...instead of resorting to ‘hanya’
Contrary to what apologists of the NPP and Akufo-Addo are saying, a public denial by
him, that he does cocaine, is not enough to convince Ghanaians that he does not
sniff the illicit drug.
What the wanna-be President ought to do, if he wants to convince Ghanaians that he
is drug free, is provide proof that will show beyond every reasonable doubt that he
is drug free.
Nana Akufo-Addo's supporters and members of his law chambers, say his accusers
should provide evidence that he sniffs cocaine. Yesterday, during Asempa FM's eko si
sen programme, Nana Asante Bediatuo, one of the NPP flag bearer's lawyers, argued to
this effect.
What those who belong to his school of thought ought to realize is that in the case
of Nana Akufo-Addo, the burden of proof does not lie on his accusers because it is
he who is seeking the highest office of the land and thus the burden of proof of
innocence lies on him to convince Ghanaians to give him the job of President of
Ghana.
Unfortunately for Nana Akufo-Addo, a lawyer by profession, he is surrounded by other
lawyers who see everything from the legal perspective and are therefore shouting
themselves hoarse that those who accuse him of sniffing cocaine must prove his
guilt.
What Nana Akufo-Addo must understand is that by seeking the mandate to become
President of Ghana, he is no more than a prospective employee seeking to be employed
in a company, which in this case is corporate Ghana. Since he has been accused of
sniffing cocaine, the onus lies on him to prove that this is not true; it does not
lie on the interviewers to prove that it is true. The prospective employee seeking
the job must be the one to prove that he is qualified for it.
In the run-up to the 2008, when Prof. Mills was pronounced dead by NPP apparatchiks,
the burden of proof laid on him to show that he was alive. So, the good professor
returned to Ghana from South Africa, and in grand style, to prove that he is alive.
With his door-to-door campaign, Prof. Mills also proved that he was not sick as
claimed by his detractors.
Nana Akufo-Addo, like Prof. Mills in 2008, is the one seeking the highest office of
the land. It is therefore in his interest to prove wrong the allegation that he does
not sniff cocaine. His accusers have nothing to lose by failing to provide the proof
that he sniffs cocaine; he has everything to lose by failing to prove that he is
clean.
A mere public denial is not enough. A public denial accompanied by threats worsens
the case for him. Only Nana Akufo-Addo can remove the albatross hanging around his
neck to enable him get the job he is so desperate for.
