You are here: HomeOpinionsArticles2011 01 10Article 200907

Opinions of Monday, 10 January 2011

Columnist: Adofo, Rockson

Mills Makes a Mockery of a Supreme Court's Decision

Many are beginning to wonder if President Mills is actually his own man. Is he
currently in his right frame of mind as compared to when he was a lecturer at the
University of Ghana? He is though intellectually knowledgeable enough to understand
the democratic principles of his office; he allows his thoughts to be manipulated by
the undemocratic principles of certain individuals within the NDC? Does he
understand, and can he differentiate between the distinctive functions of the organs
of government, that is, the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary in a
democratic State? I am afraid not. President Mills being usually slow, and
permanently distracted through needless castigation by Rawlings and his ilk, may not
know. President Mills having been shot into political limelight by the lawless
cowboy-NDC party, any Tom, Dick and Harry within the party thinks to be able to
dictate to him. Although he is not a cat hunter as Nana Dr.Okumkrah Kwabena
Adjei, the NDC Chairman, he may soon become one the longer he stays in NDC
interacting with the likes of Dr. Kwabena Adjei, Asiedu Nketia (General Mosquito)
and Togbe Avaklasu.


President Mills in answer to a question posed at the Editors Forum as to his
rumoured intention to seek to relief the Chief Justice of her duties said, "Stay
where you are. Look at my face and listen to my voice. Do I look and sounds like a
cat hunter?" By this joke, he is distancing himself from the evil intentions of some
members of his party. But it is said, "He that lies down with dogs will rise up with
fleas" He may not only become a cat hunter but a feline eater the longer he stays in
NDC with the type of Kwabena Adjeis surrounding him.


What powers has he as a President of a democratic State to overrule or purport to
overrule the decision of the country's Supreme Court? Unless he sees himself as a
typical lawless NDC fanatic same as Togbe Avaklasu Rawlings and the supposed ankle,
knee, leg or foot soldiers, that have no respect for the tenets of democracy, he
could be said to have goofed big time at the Editors Forum held at the Castle on
Friday, 7th January 2011. He had responded to a question put to him by Kwami Sefa
Kayi of the Peace FM's flagship morning show, Kookrokoo, by saying," Let nobody
forget that NDC has December 31st as one of its founding days. I cannot change
it...Other political parties may have founders day that they are not even disclosing
and they may be associated with something else. But what I'm saying is that, I
belong to NDC; this is the party’s Founding Day and if people decide to celebrate
it, I will encourage them to do so. Pure and Simple!”


President Mills is currently the First Citizen of Ghana but he has not the mandate
to flout the laws of the land at whim. He cannot govern by whim. It will be recalled
that the Supreme Court ruling at the end of 1993 banned the public commemoration of
the 31st December 1981 Revolution with State funds. There seems to a Cenotaph
erected at the Jubilee/Flagstaff House where Rawlings, his wife, and the NDC lots
have been laying wreaths to the memory of the supposed fallen comrades of the 31st
December 1981 Revolution since Mr. Kakra Fiifi Evans John Atta Mills took over as
the President of the Republic of Ghana. Is the State not somehow sponsoring the
celebrations where the seat of government is always made available for the lawless
NDC guys to congregate to chant their war songs, beat their chests like domineering
male chimps marking out their territories after which wreaths are laid? What does
President Mills take Ghanaians for by saying, he will
encourage his NDC family to celebrate the 31st December 1981 Coup d'état? Does he
understand that the Coup d'état was not only illegal but maimed and killed a lot of
Ghanaians physically, mentally and psychologically?


Does Ghana belong to only the NDC family? Indeed, he is the father of all. By his
actions, discerning Ghanaians are able to tell who actually he is. Does he actually
understand the checks and balances as pertained under true democratic systems where
each organ of government operates independently from one another? How and why then
does he think to possess the power to disregard the Supreme Court's decision? It
must be made clear to President Mills without mincing words that Ghana is no longer
under the dictatorial "Nkrumah Show boy" rule as stringently applied and epitomized
by his Godfather J.J. Rawlings. Supreme Court decisions are far superior to, and do
override those of a President where clarifications are sought in the event of policy
litigation.


Did President Mills unanimously agree with his ECOWAS Heads of State on the passage
of a resolution to remove the Ivorian President, Laurent Gbagbo, from office through
military intervention in the event of persuasion failing? If he did, why is he
reneging on his promise when indeed the situation has become precarious? Is he such
a coward and a traitor? Does he fear it will be a recipe for disaster for future
Africa Dictator Heads of State of whom Rawlings, his master, once was and always
aspires to be?


Even a dickhead knows that Laurent Gbagbo is also trying hard to avail himself of
Power Sharing. If Kenya and Zimbabwe have done it, why not he, one may ask? Will
such power sharing not become the order of Africa democracy if tolerated? Will it
not in the end negate the benefits of true democracy by indirectly opening a door
for Africa dictators to continually legitimize their position? The ECOWAS and UN are
trying on the other hand to prevent such rubbish from gaining roots or ramifying in
Africa where dictator Heads of State abound. Rawlings had to be persuaded to hand
over government to Kufuor even though he had come to the end of his two-term period
and was himself not a contestant in the election. If he was, he would surely have
done Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Emilio Mwai Kibaki of Kenya, or Laurent Gbagbo of Ivory
Coast.


Let us support the decision taken by President Mills on the issue of Ivory Coast if
and only if, it is in the long term best interest of Ghana. Remember the maritime
location of Ghana's much hyped commercial oil-find. The less I talk about this, the
much better.


To those NDC government Ministers with diarrheic mouths I say, "Better is the poor
that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool"
- Proverbs 19:1. I am a cocoa farmer's son, come from the Ashanti Region so I feel
greatly hurt when these naïve baby-face NDC government Ministers run their
foul-mouth against my kind. How unscrupulous can they be? Bite ye not the finger
that feeds thee but these NDC guys are doing the very opposite. At the opportune
time in 2012, they will be shown the exit.


Rockson Adofo