THE GHANAIAN CHILDREN’S overwhelming support for Nana Akufo Addo – the indelible
name on their minds – is nothing but a humble call for salvation, quality and
affordable education, as well as a better standard of living for them.
Regardless of the awful experience our vulnerable children are going through
lately, under the Mills’ led-government, they are and will remain cognoscenti,
and continue to loathe the president.

President Atta Mills was voted into power to fix the ‘Broken Economy’ his party
NDC alluded to, but not to engage in avocation and advertisement of his
parochial interest. The introduction of the president’s portrait picture to
school children to fight his bereft presidential status and make him popular is
quite callous and waste of the nation’s scarce resources. The production and
distribution of the cups embossed with his picture is an extreme misplacement of
the national priorities. What is the economic benefit of this baccarat?

He feels panic and paranoid; he feels that he cannot survivethe next
presidential election as he grows unpopular daily. This is flagrant. A fear
further bolstered by the internal wrangling and bickering within the NDC. His
current predicament is a payback for blanketing the nation’s education with a
chador.
When was the “Know your President” exercise officially added to the schools’
curriculum, when was this particular syllable officially introduced in the
curriculum? It is difficult to esteem a man as he desires to be esteemed. If
stringent measures are not taken it will burden the studies of the pupils and in
future they will be asked to write exams on the president. Our kids’ minds are
too soft for this. We pray that our president should find it within his heart
and be lenient on the kids and concentrate on his unrealistic and unachievable
“Better Ghana Agenda.” One will not waste precious energy in trying to
understand why he is already scoring below average in pursing this agenda.

It is an unprecedented fashion ever to happen in the history of our country.
How could the president carry a shameful and immoral gerrymander in the schools?
This is an obvious dictatorship rule, as he’s now turned himself into ‘God’ to
be worshiped. The rationale behind this campaign is very questionable. Why
should school children be coerced to by all means necessary know the president?
This is against the fundamental human rights of our young children. The
President and his NDC cohorts without any doubt are manipulating the minds of
these kids as to what is appropriate for the kids to know. Is President Atta
Mills now competing with God, as he prays to be worshiped? The move by the
president to buy support from the classrooms is quite unethical and condemnable.
The president should leave our young school children out of the political
equation. The highfalutin amount of money being used to sponsor these ‘Tea Cups’
exigently could have been used to acquire useful teaching materials for the
children. This is a ridiculous finagle. Teachers’ grievances have been relegated
for far too long resulting in an incessant sit-down and/or work-to-rude strike
actions by both POTAG and UTAG. But it is so strange that funds have been easily
found so quickly from God knows where to sponsor an irrelevant project which
will in no way aid the children in their formal studies.

There is a true conflict of interest inherent at the heart beat of this ‘Tea
Cups distribution. As president, his obligation is to provide the necessary
conditions for the kids to have quality education geared towards making them
better members of the society but not to embark on projects which the President
and his party hope to benefit politically. Why should the NDC government impose
the president’s interest on the kids, whiles indeed, the kids together with
their parents and teachers’ interests have been relegated? The hammering of the
president’s parochial interest on the kids should be vigorously condemned by
all. President Atta Mills should know that, if he goes expressly to look at the
moon, it will turn into tinsel. He should also be informed that, there are no
small steps in great affairs. Due to his profound passion, his government will
never be perfect. This project that the NDC government considers as a political
necessity is purely a political mistake. Indeed, this crass ‘Tea Cup’ project
throws more light on Atta Mills and his NDC’s extreme bravados.


This is an assault on reason; it would not be a surprise if it does not yield
the intended and expected results. A lazy hand is no argument of a contended
heart. The NDC government is now spending on an immature political campaign with
the taxpayers’ money. It is an obvious trait of dictatorship at its peak. This
manipulation by the NDC government is akin to the communist’s stratagem of brain
washing its citizens into forgetting the real failure by the leadership to honor
its social contract with the people. He will still remain a cassowary!

The viability of the project is highly questionable. As the NDC vigorously
promotes the ‘invisible achievements’ of its president, it should as well
embrace in shame the unpopularity of its president. This ‘DONKOMI’ promotion
will not wash, because what is written is surely written! If the NDC considers
president Atta Mills to be the best president Ghana has ever had, then why the
influence on the pupils’ judgment? There’s is a saying that, “ADEPA NA ETON NE
HO!”Why the struggle to sell your personality if you claim to do wonders? There
is no precedence of any past Ghanaian President wondering about who should know
who was the President. It comes naturally after legitimately being put at the
helm of affairs.

The life span of Mill’s tea cups is very SLIM. One would recall that the “Better
Ghana Agenda” elections campaign did not involve the distribution of ‘Tea Cups’.
Don’t politicize our kids. As concerned leaders of a country, we need not to
commingle the pupils’ education with politics. They need quality and affordable
education but not ‘Tea Cups.’ This is the same government that said, it had NO
resources to push forward our educational system for the kids, it could not
finance one additional year of high school, yet has got enough amount of money
to sponsor its selfish interest with such a great speed. There isnothing that
man can do to hinder the children’s call for salvation.

Resources for operation ‘Tea Cups’ could have been channeled to relievethe
people of Buipe, the central Gonja district, which has been hit by a heavy
rainstorm resulting in a severe flooding in the area and thus rendering several
thousands of vulnerable people homeless.
Majority of Ghanaians cannot comprehend why a person would undertake this
project. It is not virtuous.

The president, who campaigned to fight corruption, is in the face of his own
words using the taxpayers’ money to finance his selfish deeds, which will not
benefit the entire country.
If the need be that we instill in these kids patriotism and nationalism, which
government agency should under take this project? What is the constitutional
mandate of the National Commission of Civic Education?
Is the Ministry of Education not already overwhelmed with the challenges of the
collapsing educational system? Why is the ministry of education channeling human
and material resources into areas it has no business in handling? Does this mean
the ministry of information has woefully failed to inform the pupils who they
should ask when they need furniture in the classroom and books in the libraries?
Presidents Atta Mills and his NDC government should ponder over these questions
as they drink tea in their cups.
As he has become obsessed with autarchy, he should make his way to India on his
future trip to the Asia. This is where he will be honoured a bahadur.
Ghana, our milquetoast president is fighting vehemently to be panjandrum.
Heavenly Father, save our children!

King Sabbato
Communications’ Group,
NPP, New York.