The chickens have come home to roost and it has come to the fore, and very strongly so, that, all the NPP’s anti-Ghana attempt to paint President Mills black in the wake of the Ivorian crisis, has come to nothing.
As things stand now, President Atta Mills has been vindicated for taking a decisive decision not to commit Ghanaian troops to a needless war in Cote d’Ivoire.
President Mills chose the option of subtle negotiation and dialogue to end the blood bath in Cote d’Ivoire and that well thought out position has put Ghana’s President on the high pedestal of international relations.
On Saturday, May 21, 2011, before His Excellency the President emplaned for Yamoussoukro for the investiture of President Allassane Daramani Ouattara, President Mills received tons of praise and high commendation from no less a person than Mr. Ban Ki Moon, Secretary General of the United Nations.
Mr. Ban Ki Moon, who stopped over in Accra also en route to Yamoussoukro for the investiture of President Ouattara, did not mince words at all when he poured tons of high praise on President Atta Mills for the role he played in making it possible for President Ouatarra to be sworn-in as President of Cote d’Ivoire.
Even before the high commendation of Mr. Ban Ki Moon could settle, President Mills has enjoyed another solid dose if commendation.
This time, the commendation is from the horses own mouth.
That is to say, the commendation has come from none other than, President Allasane Dramani Ouatarra.
President Ouattara’s high praise was contained in a message delivered to President Atta Mills by Mr. Bernard Koutoua, the new Ivorian Ambassador to Ghana.
Presenting his letters of credence to President Atta Mills at the Castle on Thursday, May 26, 2011, Mr. Koutoua, on behalf of President Ouatarra, re-emphasized the extent to which President Mills’ personal involvement led to the investiture of President Ouatarra.
Mr. Koutoua expressed gratitude for President Mills’ involvement in quiet dialogue and negotiation which ensured that Cote d’Ivoire jumped over the crucial and important hurdle of getting Paul Yao N’dre to withdraw his earlier declaration of Laurent Gbagbo as President, and swearing-in Allasane Ouatarra as the legitimate President of Cote d’Ivoire.
There is no denying the fact that President Mills’ position has succeeded in insulating ECOWAS from what would most likely have resulted in sowing the seeds of enmity between a section of Ivorians and the ECOWAS sub region.
At the end of the day, President Mills’ “Dzi wu fie asem” stance has been vindicated as it took Ivorians to take out Laurent Gbagbo; not a single person from the ECOWAS sub region joined the New Forces to pull Gbagbo out of his bunker.
Indeed, the speed with which President Ouattara appointed an envoy to Ghana, is ample testimony of how Ouatarra appreciates and values President Mills’ contribution to his being sworn-in as President.
President Ouatarra was sworn-in on May 21, 2011, and Mr. Koutoua presented his letters of credence on May 26, 2011.
It would not be surprising if this move by President Ouatarra goes into the Guinness Book of World Records as the fastest period within which a President has been sworn-in and getting an envoy to present letters of credence.
What it means is that, President Ouatarra has not been paying any attention to the desperate attempt by Akufo-Addo and the NPP to create the impression that President Atta Mills loves Laurent Gbagbo and hates Allasane Ouatarra.
Despite the attempt by the NPP and its quintessential propagandists to dance on the stoic stance of President Atta Mills, the solid commendations that have come the way of the President and Ghana makes nonsense of the wicked agenda of Akufo-Addo and the NPP.
It is sad the way Akufo-Addo and the NPP tried desperately to draw a wedge between Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire.
Indeed, at the height their desperation, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko’s resurrected New Statesman newspaper published a false story about Ghana habouring pro-Gbagbo dissidents and sponsoring them to take up arms against President Ouatarra.
Despite the fact that the editor of the Ivorian newspaper Gabby claimed to have sourced his story from, denied the story, Gabby and the NPP have still not found it prudent to apologise to the good people of Ghana for their ill-intentioned posturing.
The position that President Atta Mills took makes stronger the point that Ghanaians took a good decision not to allow Akufo-Addo to get the opportunity to move Mother Ghana forward in the wrong direction.
Akufo-Addo’s “All die be die” posturing in the wake of the crisis, and his rush condemnation of President Mills for deciding to tread cautiously in committing troops to their graves in Cote d’Ivoire, is ample testimony of how the NPP flagbearer would have been in a hurry to sacrifice Ghana’s national interest on the altar of the interest of others.
As Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, unlike President Atta Mills who chose to adopt a deep-thinking method to approaching the decision of ECOWAS, Akufo-Addo, in a bid to score fleeting political points to fan his ego, would have recklessly led Ghana into a needless bloodbath in Cote d’Ivoire.
After John Agyekum Kufuor’s 8 years; which saw Ghana’s image dented badly and Ghana christened the “Cocaine Coast” because the cocaine trade flourished “waa waa waa”, President Atta Mills, in two years, has rebuilt and rebranded Ghana’s image to the glory of God and country.
As President Atta Mills said during his State of the Nation’s Address this year; “Ghana will not die; Ghana will live to declare the glory of God”.
May the evil dreams of all those who wish Ghana dead never see the light of day!
Long live all well-meaning Ghanaians
Long live His Excellency President Atta Mills
Long live the NDC
Long live Kwame Nkrumah’s Ghana.
May God continue to bless our homeland Ghana and make us greater and stronger.
Nana Biakoye