Akufo-Addo’s Response To Mills On Peaceful Elections

DELIVERED AT THE CONFERENCE HALL, FREEDOM HOTEL, HO,
VOLTA REGION, MONDAY, 21ST FEBRUARY, 2011


Last Thursday, 17th February 2011, was a sad day in our nation’s history. On that day, the Ghanaian people saw a most unbecoming sight: the President of the Republic, His Excellency Professor JEA Mills, using the solemn occasion of the State of the Nation address and the podium of Parliament to attack and threaten his political opponents. And the cause of this unseemly conduct -- the demand by those opponents for peaceful, free and fair elections in 2012, devoid of violence, intimidation and fraud. The President’s response to this demand, as set it out in his address, is very disturbing, to say the least.

Over the last two years, we have detailed a catalogue of savage attacks against our party activists, which have gone unpunished. We have protested the apparently selective manner in which the law is being applied by the state against those perceived to be political opponents of the current government. With the able support of the media, we have tried to bring the President’s attention to the impunity with which so-called footsoldiers of the ruling party have spent the last 25 months attacking people and property. We have repeatedly called on the President to take decisive action to protect Ghanaians, including our party members who have suffered such barbarity, like the victims of Agbobloshie. We have expressed our extreme worry about violence as an electoral strategy, as was evident in all three parliamentary contests held under his watch, namely, the completion of the Akwatia election, and the Chereponi and Atiwa by-elections. The deplorable incidents in these elections were unknown in the Kufuor era, which saw the conduct of at least ten by-elections.

For all our repeated public appeals to the President of the Republic in these last two years his preferred form of a belated response, as Ghanaians witnessed to their dismay last Thursday, was to label the complainant a war-monger and threaten to come down heavily on those who complain.

Let the President and his army of propaganda warriors be assured that they would not succeed in their deliberate propaganda mongering against the NPP and I. Instead of using that august opportunity to address these legitimate concerns he opted to speak as the leader of a political party on an imaginary battlefield. We wish to remind him that, until January 7, 2013, he is the President of this nation of 24 million people of rich, diverse backgrounds and pan-tribal unity.


RED ALERT AGAINST POLITICAL OPPONENTS
In his address to the nation, the President said he has put the security agencies on “red alert” and they are under strict instructions to deal decisively with anybody or group of persons who will attempt to disturb the peace and stability of Ghana. To put the nation’s security agencies on ‘red alert’ is the highest form of security alert. Who are those attempting to disturb the peace and stability of Ghana?

The President’s speech and the subsequent explanations from his spokespersons confirmed where the President’s red alert was directed, i.e. at his political opponents.

Wonders, they say, would never cease. What could the leader of the National Democratic Congress of all parties have meant when he said, “And let no one think that inciting or priming others for violence is the way to determine the outcome of elections.” Not only is the President out of touch with the concerns and increasing sufferings of ordinary Ghanaians, he is equally out of touch with his own political history, contemporary and past.

He is right on one thing, though. This country has come too far, through the life, blood, sweat and courage of patriots who chose to stand up and fight against dictatorship and oppression to open up the democratic space for all, including, naturally, those who were unknown to the popular struggle for democracy, to have the opportunity to rise up to become leaders in a democratic Ghana.
Yes, Ghana has come too far to travel down the road of chaos and anarchy. That is why some of us who have been intimately involved in that struggle for the last three decades are insisting that the gains the people of Ghana have made be protected. He should call his people to order, crackdown on the lawlessness from his own camp and free up the security agencies to perform their constitutional duties without fear or favour to protect all citizens from aggression and violence.

TWO YEARS OF UNANSWERED PLEAS FOR PROTECTION
The slogan ‘All Die be Die’ came as a result of our party activists being reduced to second class citizens and becoming victims of vituperations, discrimination, intimidation, aggression and incarceration without protection from the state. Our supporters know fully well what is meant by the ‘all die be die’ slogan. They know it is not a call on them to initiate violence. It is a defensive exhortation. It is but a call to the victims of aggression to stand firm and if need be defend themselves against the aggressor. It is, therefore, of no surprise to us that there has not been a single incident of a violent response occurring anywhere in the country from our supporters as a result of the slogan. Our members and supporters are responsible citizens and we are very, very proud of them. But they reserve the right and courage to defend themselves. I will take this opportunity to urge them to continue to be law-abiding citizens and play by the rules of the game. Let the President send a similar message to his out-of-control supporters.

In the 2008 elections I said repeatedly that I would not want a single drop of Ghanaian blood to be spilled for me to become President. I am still committed to that. However, such a commitment does not mean I should stand by and watch followers of the party I have the privilege and responsibility to lead being brutalized without protection from the state. For a man, who from his youthful days had never been afraid to stand up for his beliefs, it would be shirking my duty as a political leader not to speak out to the followers of my party to stand up and defend those shared beliefs.

In May 26, 2009, I gave my first public address since the change of government. I spoke extensively about the need for national unity. The concerns I raised then are as relevant today as they were then. What in the State of the Nation address; what in the actions of the President can be said to add a semblance of believability to his promise in January 2009 that he would be father for all? The country is more divided today than it was when he took the Oath of Office. This could be avoided and can still be avoided with a leader who is sincere and genuine.

