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Opinions of Thursday, 20 July 2023

Columnist: Rockson Adofo

Who is a presidential material in our current day Ghana?

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo

What are the qualities of a person in order to class him or her as presidential material? Should the person be highly educated, extremely knowledgeable, wise, an orator, handsome and tall or what?

In today’s Ghana of ours, can’t fairness, firmness and friendliness stand the chance of becoming attributes of a person of presidential material?

Before I proceed any further, let it be known to the whole world that in Ghana, my country of birth, the knowledge of English is a criterion of a man’s great learning. Wack!

It makes me feel sick to the bone when I hear people talk down Kennedy Agyapong (Hon.) as not a presidential material. Who then is a presidential material, I would like to know from my fellow Ghanaians both home and abroad?

For the fearless, no nonsense and proud son of Kumawu/Asiampa soil, my experience gained from observing successful countries in the world and how they have come to be, tells me a completely different story about who is a presidential material, contrary to the views expressed by many a Ghanaian on the matter.

He who is fair, firm and friendly, coupled with being honest, pragmatic and believer in meritocracy, and has some formal education, and well-defined policies and programmes for the nation, is more of a presidential material than the trumpeting porous views by others.

In Ghana today, our water bodies, arable and fertile lands and virgin forests have come under heavy devastation in perpetration and perpetuation by illegal small scale and alluvial miners called in the local parlance as galamsayers. However, the mentioned elements combine to sustain human life on earth. If we destroy them at the rate as is ongoing in Ghana today, where lies the future of the country and her sons and daughters?

We have highly experienced politicians, academics with paper qualifications reaching higher up to the eyebrows of God, powerful traditional overlords, court judges, etc., yet, no one is able to effectively stop the havoc being wreaked on our very means of survivability and sustainability as human beings in Ghana.

Don’t we have criminal and civil cases pending in our courts for donkey years without any idea of when there will be closures? Don’t we have situations where our members of parliament are irresponsibly throwing their weight behind their colleagues that have knowingly breached the laws of the land and are arraigned?

Why should there continue to be the infamous situation of Ghana having “land guards” that are paid to either protect their paymasters’ plots of land, or help them seize lands belonging to other people? They do all this in the presence of politicians, governments and the police. Is that right?

If laws were strictly enforced in Ghana, will there be the occurrence of the mentioned unfortunate situations?

Any person who is capable of, and able to, stop, the abundant lawlessness and perpetrations of crimes in the country is in my candid opinion, a presidential material.

Does many an ordinary or discerning Ghanaian not see Kennedy Agyapong as honest, fair and firm person who has demonstrated such character traits in him?

Ghana at the moment needs a leader that can crack the whip on the back of law breakers without fear or favour or else, the country will wobble in rotation of poverty, crimes and lawlessness, only to benefit the few powerful and well-connected politicians and traditional overlords and their agents and assigns.

I will go for a firm, fair, honest and friendly person who will in no time of ascending the presidency put a total stop to the lawlessness ongoing in Ghana by ensuring the strictest enforcement of the laws.

Ghana’s major problem retarding her socio-politico-economic advancement is the lack of law enforcement. Once laws are enforced, the occasion of journalists/broadcasters sitting in their radio stations or on television raining insults on the president and government, or on some private persons for whatever reasons will be a thing of the past. Journalist will be forced to become professionals adhering to the ethics of their profession.

In the civilized Whiteman’s country, there is no way that the bushman’s attitude as exhibited on daily basis by say, Captain Godsbrain Smart of Onua TV, will be allowed to continue for two days on air without the public signing a petition to get him removed from air and or, sued. However, in Ghana, because of how our politics is practised, such an unprofessional rogue is a hero.

I need a strong person who will know no family members, friends and kings or queens when discharging his duties but will treat all equally, fairly but firmly, to become the president of Ghana after President Nana Akufo-Addo.

John Dramani Mahama does not come any close when specifying the attributes of a presidential material in today’s turbulent Ghana where some members of parliament are simply rogues.

As always said, I prefer a stronger government of the team of Kennedy Agyapong, Dr Bawumia, Dr Kwabena Duffuor, Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen and IGP Dr George Akuffo Dampare to rule Ghana.

Ghanaians, please be farsighted and savvy when choosing your leaders. Don’t let ethnic sentiments influence how you choose your leaders but rather be guided by the principle of who is capable to deliver to uplift the welfare of the citizenry and the image of Ghana and the black man.