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Opinions of Wednesday, 28 September 2011

Columnist: Damptey, Daniel Danquah

Kwesi Pratt - A dangerous specie of a politician ....

on prowl against Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo.

In Jero’s Metamorphosis, Prophet Jeroboam says, “there are eggs and there are eggs”. My Nigerian friend, Thomas Oyeneyi says, “na true word you talk oo”. Today, I have anointed myself as a prophet to look into the seed of time and pronounce which of the eggs will hatch into a chicken. Yes, that is the assignment I have given myself. And it is to dissect Kwesi Pratt, the political bigot carved in the mould of Bar-Jesus and Mephistopheles.

In the course of the political history of Nigeria, the names Comrade Uche Chukwumerije and Chief Tom Ikimi became synonymous with the Nazi’s Paul Joseph Goebbels who controlled the German Propaganda machinery. Both Uche Chukwumerije and Tom Ikimi gained their notoriority during the Nigerian Civil War and the General Abacha military dictatorship. In Ghana, there is a notorious member of a deceitful outfit led by Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa. And between Okudzeto Ablakwa and Kwesi Pratt, I find it extremely difficult to say which of the two is much more dangerous. So, I leave the decision to my readers.

The man, Kwesi Pratt: Ghanaians should beware of this Peter Rabbit whose mask is gradually being eroded though his own ignominious acts. Our Kwesi Pratt has since he came into the public domain as a commentator on national issues and also editor of The Insight (a newspaper whose reading audience is less than 120) has been saying a lot of nasty things about his political friends and enemies alike. A jealous person, for that matter, he would like to be the centre of attraction all the time. So, like what the Jewish women sang that “Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands”, jealousy took the better part of him and lured him into making unsavoury and unsubstantiated allegations against Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the man he, Kwesi Pratt claims to know inside out, - a claim which has proven to be false by recent revelations. Jealousy has taken the better part of Kwesi Pratt and so he had to say unprintable things to tarnish the hard earned reputation of those he calls his friends. Compare Kwesi Pratt to Cassius in Julius Caesar and you will realize how his monstrous schemes make him look like a completely dehumanized and disgruntled character that has arrived straight from purgatory to torment peace- loving people. To him, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is “a Colossus, and we petty men walk under his legs, and peep about to find ourselves in dishonourable graves”.

Kwesi Pratt is an unmitigating disaster: Kwesi and his political bedfellows would want to rewrite the history according to their terms. But we were around when those events occurred. To them, we say a big no. We won’t accept those lies. They accuse the UP of being behind the assassination attempt against our First President, Osagyefuo Dr Kwame Nkrumah at Kulungugu, contrary to the clear evidence provided during the trial that it was the handwork of members of the CPP. The fact of the case was that the Judges who tried the coupists exonerated Tawiah Adamafio, Coffie Crabbe and Ako Adjei, who were top members of the CPP. The three Judges were Chief Justice Sir Arku Korsah, Justices Van Lare and Edward Akufo-Addo. They were dismissed and their verdict declared null and void by Dr Nkrumah. A new trial took place and the three were found guilty and sentenced to death. These are the true facts of the matter. The records are there for all to see. If our Peter Rabbit is being mischievous, why should he lie about the issue and heap the blame on UP/NLM members? If indeed Kwesi Pratt is a true CPP member who strongly believes in the ideology of Osagyefuo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, he should be the last person to trade issues with the man he regards as his mentor.

W/O 11 Agyei Boadi’s exposure of Kwesi Pratt: Yes, Adjei Boadi said it all at the National Reconciliation Commission’s hearing. He made the declaration that Kwesi Pratt was a PNDC informer. It might interest you to know that his activities were indirectly responsible for the untimely death of a former AFRC Member, L/Cpl Sarkodie Addo. Adjei Boadi said it all and if our Peter Rabbit has any iota of dignity left in him. I challenge him to tackle issues with his accuser. (W/O Adjei Boadi)

