The Global Campaign – Ghana [GCG], a pressure group of core values; genuineness, transparency and effective leadership with very critical observation of the Ghanaian political landscape over a period have found it necessary to put out certain information in the public domain in helping the voter to make an informed decision on election day.
Election, a process to select the best among an array of candidates to oversee the affairs of our country for a 4 year period presents a situation akin to tossing a coin – you either win or taste defeat. And this is a fact every candidate; past, present and the future as far as GCG is concerned is much aware of.
This awareness therefore gets the candidates prepared for any eventuality. Conceding electoral defeats especially easily was virtually nonexistent in 1992 and 1996 elections since Ghana’s 4th Republican democracy was only toddling at the time and so the then opposition can be pardoned.
Fast forward to the year 2000 and 2004 elections witnessed the emergence of an affable, rare gentle, kind, law Professor, John Mills who innovatively introduced the practice of telephoning political opponents to concede defeat honorably and wish him the best in leading the country. That sterling character demonstrated twice by Professor Mills earned him so much respect, home and abroad. The expectation had been that such a practice would continue and become entrenched.
It was therefore unbelievable to Global Campaign – Ghana [GCG] that in the 2008 elections, the country’s democratic successes especially with the laudable emerging practice of early concession through telephone call [or other means] on the part of the defeated candidate in a way to ease tension among the populace wasn’t cemented /entrenched but rather forced to suffer a serious draw back.
The regret here is that the drawback occurred in the face of close to 2 decades of democracy and a period of much improved communication technology. But for God’s own intervention plan, the flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party [NPP], Akuffo Addo together with the “heartless hawks” of the party were going to ensure the subversive plot to disturb the peace of Ghana.
Global Campaign – Ghana [GCG] wish to seize the opportunity to enumerate and refresh the memories of the electorates about some of the evil and malicious attempts of the Npp candidate and his men in the 2008 election, especially at a time when we have another crucial election barely 10 days to go and the utterances and posture of Akuffo Addo and his followers’ aren’t helping matters. Below are the points;
? Akuffo Addo in connivance with the “heartless hawks” very much determined not to hand over power to the new government marshaled legal forces and got a High Court to sit on a holiday seeking an injunction to prevent Electoral Commission [EC] from declaring the eventual winner of the election.
?Akuffo Addo again with the “heartless hawks” were caught on tape elaborately plotting to litter the streets and corners of Volta Region with unclaimed corpses to be collected from the morgue of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital and in a turnaround fashion accuse the good people of Volta Region of masterminding the killings of NPP party agents and that to become the basis of not handing over power.
?Akuffo Addo, Jake Obetsebi Lamptey, Kwamena Bartels among others in one of the grand plots not to hand over power gave Electoral Commission [EC] the Chairman, Dr Kwodwo Afari Djan sleepless nights, inundating his mobile phone with troubling calls, trailed him and that to some extent leaving EC chairman with no other option but to order his security to lock out Jake Obtsebi Lamptey and Kwamena Bartels out of his residence.
? Akuffo Addo in connivance with Jake Obetsebi Lamptey for subversive purposes lambasted and cowed Joy fm, a member of the Multimedia for harmlessly putting out the 2008 second round provisional election results it collated and that action made the radio station to go silent for many, many hours.
Akuffo Addo’s adamancy in conceding an obvious defeat to the National Democratic Congress [NDC] got to crescendo during the day of the Tain elections where he refused good counsels and encouragement from President J.A. Kufour at the Wenchihene’s palace, venue of the meeting to concede defeat so that Ghana would remain peaceful.
It is incomprehensible and mind boggling enough that a mere admonition and encouragement to concede defeat later degenerated into hot verbal exchanges to the point that Akuffo Addo dared asked JA Kufour in twi: “wo se me ngyae mo, wonim bebia menya me sika dea yen me campaign?” to wit: “you advised that I concede defeat, do you know where I sourced my campaign funds?”
That infuriated and drew an insulting response: “Bloody fool,” from J.A. Kufour who stormed out of the meeting and to only arrive in Accra to hurriedly put out a press release that very evening urging the electorates to respect the verdict of the EC.
