You are here: HomeOpinionsArticles2016 12 14Article 494081

Opinions of Wednesday, 14 December 2016

Columnist: Adofo, Rockson

President-elect Nana Akufo Addo is a unifier

President-elect, Nana Akufo-Addo President-elect, Nana Akufo-Addo

By Rockson Adofo

Unlike certain past or present leaders or Presidents who claimed to be father for all but noticeably became father for only the members of their political parties and tribes, Nana Akufo Addo will indeed be a father for all Ghanaians irrespective of one’s political inclination or tribal extraction.

Had President Mahama not once said he was the President of the NDC faithful hence sought to favour only the NDC party members and the people of certain tribal extractions? This attitudinal lack of political farsightedness but little-mindedness coupled with political bigotry on the part of President Mahama led to the practice of selective justice in Ghana where the NDC members committed various acts of crimes with impunity.

The mere fact that the President overlooked the rampant crimes being committed by the NDC government and party, each Tom, Dick and Harry within the party felt they could use that golden but lopsided opportunity to enrich themselves illegally hence the sad state of Ghana’s economy today.

The President-elect has assured all Ghanaians in his acknowledgment letter to the congratulatory message sent to him by former President Rawlings that he will not pursue any policy of witch hunt. He believes he had better tackle the more serious economic problems besetting the nation in order to alleviate the Ghanaian masses of their economic hardships.

What is a witch hunt at all, one may want to know? It is defined as “an attempt to find and punish people whose opinions are unpopular and who are said to be a danger to society”

For Ghana to move forward and for the people of Ghana to prosper under the presidency of God-fearing Nana Akufo Addo, there should absolutely be no instances of divisiveness, nepotism, cronyism and overlooking of acts of lawlessness committed by certain group of people or by his NPP party members and supporters.

No, such acts of favouritism practiced under President Mahama have brought the economy, the safety and the security of Ghanaians to the ebb as we witness today. Subsequently, President-elect Nana Akufo Addo will not go down that path.

However, there should be a policy for anti-corruption that will not only seek to dissuade and punish would-be perpetrators of corruption but also, directed at retrieving almost all, or part of, the ill-gotten wealth, by our politicians who have come to see politics as an arena of amassing illegal wealth.

When such a policy is introduced to recoup the money blatantly stolen by any Ghanaian politician or person, please, do not see that as a witch hunt. It is not hence the reason why I took pains to define what constitutes a witch hunt.

All those politicians who have illegally amassed wealth, abusing their positions, right from DCEs through to the office of the President should please start making arrangements to pay some or all of the money back. This is my personal opinion as a citizen of Ghana. There is absolutely no correlation between my expressed opinion as you read now and President-elect Nana Akufo Addo’s formulation of anti-corruption policies.

He knows best and I have absolute confidence in him to do a better job to bring smiles back to our faces.

The God that he believes in, in Whom he entrusted all his political aspirations and surrendered himself wholeheartedly, that God, will guide and redirect his steps so that he does not fail.

Please, if you are a politician and know very well that you have misused your position to acquire illegal wealth, I advise you to dig deeper into your conscience and start make reparations. Don’t wait for a policy to be made or for someone to approach you before you start taking initiatives to refund part, or all, of the money to the State.

The stubborn ones who may decide to resort to crafty ways to conceal their illegally-acquired wealth thinking Ghanaians are that dumb not to be able to detect their tricks may probably live to regret their actions. Such people may themselves be living in the fool’s paradise or may be tickling themselves and laughing.

The resolve by Ghanaians through legal means to assist President-elect Nana Akufo Addo to better the conditions of living of the entire Ghanaian population cannot be underestimated. Nonetheless, they will not do anything to undermine him but to help him.