But is it really true that Kwesi Pratt was arrested and imprisoned 14 times by the PNDC Regime? Did he say that to elicit the sympathy of the audience? But his colleagues who suffered detention under the PNDC, (notably amongst whom are Kweku Baako, Kwasi Agbley and Freddie Blay) through the cantankerous nature of Kwesi Pratt have dared him to mention when and where he was detained. Till date, our Peter Rabbit has not done the most honourable thing by giving answers to the issues raised. Today, he has found it expedient to pitch his tent in the camp of the Mills faction of the Nefarious Destructive Cancer in line with what ex-President Rawlings said, “se aboa no beka wo a, na ofura wo ntama” (If the animal bite you, it shows he is wearing your clothes. Our current President has proved to be the most ungrateful person in the country today. Kwesi Pratt and the Rawlingses: It is obvious that Kwesi Pratt, as a member of the Alliance for Change was working for the Rawlingses and his P(NDC) regime. The Alliance put Kwesi Pratt as its Parliamentary Candidate in one of the constituencies in Greater Accra Region, but the NPP saw through his deceit. Yes, indeed, Kwesi was a mole. The Party put forward Sheik I.C.Quaye as its candidate for the constituency. He won hands down. Does Kwesi remember the number of votes he got in that election? Let him tell us.

At the end of the year, ex-President Rawlings invited Kwesi to a party which he accepted. On his return from the party, he, like Paul of Tarsus “saw the light” and started singing like a parrot and telling all who cared to listen about the good qualities of the former President. I don’t know when and how the break came about. But Kwesi has since become an avowed critic of the former First Couple. Kwesi Pratt and Mills: Kwesi has written some caustic things about the then Candidate Mills in his Insight Newspaper with a circulation of less than a hundred copies. He ended up by appealing to Ghanaians not to vote for Mills because the “man is something”. But his association with Mills has greatly improved since the latter became President. But why shouldn’t it? His membership of the Kwame Nkrumah Anniversary Committee was enough to catapult him into greater heights. A huge sum of unaccountable imprest was put at his disposal for the anniversary and Kwesi smiled several millions to the bank. A new house, a new car, a new dental formulae, a new this and a new that – who would criticize such a “benefactor”? Not opportunistic Pratt!! Since then, he has fallen in love with the President, virtually approving all lame policies initiated by the moribund fumbling and wobbling President, and I can say without any fear of contradiction that they are very few indeed! But one very important issue stands out – our Peter Rabbit, has been doing the personal battle of President Mills in cutting ex President Rawlings down to size. On that, Kwesi Pratt has been unequivocal, unwavering and vociferous in condemning ex-President Rawlings while praising the President at the same time and also taking time to defend him against all criticisms.

Kwesi Pratt is a mole: There is enough evidence to suggest that our subject of dissection is a spy who is prepared to sell his soul and self esteem for pittance. He did that during the P (NDC) era and NPP Regimes. What was he doing at Francis Poku’s house with Owula Mangotey at the time the sacked National Security Minister was placed under house arrest? He thought nobody would see him, but in line with the axiom which says “nature does not allow any vacuum”, his sin like that of Jonah found him out. It reveals a lot - that all along Francis Poku had been passing certain sensitive information to Kwesi Pratt. On his own volition, Kwesi puts a call through to the United States Embassy in Accra, Ghana, telling the Embassy Staff at the other end that he had some very secret information which he would like to pass on to them. He already knows how much would accrue to his pockets since that was not the very first time he was “doing business” with the U.S Embassy. A smile creased across his lips as he made for the door to receive his august visitors. “Yes, this is my chance to destroy Akufo Addo and make it easier for Mills to cruise to victory. What allegation will stick to Akufo-Addo and makes it extremely difficult to extricate himself from it”, he said to himself? And so the damage was done! Knowing the way our flippant pseudo socialist has been lambasting the Western World, especially the United States, I never dreamt of the day when this self appointed Social Crusader will on his own accord decide to speak to staff of any Western World. But he had to do it. After all, Nightfall makes it impossible for even the eye to see what the hand is doing. And so on that day, “Great” and “all-powerful” Kwesi Pratt stood before the United States Embassy Staff and like what Judas Iscariot and Pontius Pilate did to Jesus, Kwesi pronounced a verdict of guilty on a fine and astute gentleman whose only crime was to attempt to improve the living standard of his fellow human beings. Kwesi hit Akufo Addo below the belt in an unorthodox way. But do you blame him? Obviously no! You see what noko fio could do to people of timorous minds.

