Akufo-Addo Insults Ghanaian Farmers

By Margaret Jackson

November 19, 2012

As the 2012 political campaign heats up to the finish line, desperation seems to have caught up with the NPP Presidential Candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who is being forced to say anything that will make headlines and project him in a good political limelight to voters.

Nana Akufo-Addo, the apostle of violence, lately had been preaching peace and trying to insulate himself from all the negative attention that he had brought to himself throughout his political career.

But the more Akufo-Addo talks, the more he makes serious mistakes that could affect his fortunes in the up-coming elections. Akufo-Addo seems not to be learning anything as he leaves huge piles of garbage that emanates from his trashy speeches anywhere he goes.

Otherwise, what was Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo thinking when he told security personnel that, “I have no plans to turn our soldiers into farmers”? What is wrong in being a farmer? And what is wrong with Ghanaian farmers? Are they not the folks whose daily toil and sweat feed us?

Why will Akufo-Addo say that he had no intention of turning the security personnel in the country into farmers if not simply to insult farmers in the country and portray them as next to nothing in society?

In the Ghanaian society everybody matter because it is our collective contribution that keeps the country going. You don’t have to be part of the elite before being counted, respected and recognized; which is why it was needless for Akufo-Addo to pitch the security personnel against the farmers of this country. Was Akufo-Addo trying to demean farmers in the country?

Ghana has reached a stage where it has to feed its own people through mechanized agriculture. During the first presidential debate organized by the Institute of Economic Affairs recently, all the four presidential candidates including Akufo-Addo stressed the need for the country to come out with a comprehensive agricultural policy to curtail or totally eliminate the country’s overdependence on foreign imported foods.

Therefore, assuming that there are plans to let our military personnel enter into mechanized farming to boost our food security what is the big beef for Akufo-Addo to shout that he has no intention of turning the security personnel into farmers?

Is Akufo-Addo not aware that the military has the Field Engineers Regiment who can build bridges and can also undertake other social intervention projects? Or is Akufo-Addo also not aware that the Ghana National Service has been given a new face-lift with the service personnel venturing into serious farming? Has Akufo-Addo missed anything lately? Does he not know what is happening around him and in the country?

So what big deal will it be if the security personnel decides to go into farming to help cut down on the country foreign imports which was taken to a new level during ex-president JA Kufuor’s 8 year regime when he virtually turned the country into a buying and selling hub.

Nobody should be allowed to insult the intelligence of our hardworking farmers. Even though some of them are uneducated, they play far more important roles than Akufo-Addo and many other Ghanaians including me. Therefore, I urge farmers to read the deeply into what Akufo-Addo said and draw their own conclusions when they go to the polls in December 7.

Akufo-Addo is simply not a unifier but a divider who continues to pitch tribes and groups against each other. Ghanaians have not forgotten that he stood by and never condemned Kennedy Agyapong when he called for the slaughter of Gas and Ewes by Ashantis. In fact many voters recall Akufo-Addo saying that Ghanaians have short memories and that they will forget about what Kennedy Agyapong said come election time.

Ghanaians have also not forgotten Akufo-Addo’s famous Atiwa proclamation and his reference to Akans of not being cowards. Ghanaians still remember Akufo-Addo for standing by unconcerned when Sammy Awuku stated that when it comes to the worse NPP supporters should get “Dwomba Funu” to fight their opponents. Anthony Karbo is also recalled for saying that if the NPP is not declared winners of the up-coming elections Ghana will turn into Afghanistan. What did Akufo-Addo say when all these incidents happened? He turned mute.

These and many more have clearly shown that Akufo-Addo loves butting the heads of people, tribes and groups as far as its serves his parochial and super ambitious thirst to be president at all cost.

We love and respect our farmers. We also love and respect our security personnel. In Ghana today at least you will find one person in an extended family being a member of the security personnel or being a farmer. I will therefore, not demean any group to serve my unsophisticated interest. Ghanaians should take note.

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