A feature article by Peggy Noonan, in the 29/5/10 edition of ‘The Wall Street Journal’ about president Obama’s handling of the oil spillage disaster currently confronting America, the writer said that; “The president, in my view, continues to govern in a way that suggests he is chronically detached from the central and immediate concerns of his countrymen. He (Obama) has not, since the day he was inaugurated, been in sync with the center. The heart of the country is thinking each day about A, B and C, and he is thinking about X, Y and Z”.
These above observations about Obama’s performance, by Peggy Noonan, vividly portrays the exact manner Atta-Mills has been handling the affairs of the state of Ghana, since the day he disastrously fumbled with the presidential oath at the independence square.
So, for Naadu to be courageous enough to tell the good people of this nation to ‘shut-up’ and not to criticize her husband, amidst all the wailing and gnashing of teeth by Ghanaians as a result of harsh economic conditions brought about by a vision-bereft Atta-Mills, it is evidently manifest that she has been blinded by the enormous amount of freebies currently engulfing the Old Slave Castle.
Naadu has therefore become the latest member of this infamous cabal of shameless social democratic hypocrites like Kwesi Pratt, Tony Aidoo, Raymond Archer and her husband, who, through these same criticisms and vile demonization of political opponents, are today, parading the corridors of power.
People like Kwesi Pratt, who were, and still are, supporters of Atta-Mills, when in opposition, told Ghanaians that it was well within the right of Ghanaians who did not like the Kufuor administration, to marshal all forces at their disposal to fight for the removal of the NPP from office in 2008.
Your husband and their cohorts said foreign travel was ‘Harram’.But today, even you, the first Lady, can embark on what I will describe as a frivolous trip to Singapore to inaugurate a ship that is going to be used to drill what these evil ‘apostles’ of Atta-Mills described, at the time, as ‘agwe nngo’(palm-kennel oil).
Therefore if Naadu wants to jump into the high-way of the Ghanaian political debates, I would ask that she first goes to Kwesi Pratt, who is the darling boy of Atta-Mills, to take some tutorials on the activities of her husband, in opposition, against the then president Kufuor.
When Naadu has been able to do this, then, she will be in a better position to appreciate the fact that she has neither the moral, nor, constitutional authority to open her mouth at any time and tell the good people of this nation, what to do, when it comes to assessing the performance of a leader who the people of this nation have gone to queued in the sun to vote for.
Here, I would like to pose some few questions to Naadu: your husband shamelessly condoned Muntaka’s infidelity to his wife and you expected the good people of this nation to have looked-on sheepishly? Your husband could not raise a finger when prominent members amongst his close associates were engaging in sexual escapades with young women at gun-points and you expected us to be mute? A national health insurance authority(NHIA) administrator(whose blood stream is allegedly overloaded with a platoon of HIV), appointed by your husband, is ‘chewing’ young-lady employees like sugar-cane, whiles your husband stands aloof and you expect us to be having a party? A murderer was found hiding under the bed of a minister appointed by your husband, yet, this minister is still at post and you expect us to keep mute?
Again, your husband promised to put money into the pockets of his gullible followers, during the 2008 electioneering campaign, but turn round and denied this promise after securing their votes and you expect these ‘fooled-soldiers’ to let ‘sleeping-dogs-lie’? Your husband promised to turn Accra into the Geneva (Switzerland) of Africa, within hundred days of his presidency, in terms of environmental cleanliness. But today, filth has actually engulfed the city of Accra and all our other major cities and towns, and you expect us to turn a blind-eye? Able bodied citizens of our nation were callously butchered, in broad-day-light, at Agbogbloshie and not even an ant has been arrested till date, and you expect us to be smiling?
Atta-Mills promised to be a father for all but turns round to order his appointees to open their doors to only NDC foot-soldiers and you except us to be clapping for him? Arm-robbers are having a field-day and you expect us to go to bed with both eyes closed? Thousands of productive Ghanaians continue to perish in extremely horrific road accidents but all that your husband could do was to shed some few ‘presidential-crocodile-tears’ at a meeting with the Ghana Private Road Transport Union(GPRTU) at the castle, and you expect the bereaved families of these victims to keep mute?
