Kufuor Flees His Own Shadow

By Solomon Davids

Former President Kufuor appears to be running away from his own shadow following an interview he granted the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), in which he claimed he and his former ministers are being treated badly by the ruling NDC. Ex-President Kufuor shocked Ghanaians with his statement as many wondered what would have informed his claim at a time he is being treated far better than his predecessor, Jerry John Rawlings.

His claims sent the nation down memory lane between 2001 and 2008 when several members of the then opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), together with its founder and ex-president Rawlings and now President Mills, were treated like criminals under investigation.

The list of those who suffered maltreatment under the command of then President Kufuor includes Former President Rawlings and his wife, Prof. Atta Mills and his wife, E.T Mensah, Kwame Peperah, Ibrahim Adams, George Sipah-Yankey, the late Victor Selormey, Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata, Dan Abodakpi among others.

Anyone who had anything to do with the NDC was criminalized to the point that belonging to the party was just like being a member of a criminal gang. Ex-President Rawlings had his privileges cut down by Nana Akufo-Addo with the full blessing of President Kufuor; he had to attend the offices of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) on several occasions on comments he made about the Kufuor-led administration. To add insult to injury, his wife was accused of wrongdoing and was on trial until the last days of the NPP administration, when President Kufuor shamefully withdrew the case.

Professor Mills’ wife was searched at home in the absence of her husband and cars being used by the family were forcefully taken away from her.. Victor Selormey, former Deputy Minister for Finance died in Jail and Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata, former boss of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, nearly followed suit but for divine intervention.

E.T. Mensah, former Minister for Youth and Sports, was hauled to the BNI for making a statement at the 37 Military Hospital during the May 9 Disaster in 2001. The list of atrocities and criminalization of people who had anything to do with the NDC is unending.

It is therefore shocking that ex-President Kufuor is saying things that do not exist. Probably, it is a trick he is employing to stop the wheel of justice from rolling and ensuring that the loot that took place under his administration is uncovered. Having refused to take four (4) luxurious vehicles provided to him by the state, all ex-President Kufuor is saying is that unless he is treated like an Arabian king, the state is maltreating him. As for the investigations into cases involving some ex-ministers, Kufuor can only be day-dreaming to think that President Mills will allow their corrupt acts to pass without justice, especially when one of the cardinal reasons for which the suffering masses voted for him was his vow to make corruption unattractive.

Ex-President Kufuor needs to wake up from his dream before it is too late.