“A mature person is one who does not think only in absolutes, who is able
to be objective even when deeply stirred emotionally, who has learned that
there is both good and bad in all people and all things, and who walks
humbly and deals charitably”
--- Eleanor Roosevelt
Inarguably, it is only a non-objective and bias member of the NPP, who
would describe His Excellency, President Mahama as “Not Humble…Disrespectful”
person. I believe if K. Badu had sent this article to his party gurus or
communications team in Ghana to review, before he sent to Ghanaweb, they
would have advised him to change the title of the piece, knowing well that,
President Mahama does not feet the characterization he rendered. In the
sense that, dozens of them who were in Parliament with the then Mr. Mahama,
since the inception of Ghana’s fourth republican democratic dispensation,
rather knew him to be an opposite of what myopic and narrow-minded Badu claims.
President Mahama has been humble, respectful, cool, calm and collected
gentle man since infancy, and those are the enviable traits that the NPP’s
Nana Addo is lacking that is why he continues to fumble and tumble in the
political field.
When the NPP realized that they had no pragmatic and practical message to
the electorates, coupled with the fact that, all the schemes and strategies
being adopted by their communications team, both home and abroad, to
disinform, misinform and manipulate the mentality of the discerning Ghanaian
electorate are falling apart. They realized that the center can no longer hold
firm this dwindling and declining chances for victory, one of their
laughable columnists in the UK is desperately trying to re-read ‘meaning’,
grossly exaggerate and blow out of proportion some statements purported to
have been made by His Excellency President Mahama.
This piece would render an objective analysis on his claims, to enable
readers of his article read in between the lines. He first quoted the
President saying in Parliament, when he was the Vice-President that, “People of the
Ashanti origin have problem with letters L&R.” But this was not meant to
be an insult, he quoted the President out of context. And the President was
not the first person to have said that. Even some Akans and Ashantis, who
do not have such “L/R” tongue deficiency, are always mocking and making fun
of their own kid and kith with such dialectical constrain. One of the
Ashanti music composers, wrote a rap song in the nineties, which partly reads,
“…Me “L” ne me “R” ne ye ma me ploblem”, and even many other Akan
comedians have been mimicking and mocking their own people with this problem.
And the fact that, the President said it does not mean he was following
their own crowd with the intention to make them a laughing stock, and I
believe you were only one among your cronies, who took the President out of
context-a clear cut scenario of giving a dog a bad name in order to hang it.
On the issue of the President allegedly describing the radio phone-in
discourse by callers regarding the late President Mills’ burial place as “
USELESS”, you should have mentioned the rationale behind what the President
said. These callers (who were mostly, supporters and sympathizers of the NPP)
were using all sorts of abusive and insulting words against him, due it his
government decision to bury the late President in Accra, which was in
agreement with the deceased family members.
The “Baloney”, or Non-sense that the author claimed the President
described the NPP’s MPs is a very fair assessment and it fits perfectly their
modus oprandi in parliament, because as one time Parliamentary Correspondent of
a newspaper in Ghana, the NPP MPs, would usually oppose virtually every
government initiative placed in the house for consideration. And they would
use all kinds of abusive words against late President Mills, and
Vice-President Mahama. No wonder few days after one of those daily routine of
castigation and vilification of the man of God, upon hearing his sudden death, we
saw them shedding shameful crocodile tears, out of guilty consciousness of
the kind of stressful, hectic and nerve-wrecking situation they subjected
him into. We saw and heard them saying they did not hate him, but hate his
policies. But the NDC MPs when they were in minority never gave such hard
time to former President Kufour, as the NPP had done to the late President.
This was simply because, they would not see wisdom in the reciprocity of
respect and mutual co-corporation they had gain from the NDC MPs.
Regarding the President’s reaction to former President Kufour’s plea to
the government not to “Kill a fly with as a Sledge Hammer”, concerning the
case of the most notorious MP in Ghana, Kennedy Agyapong, who incited the
Ashantis against the Gas and Ewes, where the President replied him saying, “
We will kill a fly with a Bulldozer”. If you were an objective person, you
would expect former President Kufour, as one-time father of the nation to
condemn Kennedy Agyapong in strong terms. But he by lobbying for clemency
and compassion for him, has down-played the ultimate negative ramification of
this high inflammatory statement, which was a treasonable and treacherous
crime.
But the President’s statement if you observe, was meant to serve as a
deterrent, because for such a rowdy and rancorous statement to have come from
the mouth of a member of the house of legislature, really deserves such a
strongly worded statement from the presidency- warning him and other
antagonistic and aggressive surrogates of Nana Addo in the NPP- a party which even
won 13 out of 17 cases of using indecent language in the air waves, by
courtesy of the Media Foundation for West Africa. This authoritative manner of
His Excellency was supposed to tell them to beware of the consequences of
inciting the Akans to attack the Gas and Ewes in their regions- a situation
which would ruin the ever enviable political stability of mother Ghana,
which is sandwiched in a sub-region, always burning and bleeding. And Ken is
now out of jail, nothing happened to him. The NPP should rather be thankful
to the President for tempering justice with mercy. But just imagine K.
Badu what would have happened to Ken if he were in Nigeria or any other
African countries, you know their governments would never countenance or tolerate
such sheer act of stupidity and senselessness.
