Mr. President, How did you Land?

“The lizard that jumped from high Iroko tree to the ground said he would praise himself if no one else did,” Igbo Proverb from “Things Fall Apart.”

Although Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart,” is primarily a poignant picture of the conflict or schism that descended on traditional Igbo Society at the dawn of the Whiteman’s arrival in Igboland, lessons from that fictional work are equally applicable to politics and the quest for power in many of today’s African countries, Ghana included.

Ghana’s New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the outgoing President, John Agyekum Kuffour, provide excellent modern day parallels to some of the themes and proverbs of that book. It goes without saying that in their singular drive to make Ghanaians see them as successful men, many of the NPP’s power hungry top echelon became holograms of ‘Okwonko,’ the protagonist of “Things Fall Apart.” They emanated what Shakespeare describes in Macbeth as “vaulting ambition which overleaps itself and falls” on the other side of the target.

Consider for instance the ‘take-no-prisoner’ scramble for the flag bearership of the party in the December of 2007. It was ugly, ugly and ugly. Pre Conference was ugly for Ghanaians. How many ministers of State abandoned ship for selfish ambitions? The Conference itself was ugly, froth as it was with howling, bitter accusations and controversy. Post Conference was ugly, characterized by a putrid atmosphere of vindictiveness which saw the resignations of some party stalwarts. A rift that culminated in a number of ex-party officio contesting and winning elections as independent candidates in December 2008.

The party that came out of the Conference was visionless, armed only with Nana Akufo Addo’s bully pulpit. And President Kuffour was conspicuously absent. Mr. Mac Manu, the chairman elect had no grasp on the spiral events that followed. Deafened by Laud Commey’s howling, tainted by Jake-Obetsebi Lamptey’s mechanization to appropriate public property and blinded by internal squabble, the NPP did not hear or see the Ghanaian populace’s disappointment with the party, its flag bearer and its “Promise Delivered” Manifesto. The party Nana Akufo Addo led was simply out of touch with ordinary Ghanaians.

What transpired is aptly depicted by the first three lines of W. B. Yeats’ poem, ‘The Second Coming:’ “Turning and turning the widening gyre The falcon cannot here the falconer Things fall apart, the centre cannot hold.”

Without president Kuffour, the NPP’s centre had no holding power. The party can cry “Election Fraud” to high heaven but there is no way a presidential candidate who managed to win only two Ghanaian regions (Ashanti and Eastern) could realistically expect to be sworn in as president of the country. Ghana rejected Nana Akufo Addo period!! How else did he loose integral constituencies of the Danquah-Busia bloc? How else did he loose the votes of the Akan speaking parts of the Brong Ahafo region?

With the elections over, the ‘Blame Game’ has began in earnest, accusatory fingers are wagging, nagging questions demanding answers are surfacing, devout foot soldiers are seeking a “born again” party.

Was Nana Akufo Addo the right choice for the party? Was Laud Commey’s “Party Approved List of MP candidates” helpful? Was Obetsebi-Lamptey a good choice for a campaign manager? Was Akufo Addo’s importation of an American Election Consultant necessary? Why did Ga’s reject Nana Akufo Addo who openly brandished his ‘Accra streets’ upbringing? Why did Nana Akufo Addo not retain Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama as a running mate? Did Aliu Mahama not have a better name recognition in Northern Ghana than Dr.Bawumia? And most importantly, what transpired between President Kufour and Nana Akufo Addo?

The eerie silence surrounding the Kufour-Nana Akufo Addo campaign affair is haunting. Is there really bad blood between the two, attributable to President Kufour’s formally undeclared (but open secret) preference for Mr. Alan ‘Cash’ Kyerematen in the party’s primaries? Was the President’s very scant effort to help his party’s candidate in the general election attributable to Nana Akufo Addo’s over zealous (Okwonko-like) effort to prove to Ghanaians that HE WAS HIS OWN MAN? Nana’s most visible campaign strategy against his opponent was to label him (MILLS) as a RAWLINGS’ PUPPY. That strategy failed woefully. Ghanaians apparently are more “puppy” friendly than “bully” friendly.

Although President Kufour was not helpful to his party’s cause during the general election, he was exemplary re-assuring to the nation even as the NDC and NPP produced magical numbers from their respective home turfs, then turned around and cried “Election Fraud.” He, President Kufour, demonstrated to the country by his low key but firm actions and re-assuring statements that he was the man in charge and all would be well. AYEKOO!! KUDOS!! HE DESERVES A LOT OF CREDIT.

Unfortunately, the president has not been known as a person who waits for others to evaluate his work and give him credit. Like the Lizard in the above quoted Igbo proverb, Mr. Kufour is the first to toot his own horn or sing his own praises. Consider for instance his action in instituting the Star of the Eagle of Ghana Award and giving it to himself? Did he really need a shinny medal around his neck or was it a case of URGENCY to placate an oversize EGO at the expense of the Ghanaian Tax Payer?

What about the School named (JAK-CITI) JOHN AGYEKUM KUFOR CATHOLIC INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INSTITUTE? Why his personal name if the institute is a collaboration between Ghana Government and the Catholic Diocese? Was it necessary to have all three of his names down? Would it have made any difference if only his surname, KUFOUR, was used? Would that not make the name easier to pronounce? Why have a sentence-long School name?

And what about MOVING INTO THE JUBILEE HOUSE A FEW DAYS BEFORE THE END OF HIS TERM? Was it calculated to make him go down in history as the first president who lived in the Jubilee house? Was it because he wanted to be photographed leading the incoming president on a tour show casing one of his accomplishments - as he just did with Mills? OR WAS IT A CASE OF I BUILT IT, SO I SHOULD LIVE IN IT, EVEN IF IT IS FOR A SINGLE DAY?

At any rate the President did a lot of good things in office and will certainly be judged favorably by history in posterity. Since he seems more interested in instant gratification, let it be known in all the world that like the lizard of the Igbo proverb, his was a great jump to the ground. Mr. President you landed alright but how high was the tree? And how did you land - flat on your face? Did you break your back or your party’s (NPP’s) back in landing? Patience, Mr. President is a great virtue. You could have climbed down.

By the way Mr. President, Corruption in Ghana is ODORLESS and impossible to SNIFF. However, it is everywhere in plain site. Please, look around you at the Ghanaian way of life. When salaries or wages do not match cost of living or life style, there is CORRUPTION. When party functionaries, MP’s, Ministers ride around in $55,000 (dollar) 4X4 vehicles in HIPC Ghana, THEY RIDE IN CORRUPTION!!

By L. Kojo Yeboah Raleigh NC, USA