Is Nana Akuffo Addo Fit To Be President?

I was taught by my former boss, Mr. Kofi Asamoah (The new Secretary General of the T.U.C.) that leadership is about humility, selflessness and above all putting the interest of the people first. I think it is with these qualities that have propelled him to that height. That is a very fine gentleman.

Now, to my question: IS NANA AKUFFO ADDO FIT TO BE PRESIDENT? In my opinion he is not qualified to assume the highest office of the land. The reason being that he lacks the qualities of a good leader. His arrogance and lack of appetite for criticism are affront to our emerging democracy.

Those who are of the view that ex-President Kuffour did not offer much help to Nana Akuffo Addo to win the presidential seat have got it all wrong. I do not know whether they expected the ex-President to hold his hand and put him on the seat. Nana Akuffo Addo was one individual among the lot that was given the best opportunity to prove, assert and to distinguish himself but failed woefully. First, he was appointed the Attorney General and Minister for Justice. What happened? With arrogance and nasty pride, he was just in a rush to jail Tsatsu Tsikata but only to realize he was dealing with the wrong man. On two consecutive times he was defeated which nearly plunged the country into constitutional crisis at the time when he was being referred to as “ Nana Akuffo Addo the LAW”. Where is that name now? Ex-President Kuffour had to place hold on the case and then recruited his cronies to overturn the Supreme Court decision that was Favour of Tsatsu in the name of Judicial Review. To me, the so called review was a hoax because the voting pattern of the first Judges did not change and so what was the review?

Nana Akuffo Addo was then removed from the Ministry of Justice to the Ministry of foreign Affairs. At the Foreign Affairs, what can he be remembered for? The only thing that comes to mind is the withdrawal of courtesies due ex-President Rawlings for the mere reason that he (Rawlings) was criticizing the then government. I guess they expected the former President to be heaping praises on them even when the government was misbehaving. This is the most important blunder that has disqualified Nana Akuffo Addo to become president of this Great Nation. These are people who claim to be champions and architects of democracy, rule of law, due process, just name them, yet they do not have the tolerance for criticism. I really don’t understand their kind of democracy.

How can a person who hates criticism become a President? With this slogan of his: “ YENIM WO FRE TETE “ Yenim wo fre tete, ‘eno ne dee wo hen’? What do Ghanaians know Nana Akuffo Addo for? The mess he created at the Judiciary or the one at the Foreign Affairs?

It is about time we told those who want rule us that arrogance and pettiness cannot be tolerated. In other words, characters and traits that are inimical to democracy will not be allowed.

S. L. OKLU.