Why should President Mahama stop bragging?

By Peter Mawunyo Dzidza

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

I read with much dismay the comments made by Nana Akomea, the Communication Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), which were published on Ghanaweb on Wednesday 26 June 2013 under the heading “MAHAMA SHOULD STOP BRAGGING”. In that publication, Nana Akomea was reportedly emphatic that while Ghanaians are suffering hardships, the President goes about bragging that God has ordained him to be the President of Ghana. He buttressed his point by conspicuously quoting in isolation Philippians 4 verse 19.

I want to take Nana Akomea to task, and I will go to town on him. Indeed, I don’t expect him to praise President Mahama because his “All-die-be-die” background is at variance with President Mahama’s political culture. Furthermore, Nana Akomea’s political forebears taught him a lesson in political mischief that puts him poles apart from President Mahama. They taught him and his ilk never to see anything good in any of the Ghanaian Presidents except their own kind. This was vividly demonstrated during the nine-year rule of Dr Kwame Nkrumah; the eighteen-year rule of President Rawlings and the three-and-a-half-years’ rule of President Mills. As such, Ghanaians do not expect anything to the contrary from him.

Clearly, the majority of Ghanaians outside the “Ma te me ho” political camp know full well their egocentric, parochial, self-centred, and greedy nature, which was on full display when they entered political office in 1969, 2000, and 2004; and these Ghanaians were witnesses to how they looted the national coffers and brought the economic development of Ghana to a virtual standstill while unconscionably blaming their political opponents for the mess.

Besides, Ghanaians are aware that, probably, apart from Heaven where the Lord God reigns supreme, any other government on earth is and will be saddled with many difficulties as happened in Dr. Busia’s two-and-a-half years’ rule form 1969 to 1972, leading to the introduction of Apollo 568 and aliens compliance order which stunted the economic development of Ghana and reduced the country to a beggar nation. In the same vein, President Kufuor did not make Ghana a paradise in his eight-year rule (20000 to 2008) but ended up introducing the “Kufuor gallon” in the political history of Ghana.

It is, therefore, hypocritical for a cabinet minister in the eight years regime of President Kufuor to opine that he could not understand why Ghanaians were suffering while the President would keep on preaching that God ordained him to rule Ghana. Based on this, he erroneously quoted a letter written by Apostle Paul while in prison to the church in Philippi, as is reported in Philippians 4 verse 19. In this letter, the Apostle expressed his gratitude to the church for the gift of fragrant offering—an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God that they had sent to him through Epaphroditus; and he said “My God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”

To deliberately deceive Ghanaians, Nana Akomea quoted only the tail end of what Apostle Paul wrote to the church in appreciation, (Phillipians 4 verse 19), leaving the main premise which was stated in verses 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16 and 18 upon which he concluded with verse 19 (New International Version). In verse 10, for instance, Paul was full of praise for the Philippians, and stated in verse 11 that “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.”

The question on the lips of many Ghanaians is whether one is “content” serving the political party of one’s choice, regardless of the circumstances stated by Apostle Paul. During the 2012 elections, the NPP’s Akufo-Addo had 47.74 per cent of the valid votes cast and the party itself won 123 parliamentary seats while others won just one seat. In appreciation, the NPP activists took to the streets of Accra where they vandalised both lives and property of the very people who queued and voted for the party’s candidates. Still not satisfied, they boycotted the inauguration of the President-elect and the vetting of his appointees. To add insults to injuries, the party’s leaders dragged the Electoral Commission to the Supreme Court at a time when the whole world was showering praises on the Commission for doing a good whiles some of the NPP’s stalwarts ridiculed the head of the Electoral Commission Dr. Kwadwo Afari Gyan by calling him ‘Chief thief’ and “devil” while invoking God to kill him (thanks to Kennedy Agyapong). Within this context, what is there to enthuse over about Nana Akomea’s comments? Clearly, the NPP functionaries don’t see things the way the millions who endorsed President Mahama’s Presidential quest did. The Millions who put him in office know better than Nana Akomea and all others crying themselves hoarse over genuine elections that they lost but are at pains to admit. Undoubtedly, the voice of the electorate became the voice of God, which blessed President Mahama and installed him in office. Should he not be free to acknowledge God’s providential work in his life?

Indeed, it is only God who appoints “rulers” over his own people; and it was to this God that President Mahama bowed in total recognition as he declared that he was indeed ordained by God. Is there anything blasphemous about that open declaration? Unfortunately, Nana Akomea and those thinking like him can’t bear that truth. They still can’t bring themselves down from their high horses of self-importance to accept that fact even after their balloon of self-importance had been punctured by the electoral “tsunami” that swept them off their feet into political doom. They deserve nothing but maximum pity; but they won’t be allowed to hold sway.

I hope history will judge Nana Akomea and the NPP for delaying the democratic forward march which Ghana embarked upon in 1992 with the steadfastness of Dr Afari Gyan who’s many years’ reputation as the Electoral Commissioner of Ghana the NPP malcontents are desperately attempting to destroy by dragging him to court like a common criminal. Surely, Election 2016 will soon dawn to prove to Nana Akomea and his NPP cabal that whatever is destined to succeed knows no failure. Sore losers on parade!!

By Peter Mawunyo Dzidza

Contact details; dzidza70@gmail.com

Phone number; 07878065802, UK