Dzifa Attivor exposes NPP; cites victimization of JJ & Tsatsu

Former Minister of Transport, Dzifa Aku Attivor, has lifted the veil off the atrocious and sordid happenings of how the leadership of the New Patriotic Party over the years targeted people of the Volta region, particularly Ewes, for persecution.

This follows the opposition party and its media collaborators’ attempts to hold on to a supposed ethnocentric comment allegedly made by her, in order to extricate Nana Akufo Addo and his political tradition’s loathing for ‘minority’ tribes, principally ewes.

The recently appointed Chairperson of the Eco Medical Village has resurrected past despicable history of how former President Jerry John Rawlings and Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata, in particular, and, other Voltarians were targeted for vile attacks during the NPP’s eight-year rule.

The former Transport Minister, looking relaxed and composed, despite the outpouring of outrage over her supposed ethnocentric comments (mainly from her political opponents and social commentators), early last week told journalists she was only making a statement of fact but not engaged in tribalism, “I want to state categorically that I am not tribalistic and will never be one” adding; “I only sought to remind our people in the Volta of a sad chapter of nation’s history, particularly under the NPP and the Kufuor administration”.

Perhaps, knowing exactly what she was saying at the rally at Wudoaba in the Ketu South Constituency when she reminded the people of the Volta region of the NPP’s past records including their revulsion for ewes, Madam Attivor stated that the relentless persecution of Mr. Rawlings and Tsatsu Tsikata by the opposition NPP is still ingrained in the minds of Ghanaians.

According to the former Transport Minister “It is trite knowledge and a documented fact that, a certain “son” of the Volta region who had faithfully, dutifully and loyally served Ghana, (his motherland) as a military officer, ruled the country as Head of State for close to eleven years and signed into law several legislation including the country’s present constitution; was later to have his nationality challenged in court by a particular group of people because his mother comes from Volta region.”

Even though the country’s laws permit a person to hold himself as a Ghanaian so far as one of his grandparents or parent is a Ghanaian, Madam Attivor explained that opposition elements in 1992 effortlessly challenged Mr. Rawlings’ nationality in court in order to stop him from contesting the presidential election in Ghana.

This, she said, was in sync with the opposition’s long held view that minorities have no space ascending to the leadership of Ghana as was recently professed by Nana Akufo-Addo’s trusted confidant, Yaw Osafo Marfo.

She also recounted how the John Kufuor-led NPP government used the Bureau of National Investigations to harass Mr. Rawlings, hauled him before the National Reconciliation Commission, all in attempts to get him jailed, and when all these failed, they stripped him of his privileges as former president.

According to Madam Attivor, Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata had to suffer the brunt of the fascist NPP regime for his association with Rawlings, “It is also a fact of record that the NPP’s abhorrence for Jerry John Rawlings, during their days in opposition to when they were in government, was to further be extended to another “son” of the Volta region, Tsatsu Tsikata, because he was seen as the pillar behind Rawlings,” she noted.

She added that in the NPP’s haste to, at-all-cost, have Tsatsu imprisoned; a wrong and mistake-laden writ was issued against him in the infamous “The President v. Tsatsu Tsikata” case.

Madam Attivor further demonstrated how the NPP would go at any length to get what they want especially when it involves a Voltarian.

“Again, when Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata was eventually freed by an Accra Fast Track High Court for want of evidence, President Kufuor, then in faraway Australian attending the Commonwealth Heads of State Conference, directed his then Attorney General who is now the 2016 flag bearer of the NPP, Nana Akufo Addo; to “pack” the Supreme Court to ensure the verdict in favour of Tsatsu was overturned, which indeed was what happened.”

The recently resigned Transport minister has in the past week come under heavy attack from the NPP, Peace Council, Former President Rawlings and others for some comments she made during a political rally in the Ketu South Constituency which have been deemed ethnocentric.

But, she has since denied her statement was ethnocentric, explaining that “I was at Wudoaba in the Ketu South Constituency on April 23, 2016, to help outdoor a Volunteer Group (KESFFAM), dedicated to canvassing support for the MP of the area, Hon. Fifi Fiavi Kwetey and His Excellency, John Dramani Mahama, Presidential Candidate of the NDC ahead of the November 2016 polls”.

“In my submission, I quoted a section of an in-house memo from the NPP circulating among leadership of the party in the region with the heading “OPERATION VOLTA REGION FALL FROM NDC”. The second paragraph of the memo reads, and I quote “We are very aware of the voting patterns of the Volta region. If there is a chance of us winning the 2016 elections we must feed the Voltarians anything and everything to make sure we reduce the number of their votes”.

With this NPP Agenda for Voltarians, I needed to remind my fellow Voltarians of the real character of the Danquah-Busia tradition and what actually happened during the reign of the NPP between 2001 and 2009,” Madam Dzifa narrated.

She admitted making reference to the persecution of some ewes during the reign of a particular political party and also that she called on the people of Volta Region to vote massively for the NDC to prevent recurrence of these sordid and reprehensible acts. “I consequently called on the people of the region to come out in their numbers to register in order to enable them cast their ballot in future elections without any fear.”

According to Madam Dzifa, she was only exercising her right to free speech which she believes has not offended any law of the land.

“As a bona fide Ghanaian, I was exercising my right to free speech and expression as guaranteed by the constitution. Of course, I’m mindful of the fact that the right to free expression must also be in conformity with the law. As long as what I said at Wudoaba, and to the best of my knowledge and intent, I have not broken any law”.

The former Transport Minister again reiterated that she is not a tribalist and does not support ethnocentrism, “Let me once again state emphatically that, I am not tribalistic and will never be one. I only sought to remind the people of the Volta, which is inhabited by several tribes and ethnic groupings of a portion of our country’s true history”, she averred.