Rejoinder-Nana Addo: Arrogance And The Culture Of Entitlement

I read an article with title “Nana Addo: Arrogance And The Culture Of Entitlement” authored be Abdul Sidibe on 21st May, 2009. Summarily, readers of the article could only conclude that the article was borne out of emotions and not logic. Readers expected the author to give basis for his claim that Nana Akufo-Addo is arrogant.

However, author failed to give any credible basis for his assertion. Why should people spend time to make damaging allegations against people without giving any shred of evidence to back them?

Nana Akufo-Addo has come a long way in life; he has struggled to build a reputation for himself which any young person like the author should emulate. Nana Akufo-Addo is one of the finest lawyers our country can boast of. He has tutored many seasoned lawyers of our time.

In a desperate attempt to justify his claim, the author stated “In 1992 when the party lost by over 20 points in the Presidential election, Nana Akufo Addo lead charge in writing The Stolen Verdict to delegitimize the Rawlings government even though the NPP knew from their heart of heart that there was no way they could win an election against a very popular incumbent head of state.”
How on earth could any serious minded person use this as a basis to justify an act arrogance by an individual (Nana Akufo-Addo). In the instance given by the author, a political party (NPP) felt cheated in the 1992 election, a decision was taken for a book(The Stolen Verdict: Ghana, November 1992 Presidential Election Report of the New Patriotic Party) to be published, why would anybody regard that as show of arrogance by an individual in that political party?
Again, this can not justify the assertion that Nana Akufo-Addo has a sense of entitlement to the presidency because; Nana was not the presidential candidate for the NPP in 1992.Clearly this is difficult to comprehend by discerning minds.
Another basis, borne out of emotion given by the author was that “When it became very obvious that Nana had lost in 2008, the conventional wisdom was that he would accept the result and congratulate Professor Mills. Given that he tinted himself as a firm believer in democracy and the rule of law. But Nana did not do that, rather during the second round of election he activated his plan B, connive with some in the Ashanti Region to inflate voting numbers as they come in, putting the nation on the verge of a nervous breakdown.”
I wonder how the author expected Nana Akufo-Addo to have conjured that the NPP had lost when the Electoral Commission was yet to receive some results from parts of the country. Is the author suggesting, Nana Akufo-Addo should have conceded defeat before the Electoral Commissioner had declared the final results?
In any event, even the second round was inconclusive as there was a need for a third round in TAIN.
Again, Nana Akufo-Addo did concede defeat and congratulated candidate Atta Mills when the electoral commission finally declared him (Prof. Atta Mills) winner. Nana Akufo-Addo was very swift with the concession. The electoral commission declared the final results on Saturday the 3rd of January 2009. Few hours after the declaration Nana Akufo-Addo stated "I acknowledge the Electoral Commission's declaration and congratulate Prof. Mills".

If the author wants readers to believe President Mills is humble because he conceded defeat for the 2000 and 2004 elections, then that logic (no matter how hollow) should equally apply to Nana Akufo-Addo in this instance.
The allegation being put out by the author and his political party (The NDC) that figures from Ashanti Region was inflated is laughable and regrettable. They make these allegations without any documentary proof.

In any event, how does this logically justify Nana Akufo-Addo is arrogant? Glaringly, the author has not given readers any basis to believe Nana Akufo-Addo is arrogant and has a sense of entitlement.

Indeed, Nana Akufo-Addo humbly combed through the whole country to canvass for votes. He never relented in his quest to serve the good people of this country during the 2008 electioneering campaign. Almost half of the population of this country saw the need to vote for the man.
How can anybody describe this man as having a sense of entitlement to the presidency? As a democrat, Nana Akufo-Addo believes in the power of the thumb. He believes he can only be the president of Ghana if the good people of this country give him the mandate.
Am also amazed the author who is cooling it off in Canada spends time to write such baseless article about an individual when there are many social and economic challenges facing the masses. The conditions of many Ghanaians have worsened since the author’s party (The NDC) took over the governance of this country. The NDC government has imposed very wicked fiscal policies which has further deepened the woes of many Ghanaians.

Amidst this draconian fiscal environment is the high sense of insecurity in the country. We have a situation where NDC members take the laws into their own hands by threatening to KILL District Chief Executives, sacking civil servants, closing down revenue agencies, closing down NYEP offices. No single person has been dealt with according to our laws.

Strangely, President Atta Mills rewards these “criminals” by heeding to their demands.
God save us!
FAISAL IBRAHIM
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