Mr Nana Dankwa Addo, a visionary leader, a manager, or a coward? Kojo Tamakloe
This year Ghanaians go to the polls again to make a choice between Mr Nana Addo and the incumbent, President MILLs. For some it is a straight forward deal, others need souls searching and logical analysis of the two candidates. I have been making an analysis more so from the job aspect , presidency, and so what qualities will be needed to make it a success. The Presidents position is a leadership one , at worst a managerial. Those of us who unfortunately started life from the science laboratories like to define things. It helps, as you start of from a point of agreement . So what is leadership?
Leadership is the ability to create and articulate a realistic, credible, and attractive vision of the future that improves upon the present situation. Great leaders are visionary and so we take a look at visionary leaders
Visionary leaders are by definition focused on tomorrow," which means they have the capacity to catch or create a vision
A vision ,may be defined as seeing something intangible, or the act or power of anticipating that which will or may come to be . It is prophetic, as one looks into the future
A leader is one who influences the behavior and work of others in group efforts towards achievement of specified goals in a given situation. On the other hand a manager has the job of planning and co coordinating the efforts of the group to attain the specified goal .A leader inspires and motivates and a manager manages tasks. A leader has wisdom , a manager has talent . Now that we know what leadership is all about and what a manager should be doing , let us analyze the contestants
Now if we take a look at President Mills , he has articulated ‘ the Better Ghana” agenda . By nature he is not given to talking and is not showy nor ostentatious. As an academic he is given to much thought and on occasion seems clumsy . Thus it is obvious he does not inspire but follows a plan . There can be no doubt about his talent and credibility and that is why whether he likes it or not he needs Fl Lt Rawlings as, if the two had been working together a lot of progress would have been achieved.. Rawlings like the Founder of the Republic , Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah have leadership qualities and the ability to inspire and motivate people .because of their charisma and power of communication, an important trait in mobilization .Both were not short of courage borne out of their inner convictions . Both were prepared to sacrifice all in pursuit of those convictions . Both could think from outside the box and so on occasions were loners. Like Winston Churchill , they were sometimes thought of as “ Looney’s as people could not understand them ” Others that could do that were people like Ghandhi, Mao tse tung, Alexander the Great,and perhaps the infamous like Napoleon and Hitler . So can we say Nana Addo belongs to this elite group of people? What are his visions so far ? Transform a Guggisberg economy into a Nana Addo economy or implement a free SHS educational system.
Sir Gordon Guggisberg was the Governor of the then Gold Coast and so could not be a “leader” in that sense. He was a servant of the Colonial government who was sent to supervise the administration to serve the masters interest. In that he founded a quality school that was to provide the occupying Country with local civil servants , trained, brain washed to do its bidding. I am not sure if he succeeded in the brain washing if the products had people like the Nkrumahs, Gbedemahs, Botsios, and a Rawlings who could not be subservient to the master . “ Yours obedient servant” they were not. Guggisberg economy was to ensure the economy produced raw materials and that they were then taken away to be transformed and brought back at a higher price in the form of manufactured products. . It was to produce a local elite that will serve as a buffer to the master .and the rest to remain “ hewers of wood and drawers of water’ So what does Mr Nana addo have in mind?Mr Nana Addo and his uncle Mr J B Dankwa we know have been unpatriotic by being CIA agents . The transformations that were started by Nkrumah and later Rawlings ,they put a stop to . They have fought tooth and nail to entrench the privileges of a minority few . Part of the disdain of the tribalists, the xenophobes , the sexists, religious bigots stems from the fact they do not want the status quo to be disturbed. How then can some one like that be futuristic ? They are traditionalists and conservative . Can I remind readers, these are the people who went to the Queen to plead that Ghanaians were not ready for freedom and so does not attend Independence day celebrations. He was in the UK even this year on independence day . His father’s government, The PP, would rather support the racist apartheid government of South Africa against fellow Africans . Today he stands by while his supporters pour vitriol and insults on members of other tribes and other countries and he does not, like Senator Mcain tell them “ this is not true’ Rather he takes the lead himself and then goes to pee on a Mosque
Corruption in NPP government . Here was a man who was a senior minister in the K4 government and was privy to malfeasance. Land was stolen in his presence but did he make any noise or challenge it ? The Woyome saga started when he was still in government. We do not hear of the stance he took when the procurement procedures were being flouted. Also he was privy to the massive loss in the CP contract and gave poor advice that led to judgments that ensured the seizure of Ghana assets This man was there during the Ghana@50 and due processes were flouted He was Minister for foreign affairs when the International House was taken for private use . Did he raise a finger or a voice? No he did not . Leaders stand up for their convictions. Where were his.? He saw no evil, heard no evil and smelled no even. I ask if it is possible that for 8 years a government that came to be known as “ Ali Babaa & the 40 thieves “ had no incidence of corruption .But they can get Amina to concoct a story about a Yutong Bus that was hi jacked and there was rape, the Chairman of the party wants to steal the government residence he stayed in and Mr Sakyi Hughges ,who stripped the house of all that was there .Under NPP , Ghana was like a jungle with the rampant cocaine and armed robbery. God, the Almighty had Lucifer, then, Jesus Christ, our savior, had Judas, but President Kuffour and the NPP had saints and angels .What a feat?
Mr Nana Addo as a manager. Perhaps here he will fare better . As attorney General how did he streamline the department? Part of what we reap today must stem from what was planted in his time. There is a great deal of noise about Mr Woyome and Ms Betty Mould. The Woyome saga started in August 2005 . It would seem the approgation of the contract was wrong. Should he as a man of integrity not have stopped it . We do not hear of any novel ideas he came out with . Rather the judiciary was packed with cronies and favorites instead of using meritocracy. At Foreign affairs we see relatives undeserving, travelling on diplomatic passports and being involved in drug smuggling., and the ex Presidents being stripped of the said privileges The foreign affairs being used as department of commerce , importing rice. He could not even safe guard the place so passports got lost .
Fellow Ghanaians , anyone who cannot stand by his convictions is a COWARD. Mr Nana Dankwa Akuffo Addo cannot spell out his economic philosophy nor ideology, refuses or is too scared to spell out the cost of his Free SHS program. He is so scanty with what he aims to do that all should guess and the attack is rather based on what President Mills has not done or subjective attacks . He is afraid to go for a drug test. Mr Nana Dankwa Addo , spell out boldly your vision and tell us who , and what you are
The writer is a Pan Africanist who believes In Unity will Africa develop. Ghana as a pioneer should take the lead and our leaders need to have that as a vision
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