The Mistake Ghanaians Made in Electing President Mills

The leadership of our dear country is not only suffering from leadership paralysis as observed by Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo—the standard-bearer of the New Patriotic Party, it is not only misdirected as indicated by Kweku Baako; it is also in coma. They don’t see the pains of the people; they are not touched by the cries of the people; they don’t feel the burdens on the people. What a government? The President Mills-Mahama administration is not only insensitive to the plight of the citizenry, but has also lost touch with them. The government is not interested in better governance, but rather in populism, propaganda and unnecessary political equalization. The arrest of O. B. Amoah was completely needless; we need the tax payer’s money deliberately paid to Mr. Woyome back into the consolidated fund.

The president allows ministers of state who have colluded with party officials to fleece the state to walk free, and instead go after members of the previous administration who have nothing to do with the diabolic and criminal act perpetrated by elements in his administration. Mr. President, who superintended over the gigantic payment of 58 million cedis to Mr. Alfred Woyome? Obviously it was not O. B. Amoah. Let Betty Mould Iddrisu, Barton Odro, Alex Segbefia, and all the government accomplices who are connected to the payment face justice. President Mills and his government just want to cover up the corruption of the century, but posterity will not forgive them if they did.

As human beings, as a result of our fallibility, we are bound, whether consciously or unconsciously to make mistakes. But some mistakes are avoidable, and because we have the power to decide among options, we should always endeavour to make the right choices. We should as much as possible do our best to limit the probability of making unpardonable mistakes, especially the ones that have the capability of compromising our existence. The election of the National Democratic Congress in the 2008 elections will forever remain the greatest mistake the electorate have ever made in our fourth republican constitution, if not our entire political history.

As an avid supporter of multi-party democracy, I was never worried when the current government was mandated to oversee the governance of our great nation because I thought they were going to be directed by the pragmatic programs and interventions that were instituted by the NPP administration; but, folks events in the country since the inception of this administration prove beyond all reasonable doubt that the country is sinking on the sea of corruption, mismanagement, robbery, and clueless leadership. If the managers of our economy are not changed in the upcoming elections, it will be designated and consigned to socio-economic annihilation. The NDC government led by President Evans Atta Mills has succeeded in not only decimating our socio-economic gains, but also gradually leading us into serious economic challenges.

Nothing appears to be working in an economy that was once put on the pedestal of progress and prosperity under the reigns of the NPP administration. Under the Kufour-led administration, we saw the fortunes of the country improving in heaps and bounds in unprecedented proportions. One reason that enabled the NPP administration to expand the frontiers of our economy was that they saw Ghana as the property of the Ghanaian, and thus worked assiduously to ensure that programmes were put in place to benefit all. On the contrary, the NDC see the country as their personal property and thus are not accountable to the citizenry. They are not interested in improving the lives of the people, what they are interested in, is to align their pockets with our limited and fleeting resources.

This government has succeeded in carving an unenviable reputation for herself as the only one that shields, protects, and maintains her corrupt ministers, allows them to walk free when they should be facing justice, and fires the ones that eschew corruption and stand for the poor. I mean upon what justification could a president elected by the people fire an Attorney General who had made his intentions clear to go after individuals who have colluded to, and succeeded in defrauding the state with the tax payer’s money that could have built a plethora of infrastructure—schools, hospitals, roads, improved the living standards of the ordinary citizen, etc.? Friends, the platitude that President Mills is not corruptible falls flat when it comes to his dismissal of Martin Amidu—a crusader and apologia of justice.

Ghanaians are at the crossroads, sitting on a time-bomb which if not diffused timely will lead to the mortgaging of the future of the country to servitude and bondage. We risk preparing a better future for our youth and the next generation should the moribund and directionless Mills-Mahama administration be allowed to retain power—an event which I believe majority of the citizenry will not allow to happen. We have a president who has failed on all the major issues that threaten our sovereignty—education, health care, corruption, agriculture, among others. We must show him the exit at the next polls; yes he must go to save the country from further disintegration and eventual collapse.

The bottom line is that President Mills and his administration have failed woefully to better the lot of the people. They have succeeded in institutionalizing corruption in our body politic and have made it a cherished enterprise being practiced by her members. If the president wants to be seen as a fighter against corruption and extricate himself from the massive and shameful corrupt practices that have rocked his administration (the Woyome scandal), then he should as a matter of urgency, instead of setting his gaze on members of the previous administration—who have done no wrong, go after the disgraceful, cruel, and gigantic corruption by criminal minded individuals in his government.

Folks, as the saying goes, coming events cast their shadows before. The Woyome scandal, the 20 million dollar ultramodern mansion being built by the party, the sacking of an avid fighter of corruption (Honourable Martin Amidu), unprecedented rise in food prices and petroleum products, etc. provide us with strong reasons to show them the way back to political obscurity. The mistake we made in electing this failed administration should never be repeated again, not in the upcoming elections. A vote for the president and his party represents a vote for corruption, wanton arrest and dismissal of decent persons, surge in unemployment, lack of clear-cut plans to develop the nation, destruction of our cherished health care system, destruction of our school system, run-on implosion in the party as a result of unbridled greed, vulgar language by their inexperienced and immature commentators.

In summing up, friends, president Mills and his administration are not only exemplifying paralytic leadership as indicated by the fait accompli—Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo—but are also in COMA. Let us not make the mistake of giving them another mandate to misrule and mismanage our limited resources. Looking into the crystal ball, it is very clear that president Mills and his underperforming team will wake up on 7th January, 2013 hallucinating in the pool of opposition. God bless Ghana!!

Source: Kingsley Nyarko, Psychologist, Accra ([email protected])