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Opinions of Thursday, 6 May 2021

Columnist: Rockson Adofo

The tomfoolery and populism of the 'Fix It' outcry

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo

Many genuine or fake persons are holding high the trumpets to their mouth, blowing them in resonating unison of FIX IT! What are they calling on the president and his government to fix?

Is it about the current incessant power outages? Is it about the ongoing scary murders and armed robberies or the devastating illegal surface mining (galamsey) and the baneful official corruption?

As the call on the president to fix the economy and stop most of the problems facing the country may to some extent be appropriate, the political undertone of such call makes the motive of the callers very suspicious.

Some people, especially the NDC members with their conniving Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), journalists, individuals awash in corruption but are friends of the NDC leaders, and their agents and assigns, are shouting louder, calling on the president to fix the problems.

The president must please see the opportunity in their rancorous “fix it” to take drastic measures that will indeed fix their perceived problems to the shock of the saboteurs but the admiration of discerning Ghanaians.

Whenever major repair works are being done to major infrastructural projects left unattended over years, surely, some level of inconvenience will occur. Therefore, there is no wonder that the government’s decision to carry out the necessary repairs on the national electric grid and its ancillaries is causing temporary, although incessantly annoying power outages in the country.

The populist political rivals cloaked in NDC attire and wearing opaque NDC lenses are equating the current power outages come about as a result of the maintenance works to the killer DUMSOR of yesteryears under former President John Dramani Mahama.

In London, many people will bear me witness the level of inconvenience caused to commuters whenever the government or the local mayors are doing roadworks which are even done periodically to maintain the roads in good shape. Any maintenance works on an infrastructure in use by the public will cause its own level of inconvenience to the users.

As people in the developed world understand the need for maintenance works, they don’t moan so much and irresponsibly as it is done in Ghana.

The economies of the world over have faced downward trend because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Ghana is not an exemption. However, the agitations by Ghanaians to expect more freebies and better conditions of living without wanting to pay a little increase in taxes makes one wonder what people at all are Ghanaians?

The NDC that had proved themselves incompetent, exceedingly corrupt and myopic in governance, are as usual fooling many a Ghanaian by their propaganda, as though they have a magic wand to better the economy of Ghana within days if they were given the chance to rule Ghana now.

Yes, President Nana Akufo-Addo must fix the destruction of the nation’s water bodies, virgin forests and arable lands by those heartless Ghanaians and their Chinese agents doing illegal surface and alluvial mining (galamsey).

When the president first started fighting the galamsey, were former President Mahama and some NDC leaders not going around assuring the surface miners that if they voted NDC to power, NDC will allow them to continue with their mining activities without a word said or a finger raised?

Now, these same hypocrites for cheap politics, are calling on the government to fix the devastation of the water bodies and fertile lands and forests while at the same time reassuring the galamsayers they will mine their gold unhindered if NDC came to power.

I support the president to fix it using the soldiers. He must order the soldiers to deal mercilessly with stubborn surface miners. Again, the president must fix the armed robberies and the recurring incidents of murder that again have political undertone.

Have we sooner forgotten about the NDC National Chairman, Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, urging NDC members to murder, kidnap, insult and cause arsons in the country?

The NDC may have their signatures to all the problems ongoing in the country yet, like the proverbial “anomaa kokone kone” that goes upstream to muddy the waters and comes downstream to query why the water is dirty, they are mocking the president for the country being overwhelmed with problems which are indeed, partly caused by them.

The president must effectively use the Ghana armed forces to assist the police to bring about total security to the people of Ghana. He must order contingents of the armed forces out of their barracks on to the streets and roads to maintain security.

Should they be released for the task, the incessant armed robberies and murders taking place throughout the nation will stop within weeks. I had always cited how the French (France) used the military in conjunction with the police to curb terrorism on their soil whenever the need arose.

Should the NDC raise a voice against the army being redeployed to maintain internal security, then sensible Ghanaians will have come to know how dubious and wicked the NDC have always been.

Once bitten, twice shy. The president should not have mercy on anyone who falls foul of the law. He should allow the incoming Special Prosecutor to investigate the loudmouth double salary recipients, whoever they are.

He should not spare the rod to spoil the child. Are they not part of those clamouring for, and sloganizing the “Fix it”?

The incoming Special Prosecutor should not be like the dubious Martin Amidu but must honestly expedite the investigation and prosecution of corrupt officials he becomes aware of.

The Chief Justice must come out with directives to the judges to speed up the trial of corrupt officials arraigned before them without their probably usual colluding delays through unnecessary adjournments.

Yes, the president will fix it to the admiration of discerning Ghanaians. The cheap political point the NDC want to score through the “Fix it” shenanigans will not materialise but rather backfire on their face.

The Airbus scandal will also be surely fixed to the dismay of the NDC and their leadership! The silliness (tomfoolery) of the fix it outcry by the very defaulters is amazing.

His Excellency the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has the obligation to deliver his promises as much and prudently as he can. He must not leave any stone unturned.

He must not yield in to pleas by chiefs to spare any corrupt official, murderer, illegal miner etc., caught in the crossfire of his fight to fix the problems facing the nation.

He who comes across this publication must please forward it until it reaches the president.