to do the job? Are we saved in Mills Ghana? Can we entrust our lives and destiny into the hands of this very tired fumbling and wobbling President who is being propped up by a very vicious and dangerous cabal of nation wreckers whose avowed aim is to ‘grab’ as much property as they could with both their hands and legs while you and I suffer.

The German Angle: The biggest wee haul ever arrested in Germany involved a plane which took off from Kotoka International Airport. And this happened under our Fumbling and wobbling President who preferred his juju ring to his wedding ring.

Conclusion: You see, empty barrels make the loudest noise. The NDC, going by the Communist tactics believe that propaganda would win the day for them. But they are mistaken. The party has not put any concrete structure on the ground to show that it means business when it comes to fighting the drug menace. They think attacking our candidate with the drug tag would do the trick. They will not succeed. “Aboa a onni duah, Onyame na opra ne ho”. (An animal without a tail is protected by God against all attacks. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo is on course to win this race and no Jupiter can put impediments on his way. Sufficient evidence has been provided to prove that the NDC Government, led by our Fumbling and wobbling President Mills has been encouraging his party members, albeit subtly to “indulge in deal in, and traffic in narcotics drugs” to support the party. The NPP led in the fight against narcotics What are they doing about it?

Daniel Danquah Damptey (damptey_daniel@yahoo.com) 0243715297