Opinions of Saturday, 21 May 2022
Columnist: Joel Savage
When the African-American, George Floyd, was killed by the police in the United States of America, Akufo-Addo wrote on his Facebook page, "On behalf of the people of Ghana, I express my deep condolences to the family and loved ones of the late George Floyd."
"We stand with our kith and kin in America in these difficult and trying times, and we hope that the unfortunate, tragic death of George Floyd will inspire a lasting change in how America confronts head-on the problems of hate and racism."
Yet, five years ago, Akufo Addo became president, a lot of Ghanaians have been murdered, and some of the people that were killed were either politically motivated or killed by the police, but the president has not even bothered to speak to the families of the victims killed by the the police.
I don’t hate President Akufo Addo. I have said this many times, but I don’t like it when he pretends to let people know he is not corrupt or a saint when he is not what he wants people to believe he is. What kind of a president will show concern over a murdered African-American and ignore the killings of his people in Ghana?
On January 16, 2019, Ahmed Hussein-Suale, a journalist who used to be one of the investigators at Tiger Eye, a private investigative team financed by Anas Aremeyaw Anas, was brutally murdered. The case has since been cold, but the disturbing part is that the president, Akufo Addo, hasn’t shown any concern about this murder case.
Another murder case is the assassination of the NPP politician, JB Danquah-Adu. Akufo Addo has never once spoken about the death of this man, who was a politician in a political party where Akufo Addo is the leader. Which president ever did that?
The disturbing part of the murder mystery was when the president’s name was mentioned by the killer, who was granted an interview while behind bars. Crime has increased more rapidly than ever since Akufo Addo became president and Dampare, the Inspector General of Police has disappointed Ghanaians who need justice and answers to these murders.
Just last year, the military opened fire, shooting to death two people in Ejura when a group was protesting the murder of social media activist Ibrahim Mohammed, popularly known as Kaaka. As usual, President Akufo Addo refused to speak about the death of these defenseless people.
This can’t be done by any good leader. The reason is that, for a very long time, I have never been impressed with the way Akufo Addo handles cases in the country. It’s pure hypocrisy to ignore killings in Ghana and speak against the killing of an African American in the United States of America.
On April 24, Albert Donkor, a digital television installer, died under strange circumstances while in police custody at Nkoranza, after being taken from his residence in the middle of the night. The young man’s death has sparked chaos and unrest between the youth and the police, but as usual, Akufo Addo remains silent.
The cunning president, Nana Akufo Addo, wants to win people’s sympathy and admiration. That is the reason he sent words of condolence to the family of George Floyd, the African-American who died in police custody on May 25, 2020, while he continues to ignore killings by police under his government.
This is not professional and it demands the resignation of President Akufo Addo because he has repeatedly shown that he is not a president that can protect the people of Ghana.