Opinions of Monday, 16 January 2017
Columnist: Appiah Papa
These are interesting times in Ghana. The enthusiasm with which Ghanaians welcomed Nana Akuffo Addo is in danger of beginning to wane already. And he's been in office for only three days. You see, Ghanaians voted John Mahama out, because he failed to do enough to win their trust.
He allowed corruption to fester in his government and he allowed himself to be found in compromising situations like accepting a car gift. Ghanaians punished him for all these and the man accepted his punishment with grace and dignity. But do not get this wrong, Ghanaians do not hate the man.
A man says, I am entitled to a house as part of my retirement benefit. But I do not want one built. I have lived in this particular house as a Vice President and then as president and I would very much like to continue staying in it. A man gives him his word and request that he puts in an official letter only to see the said letter published on Facebook and the gentleman thrown to the dogs. There is total silence from Nana Akuffo Addo.
We are in a Ghana where the Invisible Forces reign. They attack with impunity and wreck havoc along the way. Apart from one press release "advising" them to desist from such acts, nothing seems to have been done. Again, Nana himself remains silent on the issue .
Now, our little children in school are having to endure the presence of big-bodied buffoons insisting that they are not fed because there needs to be a changeover of caterers in line with the change in government . In the melee in Ejura, gun shots are unleashed in our schools, in the presence of our little school kids, and four people are injured. Nana Addo says nothing.
We all agree there is a lot to do in the Jubilee House. There is a broken economy to be fixed, there are grand plans for an international standard railway system, one district one factory, one milllion dollars for every constituency, free Shs and so on. There is also the very important job of selecting the men and women with the pedigree to help achieve these targets. It's all well and good. Ghanaians welcome this.
But if Nana is not careful, he may achieve all the grandiose projects and yet be seen as a failed president. For at the end of the day, while the big things matter, it is the little things Ghanaians appreciate most- to be able to send their children to school, have them taught in peace, have something to eat for lunch, and go home without macho men firing guns on their school compound while our busy President remains silent.
Papa Appiah
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