Akufo-Addo Went Dancing

By Nana Akua Tweneboah-Koduah

Everybody loves to be in a comfort zone because it is the most terrifying thing to find yourself in situations that knock you off completely. Therefore, when people are put in tight situations they normally adopt certain habits to make them feel comfortable in order to overcome those situations.

The NPP Presidential Candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, is known for being an abrasive politician. He behaves as if he is the monarch of all that he surveys, and always gives the false impression that he is very knowledgeable, on top of the issues and someone who cannot be compared to anyone.

As a result, Akufo-Addo goes everywhere with that swagger and archaic British accent thinking that he can bamboozle his way through any quarters. If you happen to hear Akufo-Addo talking chances are that you may miss most of the words he utters because his false teeth does not permit him to speak audibly. I am told if Akufo-Addo raises his voice during any public engagement, the false teeth that he had been wearing for years may fall off.

The just ended 2nd and final presidential debate organized by the Institute for Economic Affairs (IEA) at the Banquet Hall of the State House, Accra, clearly revealed an interesting aspect of Nana Akufo-Addo which most Ghanaians may have grossed over or they may not have been aware of.

When the very first question which borders on security and crime was asked, the flagbearer of the People's National Convention, Mr. Hassan Ayariga (my hero of the night), pulled the plugs on Akufo-Addo by labeling him as someone belonging to a crime-infested family headed by ex-president JA Kufuor, and therefore questioned Akufo-Addo’s readiness and competence in fighting crime in the country if the unexpected happens and he is voted into power. This first unexpected shot by Ayariga immediately stunned Akufo-Addo like a bee. I saw it, you saw it and every Ghanaian watching the televised debate saw it too.

What happened next to Akufo-Addo is something that I want to draw attention to: Akufo-Addo started dancing in his chair and it happened over and over and over again. Do you with all humility, sincerity and seriousness want to vote for someone to become your President and the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces and see him dancing embarrassingly in his chair when nothing calls for that?

The multiple Azonto dancing by Akufo-Addo when he was put on the spot by Ayariga clearly revealed that Akufo-Addo is over the hills. I beg to say that Akufo-Addo’s time is past. And it’s therefore, time for Ghanaians to move in a different direction without Akufo-Addo.

The way Akufo-Addo fidgeted in his seat by dancing anytime Ayariga jabbed him even humiliated his own avowed vociferous NPP supporters who saw the writings clearly on the wall that Akufo-Addo’s days in Ghana politics are numbered.

Akufo-Addo who came to the debate much unprepared at one point in time even forgot that he is yet to be president of the nation. Because when one of the moderators loudly asked President Mahama to answer a question on infant mortality by saying, “let’s hear what the President has to say on this”, Akufo-Addo sprung to the microphone as if he was the president of the land.

Ghanaians indeed saw something about Akufo-Addo during the debate that they may never have seen before because of the spin that the NPP had always put on him. Suddenly, Akufo-Addo looked very ordinary, disjointed, over the hills, unprepared, unintelligent, inaudible, nuisance, unpresidential and someone not fit for the highest office of the land. That is the impression currently circulating on the streets of Accra and beyond. nakuakoduah@yahoo.com