But the truth has finally come out. Kwesi Pratt, our Peter Rabbit has all the time been in the pay of Foreign Governments, not only for the CIA, but for other Secret Services like the MOSSAD of Israel, the MI6 OF the United Kingdom, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) of India, the Federal Security Service (FSS) of the Russian Federation and both the Directorate General for External Security (DGSE) and the External Documentation and Counter Espionage Service (EDCE) of France. Oh wow, this Kwesi Pratt is something oo!

Kwesi Pratt and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo: Kwesi has for long given gullible people the impression that he knows the flag bearer of the NPP more than any other person alive today, including even members of the New Patriotic Party. This analysis is comparable to the stranger who cries or mourns more than a bereaved member of the family. Rather unfortunately, many people have fallen for this bait and pretence. This is a blatant lie, for Kwesi Pratt has only limited knowledge of Akufo-Addo.

I remember a few months ago, when Nana started his listening campaigns and Samuel Abu Jinapor was making some comments on Nana’s activities, poker face Kwesi Pratt cut into the programme to state that he knows Nana Akufo-Addo very well and that he (Akufo-Addo) is down to earth and during their “kume preko” days, Akufo-Addo would buy “wakye” (rice and beans) and all of them would sit down at a corner to eat from the same bowl. Then came the killer punch, which was obviously below the belt and calculated to damage Nana’s reputation in order to pave way for his “master” professor Atta Mills. “Those pictures in the newspapers were stage managed and did not reflect the natural order of things”. He delivered his executive fiat. Just like that, one might say.

Well, I will leave Kwesi Pratt to wallow in his own delirium. He does not know Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo that much. When you listen to this disaster of a man waiting to happen, you will rather pity him. Now you listen to him well and good. “Nana used to smoke a lot of marijuana, and I’m talking to you, a lot. Even, in the morning, there would be a cloud around him and you could see that he was high. But I never saw him do cocaine, and I think that is just assumption people made”.

Now the questions: Let us interrogate the issues dispassionately with a view to arriving at a just conclusion. Going by the way Kwesi Pratt described Nana Akufo Addo smoking marijuana, the latter would have now become a junkie. But Nana does not exhibit any sign of someone who is addicted to or even uses the stuff. Kwesi should tell us what happened to Nana between the period he was referring to and the present. Has there been any detoxification of his system? If there has been, Kwesi should tell us where and when since he claims to know Nana Akufo-Addo both inside and out. When did Akufo-Addo stop smoking and where did such morning escapade take place? Who and who were present when Nana went on his smoking spree in the mornings? Kwesi Pratt should give us answers to these questions since he has arrogated to himself the self-appointed escort of Nana Akufo Addo. Can Kwesi give us at least the name of one person to corroborate his assertion that Nana Akufo Addo smoked marijuana? Come to think of it; Akufo-Addo was a thorn in the flesh of the then ruling Government, judging by Kwesi Pratt’s own assessment. And the mantra of any wise person should be to walk cautiously in the midst of one’s enemy. Wouldn’t it be mere stupidity on Nana’s part to do something against the law which will give the authorities an excuse to descend heavily on him? And in spite of all the surveillance on Akufo-Addo as “the troubler of Israel” why is it that the Rawlings Security operatives never got wind of Akufo Addo’s smoking of wee? And if I may ask, as an informer to the then P (NDC) Government, why did Kwesi not report Nana Akufo Addo to the Government? Why was he collecting “estacode’ but was not doing the work for which he was being paid to do?

Where did Akufo-Addo get his source of supply? Or does Kwesi want to tell us that he was the source? And let us be frank; what was Kwesi’s mental state of health anytime Nana Akufo embarked on his smoking spree with a cloud around him? Medically, it is a known fact that constant inhaling of smoke from marijuana over a period of time can and will affect one’s health status. What about the scent emanating from the smoking of marijuana? The breeze carries the scent. All of us know that the scent that comes out of smoking marijuana cannot be muffled. And unless Kwesi Pratt wants to tell us the smoking took place outside our planet, he would have very long and convincing explanations to give to discerning Ghanaians.

