Third Time is The Charm: the story of John Evans Atta Mills

And the next president of Ghana is ………

What a year in history. No doubt this year will go down our history books as the year of possibilities. A year of odds being defied and traditions broken. From the experienced democratic pros of the United States to the resilient democratic amateurs of Ghana, we can all smell the odor of change in the air. Ghanaians, we should all lift our heads high for embarking on such a tiresome adventure. Yes you have done it. After 8 years of NPP incumbency, we emboldened ourselves to bring back the opposition. We are willing to test some new waters. This is a risk I believe is worth taking for the sake of our motherland. One of Ghana’s finest John Evans Atta Mills is one citizen we as Ghanaians ought to be proud of regardless of our political convictions. The perseverance, humility and brilliance flaunted by this man speak volume of his persona. A learned man, Fulbright scholar at Stanford University and one of the best brains on Ghanaian taxation and economic development.

But my question is did Ghanaians actually voted for the Prof. because he outsmarts Nana Akuffo Addo? I doubt it. Honestly, I do not see any vast difference between these two individuals in terms of their respective policies. A quote I once heard, “politicians are like diapers. They both need changing and for the same reason.” I believe this was more of a referendum on the past eight years of the Kuffour administration where along the way towards Ghana’s prosperity, the driver by the wheels fell asleep. This was a vote for one personality over the other. A choice between a smooth gentle talker who comes out as being humble and one who comes out as being an arrogant braggart who feels entitled to the seat by virtue of who he is. We saw some strides made by the outgoing government and the Akuffo Addo never missed a chance to give big numbers backing his claims of economic prosperity in the nation which never literally transformed the pockets of the ordinary man. Their ability to control inflation and a controlled currency value are some of the efforts that need to be applauded. What Ghanaians were so much concerned with was the excesses. The empty and big promises. The manipulation of the constitution and how courts were massaged and molded in order to bring certain individuals to justice. The blatant and careless use of the nation’s money. How does the NPP explains the sudden release of almost all imprisoned cab drivers days after their failure to win the first elections on December 7th. How do they explain their sudden price reduction of fuel despite people’s cries for weeks after the fuel price reduced globally?

This bold step taken by Ghanaians is a lesson for any Ghanaian politician. You only have a mandate for a finite period and therefore do not take the Ghanaian electorate for granted. BIG PROMISES made by Nana Akuffo Addo was actually seen for what they were; clichés. As the late Russian politician Nikita Khrushchev once said, “politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even if there is no river.” I therefore do not fault Akuffo Addo much for saying what he thought Ghanaians wanted to hear but oops! Alas, we are actually taking control of our business. We cannot blindly hand over the key of our political will to these politicians. They will sell us out. After eight years of political vendettas against the likes of Dr. Kwame Peprah, Tsatsu Tsikata, Victor Selormy, Nana Ato Dadzie and the lists goes on.( don’t forget quality grain scandal). Whether these people were guilty or not, I hope the same yardstick is used to measure any other person suspected of misusing public funds. These instances, it’s a manifestation that the NPP government sometimes worked outside the purview of the constitution when it suited them.

The horns woggle governance of the NPP should be a lesson for the next president elect. I do hope that, Mills use such a mandate to put Ghana first and avoid situations of nepotism as we have witnessed in Ghana politics for decades. The creation of nebulous positions needs to be shunned. Our leaders, in whom hands we have entrusted our nations, needs in collaboration with the people set our priorities right for once. We can’t on daily basis embark on projects that yield no result for the people. We need to invest heavily in the Ghanaian education and factories which in turn creates a workforce of creative, educated individuals. Lest we forget the promise of reopening the Kumasi shoe factory to employ hundreds of citizens. After eight years, all these big buildings are still empty and yet we spend millions celebrating anniversaries and buying golden chains. NDC is equally at fault here since it was under their nose that some of these factories went down the water. This in no way should justify the government’s inability to fulfill certain obligations.

The obsession to hold onto power is as obvious as some NPP honchos tried to undermine the elections. Even after over 95% turn out in some constituencies in Kumasi (similar turn out for Saddam Hussein’s referendum couple of years ago), the NDC managed to come out strong winning almost every geographical region in Ghana. With all these signs of rejection staring in their face, the NPP is staring agitation in our land. Dear friends, Ghana ain’t nobody’s family inheritance hence politicians need to accept their fate as it comes regardless of how bitter of a pill it is. With their meager resources by virtue of them being in opposition, the NDC’s door to door style campaigning out beat the lavish-style campaigning of the NPP. Ghanaians saw through the lies. Gone are the days when the politics of fear was used to intimidate our minds. Thousands of unemployed graduates and the unemployed man on the street as well did not buy into these lies. The politics of demonizing the NDC and making Rawlings an imminent security threat did not work. Ghanaians have the desire to move forward and not dwell on the past as explicitly displayed on the elections. As Will Rogers said, “we have plenty of confidence in this country but a little short of good men to place our confidence in.” I hope our confidence is in good hands.

To John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills, what a journey. From the baby steps of 2000, to the crawling in 2004 and the third charm of 2008 as you run carefully to lead our dear land to the “promise land”. Third time is the charm indeed. God bless Ghana.

By E.K. Oduro ( university @albany, NY)