The failure that President Kufuor has been

In January 2001, when President John Agyekum Kufuor delivered his first address as President of Ghana, he exuded much confidence and promise—I believe Ghanaians did, too because he (the President) and his charges promised a new kind of governance that promised to change the fortunes of the country. They enjoyed so much goodwill, which goodwill they calculatedly took advantage of. Like any canny politician, Mr. Kufuor said the right things that Ghanaians wanted to hear—the promise of a better economy, the promise of good governance, the promise of a more vibrant and free press, the promise of a good educational system, and the promise of a better future for the youth and our children. We all, impatiently, expected these assurances, because Ghanaians, by the year 2000, had become so fed up with the overbearing, arrogant NDC government.

To even attempt to discuss the surfeit that the NDC had become by 2000 will be a wasted effort, because we all know what happened. However, when President Kufuor ascended the highest echelons of power, some unprecedented events happened in Ghana’s body politic. There was a general unexplained excitement; market women reduced the prices of their wares in excitement, the business community unabashedly became overzealously hopeful, and the new political leadership of the country behaved as if they were re-defining patriotism. Mr. Kufuor rightly, then, earned the tag “gentle giant.”

Unfortunately, to the disappointment of many Ghanaians and his own king-makers, the man Kufuor has been the weakest and the most ineffective President that ever walked the corridors of power—at least in the Ghanaian body politic. When historians document his legacy, they will surely mention that he was weak! Trust me! His own party members have been the worst critics of his style of leadership. I will tell you why. To give him some credit, however, he has presided over a government that has nurtured the seed of press freedom that it inherited from the NDC. The NPP, under President Kufuor’s watch, has done far better than the NDC in this area; at least journalists are not beaten or unnecessarily sent to jail. Press freedom, however, did not originate with the NPP, as they (the NPP) arrogantly claim. Kufuor is also a very gentle person, who believes in the saying “Silence is Golden.” Just consider how long it took for him to respond to the provocations from the former President. Mr. Kufuor carries himself very well. This style of his is a foil to the “bugabuga” type of leadership that characterized Rawlings’ era. Unfortunately, this so-called gentleness of Mr. Kufuor’s is what has been his weakest point. I call it weakness couched in gentility.

Now, the following are some concrete evidence in support of the position I have taken.

1. Zero Tolerance for Corruption

The expression “zero tolerance for corruption” has died an unnatural death. There is no moral basis, today, for its use! The President, himself, has not used the term for so many years, because it was a dream that died long before it was conceived. To all intent and purposes, the expression has applied only to non-NPP members. Mr. Kufuor jealously and religiously used Mallam Issa and opposition elements as the sacrificial lambs to exemplify a position that has backfired in several respects. It is as if he has said that “it is okay if my ministers misappropriate funds, but it is unheard of if others become corrupt.”

The likes of Thomas Broni, Bamba, and many government functionaries have had the field day. The canker of corruption has assumed a new dimension that is unprecedented in Ghanaian politics! Was it any surprise that the President never expressed any concerns about the profuse exhibition of cash by his ministers who contested the NPP presidential primaries? Today, the President tells Ghanaians that whistle-blowing is unheard of in our body-politic, at least as far as reporting corrupt officials is concerned. The country has seen a 100% tolerance for corruption, where looting has become the order of the day. He presides over a government in which money is “chopped” fuga, fuga, and nyafu, nyafu. To add insults to injury, he has opened the flood gates of corruption to the likes of Abodakpi as if he wants to send the message that “chop the money some, go to jail later, and I will pardon you.”

2. The Foreign President

No one should tell you that President Kufuor has spent more days outside Ghana than he has lived in the country since he became President. I am not sure which country he has not visited—maybe Malta. Not even the US President travels that much. Throughout my readings on and in history, I have never come across any leader who enjoys traveling with unbridled passion as Mr. Kufuor. With all my aversion for the style of the man, Rawlings, he was in every nook and cranny of the country, identifying with the challenges of the people. I am not sure he even travelled more than Mr. Kufuor in his 19 or so years in office. Anytime there was disaster, Rawlings never missed the chance to visit the disaster area(s). Unfortunately, we have a President who behaves as if he was voted for by foreigners. In the heat of the Bawku conflict, he (Mr. Kufuor) was in Canada and the UK, displaying his elitism. When floods were consuming Ghanaians; he was in the air having fun. People say he doesn’t have to necessarily be in the country or disaster zone, but good leaders know how to speak the language of the people. Serious leaders cut short their trips, go back home, and identity with the struggles of the people. Maybe, Mr. Kufuor can learn from President Bush! When will Mr. Kufuor go to Bawku? I mean Bawku proper, not the fringes of Bawku! What have been the benefits of these over a hundred travels? Per Diem, I guess! Mr. Kufuor will go down in history as the most travelled President! That is how it will be!

3. Kufuor’s Indecision and Miscalculations

I have not seen any serious leader who will undertake a cabinet reshuffle six months to the end of his term. The President decides to let go some ministers and brings back others who abandoned him to further their idiosyncratic causes, thinking that they can help him “finish hard.” If these ministers could not help him then, or if they thought their personal interests were more important, what makes the President think that they will do any good job? Are there no other people who can do a better job? Now, what did the President want to prove by re-nominating Anane? Was it to say that he is the only one who could run the roads sector? Or, was it to say that “Ghanaians can whine all they want, but Anane is my Tom Boy?” Mr. Kufuor has not explained why he sacked Kwamena Bartels, but why would he dismiss him and leave the IGP at post? Under whose direct watch did this happen, if it was because of the missing parcels of cocaine? In any case why was Bartels sacked recently and not back then when he used his leverage to help his family run down the state? Furthermore, what exactly did the President mean when he told Francis Poku that “fri me fie ha ko?” Is that some “sakasaka kind of governance? Awurade!

I have heard someone clueless few say that Mr. Kufuor has been the best leader ever to emerge from the Danquah-Busia tradition. I am glad about this barometer for measurement. At least it narrows the scope. It can only be so within the Danquah-Busia family, not on the national scale. Or, am I in some trance?
Watch out for part two!