RE: Akufo-Addo’s victory and “Esther”John Mahama’s 2016 Agenda



Seldom do I make my views on national issues public via news sites in the form of articles or radio/ TV commentaries, let alone the passion to write a rejoinder to what I may for the purposes of this piece consider sincere thoughts of others who choose to. Make no mistake, it is not for the search of a cowardly way of expressing my thoughts that makes me adopt this posture but rather the pathetic and often emotional driven logic that drives the thoughts of many of us in this country thereby eulogising PETTYNESS over substance.



I have read on countless times my brother and friend’s article under the above heading. Sadly, the many times I read his piece, the Very many times I struggle to strike a coherent link amongst the vital allusions he has made in his piece to drive home a point to John Jinapor or even more telling His Excellency the president. The reference to Kwaku Sakyi’sarticle, Nana Addo’s concession after the Supreme Court verdict and John Jinapor’s gallant optimism of a successful 2016 bid are but the major strands of his piece that betrays the quest for journalistic fairness and consistence in such a mastery display of words in a literary piece.

First of all, I see a deliberate attempt to douse the very relevance of the concerns raised by Kwaku Sakyi in his article and for which like Mnasseh I agree is timeless. Manasseh quotes copiously from that piece of Kwaku which states that “The thing is you did not lose this election in VR. You lost it everywhere. In the Western Region, Mills gained 35,426 from his first round score. You had 28,545 fewer votes than your votes in round one. That’s a net gain for Mills of over 74,000 votes. In Brong Ahafo where you won on December 7, you lost 4000. Mills gained 25,000. In unfancied Upper East, you lost almost 1000 votes. Mills won 35,000 more. In the Volta Region, you received only 195 fewer votes than in round one. Alright, Mills gained an extra 81,000. But you also made a net gain of 131,000 in Ashanti. My point is you won’t have a compelling case to contest Tain or go to court. So let it go.”

The question I ask is what changed in the 2012 elections as regards this observation by Manasseh’s Mentor? JM like his former boss won in same eight regions out of ten even this time as an incumbent and at the first round of voting. Nana addo this time made do of his decision to go to court to challenge JM’s votes in the NDC’s strongholds which your mentor admonished against. Yet Manasseh conveniently I guess, overlooks this rather emphatic relevance of Kwaku’s piece to nana addo’s conduct in the 2012 elections to rather rely so heavily on the advice that follows this admonishing by Kwaku which calls on nana to “make that call” as a justification of his praise songs on nana. Perhaps, it is lost on Manasseh that Nana addo only made that call after exhausting the options his mentor admonished him not to pursue. I agree that the election petition has brought some good to Ghana but I share the view of those who believe that its negatives on our country far outweigh its positives. The fact that going to court after every election in Africa is suddenly becoming fashionable in our continent is even most nauseating to say the least of a continent that can equally take pride in peaceful conduct of elections and acceptance of its verdict as is done in most western countries without court intervention.

Strangely, Odinga of Kenya and others in Africa made that call after their defeat in court yet it had little praise from within and without like that of the praise we are expected to heap on nana addo who only learnt from the Odinga’s. Is it a subtle admission on our part that nana addo actually was a threat to peace and stability in Ghana for which his acceptance of the Supreme Court verdict is such a shock to warrant praise? If so we should be bold to state it as a nation. I am one of those who maintain that nana addo conceded after the verdict for himself and a concession just after 2008 and 2012 elections would have been for mother Ghana. In plain language, his concession though still looks good was insincere and tied to his own quest for image redemption. I agree his actions after the verdict could plunge this nation in to chaos but I also know that of the president if he had adopted a Mugabe posture in handling his opponents could have been worse. So unlike singling out nana addo for praise, I dare praise not only the president but most importantly our judiciary and the electoral commission for such diligence, for these institutions also had the potential of plunging the nation in to chaos but they didn’t.

Furthermore, in as much as I agree that the quest for development should far exceed that of the number of years in power. I also maintain there is a thin line between the quest for election victories and development and any analysis of the two must be conscious of their over-arching similarity. I dare say that Manasseh unjustly took on John Abdulai Jinapor which unfortunately smacks of personal vendetta or envy (It might be a wrong signal I got, cos I don’t see Manasseh as such). Any analysis of the john jinapor declaration must be contextual and a journalist of manasseh’s stature ought to know that better.

The NDC and JM won the elections on a number of issues of which chiefly amongst them arguably is their manifesto. It is only a masterful discharge of these manifesto promises that will guarantee them victory in the 2016 election and John Jinapor of all people I believe is fully aware of this naked reality. Policy analyst and these same government officials have consistently made reference to the effects the case had on governance. So, it is not out of place to attempt to appreciate its toll on the NDC’s manifesto which undoubtedly will be their trump card in the next election. Hence, for John to heave a sigh of relief and to declare that the journey to 2016 has begun is simply a manifestation of their commitment to work acidulously to meet their campaign promises for which he John Knows will lead to their victory. Sadly, my senior reporter Manasseh decided to take the declaration on face value to make a case out of nothing to whatever end only he knows.

I concur that politicians ought to be concerned about development of the nation “more” than the next election but the two are caught up in an inescapable network of mutuality in democratic dispensations where competition is a vested part of the process and propaganda to sway the citizenry off a rather positive developmental steps of a government replacing it with mediocrity, its major ally. Therefore, it behoves on a government that is committed to development to as well work to ensure it survives the wicked propaganda of an opposition that may get it off power to subject the nation to untoward hardships and backwardness.

I do not honestly think, the quest for development of the nation is lost on the NDC government and His Excellency the president to warrant a reminder. They have so far not demonstrated their unwillingness to the course to development and this worrying twist of John Jinapor’s declaration to create such an impression is most unfortunate to say the least. I can only commend you, Manasseh, for re-echoing the essence of governance and I say with certainty that the few vital points you raised in your piece could have been done still without personalising the write up.

I conclude by paying glowing tribute to your works as journalist, your passion for the poor and your enviable achievements since your emergence which undoubtedly inspires the youth. I have always known since our days in student politics that you were gonna be a genius and indeed you have become one. I ordinarily for the respect I have for you wouldn’t have responded to you. Like the Iroko, your roots are deep and your branches are spread wide but even the Iroko will be chopped down one day. Cheers Comrade!



The writer, Hamza S. Suhuyini, is a student of International Political Economy at King’s College, London.

Email: Hamzasayibu@yahoo.com