When did Nana Akufo Addo usually smoke? Was it before the “kume preko” demonstrations? If it is so, can Kwesi Pratt explain to us how Nana Akufo-Addo could address a crowd of demonstrators without exhibiting any negative traits after he might have smoked a lot of marijuana and inhaled a lot of smoke? Nana then might be a very special person. Infact, this Kwesi Pratt is something oo. Ebi as ebi!

Nana Akufo-Addo’s hands do not shake when he speaks; neither does his head move up and down or from side to side when he speaks. Infact, he speaks coherently. These are obviously not signs of somebody who uses drugs. He was able to chair the United Nations Security Council meeting at the time the both the Palestinians and the Israelis were almost at the brink of war. For the one month that he presided over the proceedings, he discharged his functions to the admiration of both parties. At least for once Fiifi Kwetey shed his propaganda outfit and made a candid admission which was shared by the NDC that Nana Akufo Addo was and is still the most formidable political opponent in the General Election He noted that Akufo Addo is well, funded, popular, charismatic and has great appeal to younger voter. Se wotan Okwaduo a na wayi ne mmireka”. This assessment of Akufo Addo’s is attested to by the Ambassador admission that Akufo Addo is respected for his intelligence, and broad government experience. But he shot himself in the wrong foot when he says, he has poor organizational skills. How can someone be intelligent and at the same time have poor organizational skills. That is a fallacy.

In order to give credence that he knows Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo very well, Notorious and infamous Kwesi Pratt went to the ridiculous extent of commenting on the source of the NPP Flag bearer’s funds. He spoke as if he was an authority in that aspect by alleging that Akufo Addo’s funding came from the Libyan Foreign Minister with whom Akufo Addo had established a close relationship during his days as Ghana’s Foreign Minister. But he Kwesi Pratt never told the Embassy Staff the source of his master, (the then Candidate Mills) funds. Who gave him the information that it was the Libyan Foreign Minister who was funding Akufo-Addo’s Campaign? All what Kwesi Pratt attempted to do was to make himself relevant in the affairs of others, particularly, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo. Busy body, one might say.

In a nutshell, Kwesi Pratt does not have an atom of evidence that Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo smokes marijuana. Kwesi was in dire financial crisis and needed to replenish his funds. He was the one who called the embassy and not the other way round. If anything at all, I will be correct to suggest that it is Kwesi Pratt who uses cocaine, not Nana Akufo Addo. And between Nana and Kwesi Pratt who is more arrogant? At least the erroneous perception Kwesi Pratt and his satanic agents in the Nefarious Destructive Cancer created about Nana Akufo Addo is being eroded by people’s personal interaction with the Flag- bearer of the NPP himself through his listening tour and campaign. Kwesi Pratt and his fellow conspirators from purgatory can allude themselves in their hallucination that all is well and it will be chop chop as usual. We, members of the NPP with our Flag-bearer in the lead will remain undaunted and work assiduously for that great day when history would be made with the election of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo as President. You can call him all sorts of name and all kinds of derogatory tags, Nana Addo Dankwa will not be deterred. The electoral revolution which swept away the loquacious, incompetent, criminal minded and fault –finding regime of Laurent Gbagbo and the swearing in of Alassane Ouettarra as President of Cote d’Ivoire is still on course. Zambia has followed suit. Who will be the next? The wind of change is blowing across the Continent of Africa. This hurricane will in no time sweep away from office, the incompetent and visionless government of President Atta Mills.

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo is an astute leader. He leads and we follow. Kofi Coomson says if Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo becomes President, he will have sleepless night. Why did he say so? He said that because he knows Our President in waiting is resilient, incorruptible, decisive, visionary in out look, dynamic, charismatic, pragmatic, affable, God-fearing and a true Father for all. He and would not look on helplessly while our Ship of State is about to founder on the high seas He would always ensure that the task which he was elected to do is done very well. He will give praise and reprimand where due. He will punish appropriately. These sterling qualities of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo are what make Kofi Coomson fear Nana’s President. – That if you have no skeletons in your cupboard, there is nothing to be afraid of. Wommpe eyi na wope nneahe? Vote the incompetents and ungrateful suckers of our blood from power!.

Vote Akufo-Addo, Vote NPP. Eye Nana, eye NPP!.

Daniel Danquah Damptey (damptey_daniel@yahoo.com) 0243715297