It is very relevant to recall at this point that having Managing Editor of the Dispatch Newspaper, Ben Ephson to simply say that “very nasty things occurred at the Wenchihene’s Palace during the meeting between President Kufour and Akuffo Addo” on Joy fm in reviewing security matters as raised in Dr Arthur Kennedy’s book “Chasing The Elephant into The Bush,” is only a means for the Pollster to avoid repeating the distasteful exchanges between the two men on a discerning media platform.
We in GCG would therefore like to put on record as well that Akuffo Addo never called his University of Ghana [UG] football colleague to concede defeat till the Prof. Mills departed this world .[Akuffo Addo has never said late ex- President Mills was his university class mate where they studied and passed exams together as if UG environment is for fun purposes]
President Mills and the NDC on the other hand come with an unprecedented democratic record; Even before the Electoral Commission readied to declare the winner of the year 2000 and 2004 elections, then candidate John Mills had telephoned his competitor, John Kufour the eventual winner to honorably concede defeat.
It is as well important to ask whether Akuffo Addo has ever found time to humbly and truly apologized and reconcile with Alhaji Aliu Mahama before his demise.
Akufo-Addo was reported to have throwingthe late former vice president out of his [Akuffo Addo’s residence] during the 2008 elections when the harmless Aliu Mahama visited to solidarise with the NPP presidential candidate and express his willingness to genuinely help the campaign to succeed after he was banned from getting near the entire Akuffo Addo campaign. Aliu Mahama was said to have been perceived by the NPP hardliners of not supporting the campaign, while some of his aides were attacked on a supposed pro Akuffo Addo campaign platform – Navorongo Central constituency .
GCG can’t believe that such a very loose and unguarded ethnocentric laced inventive; “wo pepeni, enye yen nka,” [suggesting an ungrateful man of Northern extraction who was trying to ditch his, Akuffo Addo’s campaign] thrown by Akuffo Addo at Alhaji Aliu Mahama during the latter’s aborted visit is yet to also openly receive condemnation from the NPP as the issue festers all around and threatens national cohesiveness.
Akufo Addo, the NPP presidential candidate also today has among his campaign promises; massive jobs opportunities for Ghanaians, industrialization of our country [many industries] etc. The huge lies and irony there in that GCG seeks to expose is, it’s the same man who in 2008 just because of government’s planned disposition and sale of Ghana Telecom [GT] purposely became punctual and regular Member of Parliament [MP] during the debate period and keenly supported Parliamentary majority for the sale which has caused thousands of Ghanaians unemployment.
GCG also finds very despicable Akufo Addo’s confrontation with the moderators of the Institute of Economic Affairs [IEA] Presidential Debate for not granting him special time to rebut the comments of Hassan Ayariga, PNC Presidential Candidate who according to the agreed rules and convention of the game was to have the final comment.
That childish act on the part of the senior-most of all the candidates seeking to become President in the full glare of viewers displaying his anger and banging the moderators’ table is totally unacceptable and that also goes to confirm the widely held view among a bigger section of the public that the candidate has personality problems.
GCG believes that as a matter of urgency Akuffo Addo campaign team must render an unqualified apology to the IEA team and the entire nation for the embarrassment caused. The continuous spin on that matter is only aggravating the situation.
We at GCG wish to urge Institute of Economic Affairs [IEA], Institute of Democratic Governance [IDEG] in conjunction with some credible media houses to get the Presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party [NPP], Akuffo Addo to commit to a special undertaking of conceding defeat honorably in a very likely event that he looses. His desperation levels of seeing this election as his last chance hence must be won even through crook means must not be countenanced. A single soul lost would be too many.
GCG wish to urge the electorate to look out for a candidate who is competent, very current, affable, on top of issues, experienced, knowledgeable, patient, tactful, likeable, very committed Christian and fellowship very regularly, very clean of all allegations, able to unite the country, to cast their votes for him. That gentleman is no other person than, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama.
Koku Nanegbey Secretary
