How can we criticize Mahama when you are also guilty? - Franklin Cudjoe to Akufo-Addo

Founding President of IMANI Africa Franklin Cudjoe has questioned why President Akufo-Addo wants CSOs to condemn former President John Mahama over the latter’s sharing of a statement which described him and his appointees as Akyem Sakawa Mafias over the Agyapa Royalties deal.

He asked why the president was worried when he had described CSOs as Jeremiahs, naysayers and damp squib over the criticism on the Agyapa deal.

“Mr. President, how do we speak up when you and some of your appointees wish us wiped out, from the surface of Ghana literally speaking,through deliberately designed government acts and utterances? To speak up in your defence, first allow us to breath. We respect you nonetheless, so much more, actually.”

President Akufo-Addo on Friday asked members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference to condemn Mr. Mahama for sharing Bolgaltanga Central MPs statement which described him and his appointees in an ethnocentric way.

But Mr. Cudjoe says it is impossible to criticize Mahama when the president and his appointees are guilty of the same act.

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The ethnic drab aside, when I heard “Sakawa”, “yahoo”, “mafia”, I wondered if these names did not exist or describe various acts. For instance, CSOs have been described by Nana Addo as “damp squib”, “perpetual doom and naysayers”, “professional Jeremiahs”, for their unbended policy activism.

I realise though, that when Nana Addo charged at JM for his unrepentant reference to some actors in Nana’s goverrment as “sakawa”, the President subtly suggested CSOs should speak up against such uttereances when the Catholic Bishops’ Conference called on him.

I have done so and called out JM. However, Mr. President, how do we speak up when you and some of your appointees wish us wiped out, from the surface of Ghana literally speaking,through deliberately designed government acts and utterances? To speak up in your defence, first allow us to breath. We respect you nonetheless, so much more, actually.