It was Shakespeare who wrote about Coriolanus; born of high gentry, schooled in
the noble art of war and resolutely resolute in his convictions. Put together,
he was of Patrician stock. Coriolanus distinguished himself in his chosen field
of endeavour and many fell at his feet due to his discipline, training and
uncompromising attitude when it came to matters of conviction. He was unwilling,
unable and unready to sell his conscience for the sake of high office or a mess
of pottage for that matter.
If there is one politician/ women advocate who fits this description of the
Shakespearian chief, it must be Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings who unlike all the
other politicians, she has always dared to be different. Her fame does precede
her, having doubled as first lady during the PNDC /NDC era and served in various
capacities. She is also known to have a somewhat tough personality, perhaps a
legacy of his genealogy, being a direct descendant of the legendary Yaa
Asantewaa of Ashanti History fame. That he has been in the forefront of many a
women empowerment cannot be overemphasized within the Ghanaian body politic. I
am yet to see anyone as thorough as Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings. The woman gets
the job done.
I am not of the ego massaging class and therefore it would be highly
preposterous of me to extol the prowess of Nana Konadu. Nonetheless where one’s
conscience agitates for rest, it serves a purpose to call a good woman by her
name lest truth and integrity are sacrificed on the altar of political and
opportunistic sentiments. The woman simply and practically knows the turf.
The exploits of Nana Konadu has given me more than enough reason and examples to
make a spirited defense once again to erase the erroneous impressions that the
media keeps feeding the illiterate literate masses that she is "strong-headed"
and has a rather abrasive style of leadership. The question then is whether we
are looking for form of leadership or substance/results of leadership. Each
individual is certainly bound to have his or her own style but in this day and
age, it must not be the criterion upon which decisions about policy, growth and
development would be made, otherwise many of those in leadership today would not
have found themselves in those positions.
For more than two and half decades, Nana Konadu has worked tirelessly to better
the lot of the underprivileged in society. In 1991, through the efforts of Nana
Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, Ghana was the first nation to approve the United
Nations Convention on the Right of the Child.
Through her 31st December Women movement, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings also
played a crucial role in the adoption of an “Intestate Succession Law,”which is
applicable to the survivors of anyone dying without a will. Traditionally,
Ghanaian women had little or no rights of inheritance upon the death of their
husbands. The new law provides a standard of inheritance.
For 19 years, she stood by her husband in the struggle to restore Ghana. Konadu
has led a group of women, to empower Ghanaian women, freeing them from being
hewers of wood and drawers of water to be (ing) actors, in political arena.
Her 31st December women movement taught Ghanaian women how to generate income
and save money for community projects. It encouraged them to become part of the
decision making process in their villages, and explained policies of health and
education. It offered an adult literacy program to teach them to read and write,
which the majority of women could not do either. Too early marriages among
female children were discouraged and programs were offered on nutrition and
immunization.
While doing all these, Nana Konadu was very active in party politics;
participating in programmes of the NDC and contributing to the party becoming a
force to be reckoned with in Ghana’s politics.
Nana Konadu’s vision, clarity in communication and passion for Ghana are lauded
by manyand there is a significant majority both within and outside the NDC who
says she is more than qualified to lead the party.
At this stage of our national development, we need a leader who would propose
prudent policies, and not one who is content with mediocrity. We need a leader
who is not afraid to pursue his friends, and bring them to justice, if
necessary, and not one who has a specialty in offering jobs for his cronies. .
We need a president who leads by example and rules with competent citizens, and
not family members, “bread retailers”, “taxi drivers”, and “electricians”.
We need a leader who is prepared to leave an ineffaceable legacy for his nation,
and not one who is obsessed with writing a memoir while he is still in office.
We need a leader who would make effort to patch fissures at the seams, and not
one who divides his ranks as his way of creating artificial need.
Ghana needs a leader who understands the changing field of international
diplomacy and politics, and is in tune with policies that would generate
productive outcomes for his/her nation-state. We need a leader who is ready, and
is willing to take unpopular position on issues that he/she feels are morally
justified, and ought to be enforced at any cost.
We need a leader who is prepared to take on the challenge, when necessary, to
sacrifice his/her own as a way of demonstrating his/her commitment to law and
order in the face of resurging sanity and corruption. We need a leader who sees,
and takes measured comfort in seeing his/her nation grow. Konadu answers to all
these needs and I dare say she is our best bet and on path to fulfill her
destiny.
Take it or leave it, Nana Konadu has carved a niche for herself in simplifying
issues that the ordinary Ghanaian can readily identify with without resorting to
unnecessary showmanship.
Nana Konadu has bold and visionary ideas on how to make our government work
better. She has done more than enough to prove her astuteness in the politics of
Ghana and it would be a travesty if Nana Konadu does refuses to offer herself
for the country’s top job in the near future.
I rest my case!
Emmanuel Dela Coffie
www.delacoffie.wordpress.com
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