At a recently held joint press conference by GRIDCO,VRA and ECG on (15/3/10) and carried live by Joy-Fm, to explain why they intend to increase tariffs, a business woman who is into small-scale manufacturing said at the function that she is currently paying GH¢2000(¢20million) for the same amount of electricity that used to cost her GH¢50(¢500,000) in 2008.And with this latest senseless increaments in utility tariffs, the enterprise of this woman faces an eminent collapse!!. Yet, appointees of your husband are wasting billions of tax payers’ money to acquire for themselves, rented heavenly-mansions and out-of-this-world auto-mobiles and you expect Ghanaians to keep mute?
Atta-Mills, when in opposition and was hungrily looking for power, promised people of this nation, a drastic reduction in petroleum prices. But after getting the peoples’ mandate to become the president, he turned round and rather dramatically and astronomically, increased the prices of petroleum products.
Would Naadu keep mute if she was in the shoes of that business woman whose small-scale manufacturing enterprise is facing eminent collapse as a result of astronomical electricity tariffs under the illusionist ‘I care for you’ administration of her husband? What does Naadu expect the family of that pregnant young woman who was unlawfully captured to the offices of BNI and murdered, to do? Have a party?!!
Did I also hear Naadu saying, in that British Broadcasting Cooperation (BBC) interview, that she never knew there are some communities in our nation where the inhabitants lack portable water and children walking long distance to school? Where was Naadu when her husband was chronicling all the problems plaguing our nation, during the 2008 electioneering campaign? Kwesi Pratt, who is a very close associate of your husband, has consistently been preaching about people sleeping on the streets of Malata at night. And Naadu says she has never heard this before?
Naadu said she likes dogs and that she really admires the puppies and sees these puppies as her grand-children. Well, that is the choice of Naadu and I really do not have a problem with that. But you see, women as Oprah Winfrey,Madonna and so on, with their personal resources, have come to our backyard, here in Africa, and are investing in under-privileged human-beings!!.
Oprah Winfrey, with her own resources, has established a multi-million dollar girls’ educational complex in the Republic of South Africa, to provide quality and affordable education for the-girl-child from deprived communities. Madonna is also adopting children from orphanages in Malawi and giving these kids a better life in America. But here in Ghana, God has been kind enough to ‘bless’ us with the wife of a president, who has free access to everything under the sun, but, delights in the company of dogs and their offsprings(puppies).
As a first lady, the people of this nation expect you to engage yourself in useful ventures like setting up an organization to help the under-privileged youth instead of these occasional fruitless trips, with convoys of fuel-guzzling aristocratic vehicles, around the country to distribute, just a handful of ‘over and under sized’ uniforms, to school children who, ironically, are studying under trees.
A first lady is suppose to leave a better legacy that will be perpetually embossed in the history of this nation, than, embarking on frivolous trips, with hefty per-diems, around the globe to commission oil-drilling equipments and having dogs and their puppies as close family associates.
Naadu does not want us to criticize Atta-Mills? Well, I guess it is because she has not bothered to find out the prime motivation behind her husband’s appointment of the likes of Fifi Kwetey (the alleged Togolese), Samuel Okudzet-Ablakwa, James Agyenim-Boateng and Ama Benyiwa-Doe as ministers. These are individuals who perfected the art of ‘verbal-pornography’ against Kufuor to enable Atta-Mills become a president.Hence, affording Naadu, to be living comfortably on the toil and sweat of poor Ghanaians, today.
Indeed, Naadu is nothing, but, a beneficiary of what she is currently accusing Ghanaians of doing to Atta-Mills. So, I will admonish her to cut-out the hypocrisy and sanctimonious effusions, and rather, build enough shock-absorbers to be able to withstand what is yet to come. What goes round, certainly, comes around.
Justice Abeeku Newton-Offei
E-mail: justnoff@yahoo.com