I stated at the time,?”Our nation appears to be under unnecessary divisive strain. The ethnic passions that were deliberately heightened during our elections, coupled with the closeness of the results and the serious challenges facing our nation, demand that we make extra efforts to promote the unity of our nation. Unfortunately, since coming to power, the NDC has chosen to emphasize what divides us rather than what unites us. There have been references to certain ethnic groups as if they were second-class citizens. For instance, Ashantis have been deliberately and falsely accused of having many children in order to swell their electoral numbers. There should be no place for tribalism in Ghana’s Republic, and we should all work towards that end. I urge President Mills to focus on things that unite us and can move our nation forward, together, to build on our growing democracy, to expand the rule of law, to confront the challenges of the global crisis and to make this, indeed, a better country for all Ghanaians.”

We have never said any one group is superior to another. We are only asking for all Ghanaians to be treated equally by the state.

Those first four months under President Mills, instead of uniting us and fostering peace, were spent intimidating innocent citizens and political opponents. There were arson attacks in the following suburbs of Tamale: Nyihini, Lameshegu, Worizehi, Choggu and Gumbihini. All the 27 properties that were torched belonged to NPP members. Not a single one belonged to an NDC member. In the most outrageous case, Madame Sadia Seidu, a Nursing Officer and wife of Mr. Bawa Baako Alhassan, (the former Tamale NADMO Coordinator) suffered multiple cutlass wounds at the hands of a mob, who burnt and razed down the family’s 18-room compound house.

Thursday, February 17, 2011, the very day that the President read his State of the Nation address, marked the second anniversary of that grievous bodily harm on Madame Sadia Seidu and the arson attacks on the homes of more than 800 Ghanaians in Tamale. Two years down the line, no one (and I mean not a single soul) has been arrested and charged for the attempted murder of Madame Sadia Seidu, even though she identified those who led the attack on her life. No attempt has been made by the state to assist the innocent victims, numbering about 800, who had their homes and belongings destroyed. No one has been arrested, charged and prosecuted for the razing down of the 27 houses even though the gang leaders were also identified and named by countless witnesses. The alleged perpetrators are said to be walking freely in the Tamale municipality. There is a litany of such cases where the system, under the leadership of President JEA Mills, has neglected the pleas of justice for those who fell victims to deliberate acts of violence perpetrated by his party activists.

At the heart of the matter is about people, citizens of Ghana, being brutalized and ignored and left to their own defensive devices by the system. What should be the response of a responsible government: to warn them of a security red alert or to address the scars and wounds of their grievances? Self-defence is enshrined in both the Constitution and the Criminal Laws of our Republic. But, in a civilized society we are supposed to trust the state to protect every citizen without discrimination. Why should this be different under the Ghana of President JEA Mills?

I said in 2009 and I will repeat it here, “Those affected by the violence are first and foremost, Ghanaians, whatever their political colours. The law enforcement agencies should investigate and bring to book the authors of these acts of violence.”

LESSONS FROM 2008
The 2008 elections revealed that there are potentially dangerous developments in our country that, if ignored, can disturb our peace and our democracy. The beating of war drums in 2008 by the leadership of the NDC and the obedient response of their footsoldiers, many of whom trooped to the headquarters of the Electoral Commission (EC) under the leadership of the NDC General Secretary, gave all Ghanaians and international observers sufficient warning signals that we cannot afford to be complacent about 2012. We need to ensure voter confidence in the system for 2012.

It is not entirely up to the EC alone to ensure that we come out of the 2012 elections with any democratic credentials at all, whether low or high flying. It is up to all of us. As always, there is a greater responsibility on the party in power to set the stage and take active steps in that direction. The refusal of the President to give a clear, unequivocal commitment to ensuring a peaceful atmosphere, devoid of violence, for the 2012 elections is a matter of grave concern to all peace-loving Ghanaians. By his deeds the President can make redundant the slogan, ‘All Die be Die’. Let me assure the people of Ghana that the NPP, under the leadership of Otanka Obestebi-Lamptey and myself, will do all that we can to ensure that the next general elections are held under an atmosphere of peace and tranquility. We are calling on the leader of the NDC and the President of the Republic to join us on this crucial enterprise to protect and strengthen our democracy.

OUR COMMITMENT TO DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE AND PEACE
In the course of our current nationwide tour, the National Chairman of the NPP, Otanka Obetsebi-Lamptey, has called on the EC to begin calling Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meetings towards the process of ensuring a clean and peaceful 2012 elections.

As we have done over the last decade, we shall continue to fight to advance the frontiers of our democracy. Even our acceptance of the results of the 2008 elections, which produced the slimmest majority in the history of elections in Africa, was a demonstration of our commitment to the preservation of peace and democracy in our nation. We did not want to win at any cost. Let no one use propaganda to seek to discredit our proven record of commitment to Ghana’s democracy. They would not succeed.

For us in the NPP, democratic governance and the peaceful transfer of power, after elections, are not negotiable. We urge all political parties and Ghanaians committed to promoting peace and deepening our democracy to work with us in securing these ends. Ghanaian democrats, no matter their party affiliation, should stand shoulder to shoulder to defend and promote the aims of our democratic Republic, that also include standing up against the bully at the polling station.

We shall continue to believe in Ghana. We will muster the necessary courage to defend democratic Ghana and continue in our peaceful quest to win power in 2012 and bring back hope and opportunities to the people of Ghana, irrespective of their politics, creed, ethnicity, region, religion, age, gender or social status.

May God continue to bless and protect Ghana.

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo
The 2012 Presidential Candidate of the NPP