Talking about the phrase the President used, “It is only those who are
blind that do not see the good work of the NDC.” I wonder what kind of
education you had or if you ever read basic literature, for you to have
misunderstood him. Even a lay man who could not write an article as you could not
associate that statement as an insult to the visually impaired. The President
used that figuratively and not literally to refer to people like you, Mr.
Badu, who always blind fold themselves, and throw dust in the eyes of the
electorate, in order to prevent themselves and the voters from seeing clearly
the indelible success made by the Mills-Mahama administration within their
first two years in office, toward the implementation of the Better Ghana
Agenda. The President is a highly religious man of God, and would not make
such a statement to insult people that he rules. Besides, he knows that, it
was God’s decision for them to be literally blind.
You also quoted His Excellency’s statement that, “God in his own wisdom
has taken the old man, Professor Mills away to pave way for the youthful
Mahama to take over the mantle.” In the first place, the President knows that,
death is a common phenomenon that would happen to every Thom, Dick and
Harry, living and breathing on this earth, and he would also go when his time
is due. And truly as he said, God has paved the way for him to be
President. He never thought of nor to have attempted in mysterious ways, as your
sympathizers are widely alleging to have caused the demise of the late
President Mills, just to take over the mantle of leadership. After all, he is
still in his youthful exuberance and has a bright future within the
all-inclusive NDC party. And if it was the NPP in power and the President dies, the
Vice-President from the north would never had the hands-down opportunity to
run for the presidency uncontested by their array of ‘Ashanti-Akyem’ mafias
and gurus on the waiting list.
Because the Al-mighty knows how President Mahama cooperated with his late
boss, who mentored him and even envisaged his chance of succeeding him, few
months before his death. So Mr. Badu there is nothing bizarre about such a
statement. Even the rank and file of our Great Akatamanso party, knows
that President Mahama is a God-sent leader who could easily win the election.
That was why our senior party executives decided unanimously to endorse him
for the presidency, without any challenger. Coupled with fact that, he
coincidentally happens to be the most marketable and charismatic
Akatamansonian guru today, who in spite of the NPP’s constant and consistent
attacks
from different angles, is still soaring and surging in popularity
exponentially.
Finally, you raised an eye brow on his phrase, “Northerners are fed up of
playing second fiddle to the presidency.” Take it or leave it, the
President, hit the nail directly on the head. Because this is a glaring fact. All
political parties know that, no party can win an election without the
support of the North, Muslims/Zongos. Your party members are clearly trying to
shift the minds of the electorate from your selfish, myopic, ethnocentric and
tribalistic attitude of always having an Ashanti or Akyem at the
forefront, while using a Northerner as Vice-President and dumping him for the
presidency.
This is undeniable, because a clear case scenario happened to the late
Vice-President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama, who was rejected by your members, after
having served eight good years under the former President Kufour’s corrupt
regime. Even Kufour himself showed him his “Ashanti Confederacy”-true
colors, when he surprisingly endorsed ‘Alan Cash’, an Ashanti, at his (Aliu)
expense. And Badu, do you know that, Nana Addo and some of your cronies even
advised Kufour to reject Aliu when he was going for the second term in 2004,
and use an Akan, because they thought, Northerners would appreciate the NPP
’s ‘generosity’ for being the first party to have given their son a
second slot and vote for them even without using him for the second term. But
upon sober reflection of the fact that, many discerning Ghanaians from both
the South and the North would not renew their mandate, they rejected the
idea and thereby won the elections.
It is very clear to everyone that, Nana Addo is the only defending
champion, when it comes to making statements replete with ethnocentric undertone.
A case in point, was when he came to New York City about five months ago
and was hosted by the NPP USA NASSRA Club, at GALAGALA restaurant in the
Bronx, Nana Addo, not knowing that, the audience were predominantly NDC USA
Zongo Caucus members, he made a generic and sweeping statement to the effect
that, and I quote, “…I don’t know if it is sheer hatred that makes the
Muslim and the Zongo people vote against the NPP.” Just imagine, these
insulting words, and some of us as journalists wanted to ask him questions on this
statement, but the NPP USA Diaspora disallowed questions, knowing that Nana
Addo would be disgraced, due to his use of unguarded statement at the
event. The question is; if you imply that, the Zongos and Muslims hate NPP,
then how come President Kufour won the elections in 2008; it was simply
because many of these people voted for him.
Nana Addo’s “All die be die” and “Yen Akanfuo” trabalistic mantra would
be in the annals of history for posterity to read and write. And would ever
remain indelible in the minds of the electorate as they queue to reject
him and send back the elephant to the bush on December 7th, 2012. Mr. Badu
you mentioned at the tail end of your article that, you expect the President’
s kind responds. But His Excellency has no time for the likes of you. For
you are not and would never be on the same wave length with him-character
wise, communications wise, intellectual wise and academic wise. Hence those
of us, his progeny and communications team in the diaspora would be
replying and reacting to your usual character assassination and casting of
insinuation, which you are rather making him more popular as he is getting closer
for a landslide and an overwhelming victory next Friday.
Husseini Y. Baba AlWaiz, Press Secretary, NDC New York
