Opinionator: Election 2012 Popular Quiz

Posted by Abu Mubarik

It’s pretty obvious that the main candidates for this year’s presidential

race will be between John Evans Atta Mills and ‘John’ Nana Addo Danquah

Akufo Addo. Oh, the John attached to Nana’s name? Well, am told to be a

president in Ghana, you need to bear the name “John”. It is the ticket to

the slave castle or the controversial Flagstaff House.

No disrespect to my comrades in the PNC and CPP. This election is not about

the John and ‘John’. Of course, we are a force to reckon with.

Quick exercise, let’s see how much you know of the candidates. Here are my

presidential quiz, if you get them all right, I nominate you be a

presidential aid.

In each case, identify whether it was Mills or Akufo Addo who made the

statement.

1. Under my leadership, government will set up training centers for

skilled workers like you, which will help harness your talents and develop

your skills

2. And above all, we are going to give Ghana an honest government, not a

corrupt chop chop government like we have now.

3. We believe that with hard work and good

leadership,

we can create a society which produces quality jobs for the youth, is

able to provide free education for all to the senior high level and meets

the hopes of its populace.

4. In order for industries in Ghana to have the liberty to grow and

expand, the state must protect them from unfair competition.

5. It is haphazard to govern and make the right choices without reliable

data. Many of the measures discussed in all sections of this paper can only

be envisage if the underpinning analysis is based on reliable information.

6. Unless we industrialize with the goal of adding significant value to

our primary products, be they heavy or primary products, be they or

otherwise, we cannot create the necessary numbers of high-paying jobs that

will enhance the living standards of the mass of our people.

7. Even though the significant expansion of the economy over the last

decade has brought about a higher average per capita income it is still

limited in its capacity to generate decent jobs with decent pay for our

youth.

8. All die be die

9. There will not be woyome scandal under my presidency.

10. Let us make this an election the

result of

which will respond to the aspirations of the youth of Ghana.

Never mind, I’ll tell you the answers in a jiffy, but let me say that, by

now, we have a pretty feel of how Mills governs. ‘Rebels’ within the NDC

and NPP may disagree with him but Ghanaians know what they are getting.

In contrast , Nana Akufo Addo is a mystery.

He was the MP for Akyem Aboakwa for 16 years with little to show for. He

lived moderately quite contrary to his ideological believes-capitalism.

But he has proven to the diehard NPP youth and activist that he is the best

man to lead them. So crucial question to Voters: who is the real John Nana

Akufo Addo?

Personally my gut feeling is that Nana Addo has an inherent socialist

ideology. He might be born and bred in a capitalist family but hey, that is

what I feel. He talks big and tough. Very calm and polite inside but his

worldview is arrogance.

He has a record as a human right activist but was loud silent on the brute

murder of overlord of Dagbon and former Cpp Regional Chairman. Least you

forget, he was the then Attorney General when the Ya-Na incident happened.

Further evidence for Akufo Addo: Before he entered politics he was leading

figure in the group “People’s movement for freedom and Justice”, a human

right group .

I personally see Nana Addo as a pragmatist. One who will not be so fixated

on his party’s capitalist ideology.

Most often, political parties that find itself in governance turns to

dictate to the presidency the policy direction it ought to pursue.

President Mills is facing such challenge. We often hear how some microcosm

of the macrocosm of the NPP bigwigs have hijack the NPP campaign team and

virtually dictating to Akufo Addo. Is that the signs of his will be

governance?

Honest time: socialist-capitalist Akufo Addo, who are you? If elected,

which policy direction would you pursue? Will we get a socialist Akufo Addo or

a capitalist Akufo Addo?

Oh the quiz? It illustrates the problem. Akufo Addo made the statement

I invite you to my blog, www.abuwrites.blogspot.com. Please also join me on

Facebook,youtube (abumubarik7) and follow me

on Twitter (@Abumubarik)

at 8:16

PM