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Opinions of Wednesday, 1 August 2012

Columnist: Jackson, Margaret

Has NPP Indeed Suspended Its Campaign?

… As Nana Akomea Lambasts NDC Daily

Ask Margaret Jackson

July 31, 2012

Ghana has a certain politician who lies under his teeth and perhaps does not know how to respect or mourn the dead and also does not know what it means when his party issues a statement that it has put its political campaign on hold in honour of the passing of President Evans Fiifi Atta Mills. This politician who goes by the accolade, “Kenkey Politician” is no other person than the Communications Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akomea.

Today, Tuesday July 31, marks the passing of President Mills, who passed away peacefully at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra at exactly 2:15 pm. The death of President Mills has touched the hearts of millions of Ghanaians with an unprecedented outpouring of glowing tributes in his memory. Even the late President’s bitterest political foes, the NPP, felt the pain the country was going through so decided to suspend their political activities until after the mortal remains of President Mills has been laid to rest. Nana Akufo-Addo immediately called-off his Hope Restoration Tour in Evalue-Gwira of the Western Region following President Mills' death.

Since this is the first time that Ghana has lost a sitting president, all political parties have decided to come together to mourn President Mills whose grace, poise, humility, perseverance, genuineness, integrity, simplicity and love for the nation and the people of Ghana has endeared him to millions of Ghanaians and World Leaders. Never in my history have I broken down and wept uncontrollably.

The NPP I must say even went a step further by suspending the launching of activities marking the 20th anniversary of the party. The party sent a high powered delegation headed by ex-President John Kufuor to console newly sworn-in President John Mahama and ex-First Lady, Mrs. Naadu Mills. The party’s flagbearer, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo pleaded with the Institute of Economic Affairs to reschedule his evening encounter with the institute which was slated for Tuesday, August 7, 2012. All these have been done by the NPP to at least show some respect and dignity to President Mills.

But one person in the NPP family seems not to get it. He seems to be in perpetual campaign mode and has not rested since President Mills died. Just two days after the passing of President Mills, the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the ruling NDC met and nominated President Mills as their sole candidate for the December 7 election. But Ghana’s Kenkey Politician, Nana Akomea, will have nothing of that as he jumped immediately on the airwaves to accuse the NDC NEC of disrespecting the memory of the late President Mills.

“Why can’t you [NDC NEC] wait for the first week to pass and allow the flags to be flying at full mast before you nominate a flagbearer and set a date for congress - you have disrespected the memory of the president,” he said on Metro TV Good Morning Ghana Show.

Nana Akomea, Ghana’s Kenkey Politician, has been roaming on the airwaves saying one thing after the other on a daily basis by punching the NDC here and there. Akomea seems so insensitive to the pain the country is currently going through and is ready to say anything that will put him in the spotlight and chip score some cheap political points for the NPP.

Barely a day after his unwarranted attacks on the NDC as the country still has not come to terms with the untimely passing of President Mills; Akomea again threw the salvo at the NDC for what he termed as the manner in which President Mills’ health was shrouded in secrecy. Akomea, who did not show any decency whatsoever and was so heartless said, “The issue of President Mills’ health was handled in a manner that did not show candour, transparency and integrity in governance.”

Akomea charged the NDC government for making deliberate efforts to hide from the people of Ghana the true state of President Mills’ health adding some people in government went, “absurd length to be able to perpetuate this falsehood and lies upon Ghanaians.”

A day after pitiless Akomea has made these comments he jumped on the airwaves again and stated that, “President Mahama cannot extricate himself from the failures of the NDC administration.” He went on to say that President Mahama was head of the government economic management team when he was vice president but failed to achieve anything leaving the country to survive on 80% imports into the country.

Akomea, who made these accusations because of the fear that President Mahama would play to the media to pose a threat to Akufo-Addo added that the NPP will do more media work on Akufo-Addo to enable him match President Mills boot-for-boot.

Nana Akomea who seems to becoming the new JJ Rawlings due to his incessant criticisms of President Mills is on a free fall since he daily goes on air to say something different aimed at further poking his hands into the eyes of the NDC and to large extent President Mills. The Kenkey Politician was on air yesterday stating that the NDC government cannot attribute the sudden death of President Mills to insults and criticisms. Akomea, who may never die in our time, was blunt in asking the NDC to stop diverting attention from the core issues.

Nana Akomea made those comments in reaction to claims by the National Security Advisor, Brigadier-General Joseph Nunoo-Mensah that President Mills nearly resigned from office due to the incessant verbal criticisms directed at him. Akomea went on to say that if what Nunoo-Mensah said was anything to go by, then Nana Akufo-Addo would have died a long time ago.

Shameless Akomea further stated that Akufo-Addo deserves a national award considering the daily dosage of insults which emanated from both government officials and its rented press forgetting the humiliating attacks and name calling unloaded by the NPP top brass including Akufo-Addo, NPP foot soldiers and its rented press on the late President Mills.

Now the big question is what at all does Akomea want in this period of mourning by daily lambasting the NDC? What does he stand to gain? Can we Ghanaians say that due to what Akomea is doing daily without any caution from the NPP hierarchy, it therefore means that the NPP has not suspended its campaign as they would everybody to believe?

What does the Kenkey Politician want? Why has he been on the back of the NDC for almost one week? It’s about time somebody from the NPP calls Akomea to order to stop his disgraceful tendencies and at least allow President Mills to be buried. If Akomea has nothing to do in this period of mourning, he should stop wasting the ears of Ghanaians since what he is doing will rather turn people away from the NPP.

Akomea is shameful, a liar, very callous and has no respect for the dead. God is watching people like Akomea who will put everything to the back burner except politics even when a whole nation seems to be in shock and mourning the passing of a great and an illustrious son like President Mills.

http://majjacks80.blogspot.com magjackson80@yahoo.com