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Opinions of Sunday, 13 May 2012

Columnist: The Herald

Kuffuor, A Statesman Or A Hypocrite?

“Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools speak because they have to say something.” - Plato

While former President John Agyekum Kufuor run his mouth, accusing himself of being an evil genius, many knew his foolery knew no bounds. His accusations of himself were some disjointed hybrid of truth and falsehood.

As for being evil, yes he was so very vindictive. But as for being genius, he was pregnant with hubris. For him to classify himself a genius and a wise man even in breach is a haughty accusation.

President Kufuor, has in the matter of Kenedy Agyepong exposed his folly and have let some of us who see him as a statesman down. As somebody who was the head of state for eight years from 2001-2008, his observations and what he says is very important and critical as far as the administration of this country is concerned.

First of all, as a member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the party that has always touted itself as being the bastion of rule of law, justice and democracy, the Ex-President should have known that it was the rule of law that was being applied to Kennedy Agyepong.

I am utterly surprised when the rule of law is being applied to any member of their party (NPP), they are the first to shout and question the very process they so much revel in and claim credit for being in the forefront of establishing democracy. Mr. Kufuor, if he is not being a hypocrite should be the first to understand how the process works, because he was once there.

Politicians as I have always maintained amuses me a lot, they never cease to surprise me, they have such a short memory, it hurts listening to them talk when the shoe pinches.

Did I hear President Kufuor say, the government was using a sledge hammer to kill a fly? Finally, finally, the Chickens have come home to roost and Mr. Kufuor have further exposed his foolery, not to condemn what Kennedy Agyepong said, but rather to throw his weight behind this moron, whose actions and utterances is eroding the successes we have choked in our forward movement towards deepening our tottering democracy, and cohesion.

Mr. Kufuor ruled a peaceful country without anybody declaring a war. When the Former President Jerry John Rawlings addressing National Democratic Congress (NDC) members opened his mouth too wide and talked of positive defiance i.e. people should not obey unlawful order, he was invited by the Bureau Of National Investigations (BNI) to come and explain what he meant by positive defiance. How a statement like this could plunge the country into chaos and civil war, only Kufuor could say, yet he did use the sledge hammer, when it suited him.

The late Dan Lartey of the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP), when in his observation of Kufuor’s abysmal said that the NPP regime were not running the country well and called for an “early election”. He was quickly summoned to the BNI to go and explain himself.

If you live in a glass house, you are not expected to throw stones or as it is said those who seek equity must first come with clean hands.

Did we not know that if we ever wish to grow as a nation we should build strong institutions before President Barak Obama of the United States of America came to Ghana in 2010 to address our Parliament? Is it that we are as dumb as the whites’ think we are or we always wait to be told to do what we know already but are reluctant to do. When the young man from Kenya came and said we should build strong institutions instead of strong personalities we all hailed him, including Kufuor and his apparatchiks in the NPP.

Those that the God’s wants to destroy, they first make mad, you see when Ken was granted bail, the NPP said it was victory for the rule of law.

When he (Ken) had the opportunity to address the teeming supporters of the NPP who had converged at the party headquarters, he commended the Police Service for their professionalism and even said they could do more if given the necessary logistics.

Civil Society Organizations, religious Leaders, and all well-meaning Ghanaians have all condemned the moronic tribal, and inciteful statement of Ken Agyepong, whom I had described in one of my articles as only being fit for the market place and not parliament. Apologies to our mothers and sisters who sell in the market, I did not mean to look down upon what they do.

To Kufuor everything is about money, wealth, which in-turn will ensure his immortality. His conscience is and has always being for sale. If not how can any serious being support the behavior of Kennedy Agyepong.

Unless of course he (Kufuor) is simply just being mischievous, and this is one of the ploys he is adopting to ensure that Nana Akufo-Addo will only remain a relic in the political history of this country.

Mr. Kufuor has never liked the idea that Nana Addo wants to be President so will do everything possible including support some misguided statement as the one made by Kennedy, so far as it will make the NPP and Nana Addo unpopular.

The comments of Ken has rubbed the NPP so much that the party had issued a press release distancing the party from the hate speech, that explains why Nana Addo, has kept mute over the statement. Any comment in support of him could only aggravate the hatred people are developing for the party, and re-enforcing the widely held notion that NPP is an Akan party.

When Nana Addo made his famous all-die-be-die comments to party supporters in Koforidua, and Kufuor was asked what he thinks about that irrational comments, all he said was “go and asked the person who made the comments”. How is that different from what Ken had said?

What has the government of Atta Mills done that Mr. Kufuor did not do twice? We were all witnesses to what happened to Tsatsu Tsikata, a law abiding citizen, who had answered the governments charges slapped against him, and had gone to Church on Sunday to praise his maker, only for Security Men to turn-up in Church to arrest him. Was Kufuor using a sledge hammer to kill an Elephant in this instance?

Did Kufuor use the security service to torments his opponents, which he thinks President Mills is doing the same? Ironically the man was on his way out of the country when he made that unfortunate statement in an interview, of course if the country should burn because Kennedy said Ashanti’s must kill Ewes and Gas and the Ewes and Gas decides to also respond to defend their territory, Mr. Kufuor would be long gone.

Kennedy Agyepong goofed and must be told in the face that as a Member of Parliament (MP) and an opinion leader in society you must guided by what u say and your words must be above reproach.

The political tensions are already high, and leaders such as Kufuor, must rather used their influence to help reduce the tensions that always seem to characterize all our electoral processes.

Nobody is happy about the way the issue is being dealt with especially towards election time, when we should be preaching unity, but I think it is time someone gets punished for making stupid statement. As an individual, Mr. Kufuor, should understand that Kennedy Agyepong has the right to make whatever statement he so wishes but, however, when you go on air, there are certain rules and guidelines that must be followed and this moron totally ignored them.

Statement like “I will rally NPP supporters to defend themselves is nothing less than treason and Kufuor must recognize it as such, this is an idiotic ranting from an idiot, period.

I believe the people of Ghana have a long way to go and with diligence they would ward off the evil intentions of these evil men who know nothing but how to lie and deceive the very people they claim to love. Let me refresh your mind Mr. President. This is food for thought.

GHANA CRIMINAL CODE, 1960 (ACT 29)

Section 200—Provocation of Riot—whoever does any act with intent to provoke a riot shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

Section 207—Offensive Conduct Conducive to Breaches of Peace.

Any person who in any public place or at any public meeting uses threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with intent to provoke a breach of the peace or where-by a breach of the peace is likely to be occasioned, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.