The platitude of Akkufo-Addo In The USA and Canada, My Turn!

In May, the flagbearer of the NPP, Nana Addo Dankwa Akkuffo-Addo was in the USA and Canada with some of his party leaders. The purpose of the visit is summed in his statement “The Ghanaian family has a substantial number in other parts of the world, hence the need to visit Ghanaians in the diaspora.” In what can be explained as blackmail, a member of his team said if Ghanaians abroad send money, they should demand from their beneficiaries to VOTE FOR THE NPP!

The question however is whether Ghanaians are willing to endure another four years of the NPP administration. Considering that the NPP has failed to deliver on the electoral promises they made in 2000 and 2004 elections when they rode on the massive goodwill of Ghanaians, I can say the party is in for a rude awakening.

Given that a Nana Addo presidency will ‘build on legacy of President Kuffuor, I take it that we are being assured of another term of selective justice, corruption, abuse of office, drugs trafficking etc.

Selective Justice

Nana Addo stated that his vision is the Ghana, where individual liberty is assured and respect for human rights is foremost. “No identification hair cuts will be accepted” Well, Yaa Na and Alhaji Mobilla’s families are still fighting for that assurance of liberty and respect for their rights and justice. The perpetrators of these heinous crimes in peaceful and democratic Ghana are still free! Is that the kind of freedom Nana and his bunch of “wanabe” democrats are boasting about? I want to know if some Chiefs are more important than others in democratic Ghana. Will President Kufour and Nana Addo sit unconcerned and allow the killers go scot free if the Asantehene or Okyehene were the victims?

The Fight against Corruption

Nana Addo stated that pious declarations will not solve the problem of corruption in the country and has vowed to fight corruption with everything at his disposal …if he becomes the president of Ghana.

The word “baloney” rightly fits these thoughts and empty promises. Since when did he realize the need to take action against corruption? What was his response as the Attorney General of Ghana, when Mr. Haruna Esseku, then ruling New Patriotic Party's National Chairman was accusing the President of collecting kickbacks and keeping them at the seat of government i.e. The Castle. It is the kind of revelation, which can ignite a big FBI probe, if it were in America and heads will roll but under the rule of law as defined by then Attorney General Nana Addo, no action was taken. How can we now trust him to change and lead a fight against corruption? That will be wishful thinking at its highest order!

War on Drugs

Under the NPP watch, the drug menace in Ghana is reported in some media circles to have increased over 7,000%. Ghana is now described by the US 2006 report on drugs as not only a transit point for narcotic drugs but also a destination point. This is a major shift from earlier practice where drug dealers will use the country as a decoy for their illicit trade. Today according to the report, Ghanaians are also consuming ‘hard drugs’ in alarming numbers! Any wonder we are witnessing crimes, better rendered in Hollywood films, in unprecedented both in frequency and magnitude?

It was also during Nana Addo’s tenure as Attorney General (and this was in the very early months of the NPP administration) that four NPP women were arrested for trying to smuggle drugs outside the country… what has happened to the case? By his failure to take action, it became the harbinger for the massive drug trafficking happening in Ghana. Nana Addo looked the other way when he had the opportunity to intervene and halt the illicit trade.

The former Chairman of the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB), General Joshua Hamidu, conceded that the problem of illicit drug trafficking and abuse is worsening under the leadership of the NPP, but Nana Addo would not level up to the truth and would like us to believe otherwise.

Under the NPP, cocaine has vanished from police custody. NPP appointed officers in the Police Service have also been accused of involvement in the “loss”. An NPP Parliamentarian, Eric Amoateng has been CONVICTED and is languishing in a USA jail for dealing in heroin. As if to show that this is not a big national disgrace, the NPP dominated parliament passed a law, popularly called “Amoateng law”, ostensibly to help bring Ghanaians imprisoned abroad to Ghana ‘to serve their sentences’ ….. Who are they fooling….. ?

Strengthening Police Service

Nana Addo alleged that the Ghana Police Service had only 100 cars by the time NDC left office. Today, he proudly boasts that the Police Service has over 1000 cars for the Police men and women (can he tell us where these vehicles are?) He also said that there were 12,000 police men and women when the NPP took over the reins of governing the country but now, there are 25,000 men and women in the service!

Well, crime in general has increased more than a thousand percent in our country since NPP took office, 25,000 Police or not. It appears to us that the NDC was using the 12,000 police more efficiently than Nana and co. could admit. Violent crime, such as Armed Robbery, has increased over five thousand percent under the NPP government.

The NPP Party must understand that the number of police men and women alone does not achieve goals; it’s the manner preventive policy or policies are carried out that matter most. When offenders are rewarded with “carrots” and protected by those who are supposed to uphold the law, then the law becomes useless and the country suffers tremendously from such failed leadership.

Oil Revenue:

Nana Addo said “Any Revenue from oil will be handled transparently!” Can he explain to Ghanaians what happened to a ship load of oil carried away from Saltpond oilfields (this incident occurred in the early days of the Kuffuor administration). My question is if the NPP government cannot be trusted to take good care of the little oil produced, how can we trust them to be responsible and accountable when Ghana starts large scale production?

The only way we can sustain our democracy and seek accountability from our leaders is to change incompetent and greedy government at elections.

Ghanaians, December 7th 2008 presents a fine opportunity to demonstrate our capacity to take our destiny into our hands by rejecting the NPP and vote in a government that will respect and lead us into economic prosperity.

Kojo Poku, U.S.A.
[email protected]

Views expressed by the author(s) do not necessarily reflect those of GhanaHomePage.