The Unpardonable Sins of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo

Bala Ali
No word defines him more than selflessness. History indeed presents former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as a selfless man, whose public actions benefitted others more than him.

If he fought any legal battle, he did it for the good of others. If he led a demonstration, he did it for the general good of Ghanaians. For instance, in the case of Tuffour v Attorney General, the lawyer, politician and statesman, served as the lead counsel of the plentiff, to protect the interest of Justice Fred Apaloo, the then Chief Justice, in particular, and Ghana as a whole. So did he play a pivotal role in the 1995 Kumi Preko demonstration to protect the poor Ghanaian tax payer against the Value Added Tax (VAT), which they at the time, felt was a introduced to financially execute the citizens.

Nana Akufo-Addo is by nature, a man who enjoys being hailed for the good he does to promote the general well-being of mankind. No wonder his law firm has trained many of the fine legal brains the nation boasts of. He is also on record to have influenced and supported many young men and women to pursue the law profession and other ventures, some of whom have publicly testified to this effect. An example of someone who has publicly acknowledged the former President for supporting him to pursue the law profession is Mr. Justin Kodua Frimpong, the current General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

It therefore, came as no surprise to Ghanaians when the former President introduced policies that sought to protect the interest of the poor who have been denied the social protection of the state despite their numerous contributions to building the nation. Sadly, however, his good-will turned out to be self inflicted sins that he had to pay dearly and continues to pay for them. In sobs, I give an account of these unpardonable sins of a President who meant well for the people he assumed office to serve with clean conscience and good-will.

To promote the general good of the poor Ghanaian child, who couldn't access secondary education, the man who has never tasted poverty in his life, introduced the free Senior High School Education policy. The main object of the policy -- making secondary accessible to the poor, was realized as enrollment of students at this level of education shot up exponentially.

Predictably, however, the teething problems associated with the policy surfaced as senior high schools suffered acute congestion. Political opponents passed comments to the effect that they wished the policy had failed for them to score political points. Thankfully, however, the then deputy Education Minister, Dr. Yaw Adutwum, led the ministry to contain the over crowding problem with the famous double track system.

In one way or the other, the double track system distorted the educational calendar as school children spent more time in their homes. This was a typical national problem that needed nationalistic and patriotic approach but that wasn't the case. Political opponents rather chose to take advantage of the situation to incite parents and school children against President Akufo-Addo and his NPP. Sadly enough, they fell for this and that reflected in the 2024 general elections.

Despite the negative publicity the free SHS education policy received, nothing untoward happened to secondary education in the country. Ghanaian school children performed better in their West African Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) under this policy. The first batch of this policy made the nation proud as three best candidates for the WASSCE in 2020 came from Ghana. The science students also trilled the nation with brilliant performance in the National Science and Maths Quiz. Notwithstanding the citizens still felt the policy was an unpardonable sin President Akufo-Addo must pay for. So, they voted against him and his party in the 2024 general elections and continue to mock him for doing them the good no President ever did.

Nana Akufo-Addo never listens. At a time, that Ghanaians had shown signs of ingratitude to him for doing them good, he still chose to obey his conscience, when the citizens needed him most. This is when the country had its share of the coronavirus pandemic. Typical of President Akufo-Addo, he chose to protect the lives of the poor masses over the economy. To this end, he provided the citizens with what it took to resist the deadly virus. The consequence of this was the economic crises the country faced after the pandemic.

Obviously, the former President would have felt that the citizens would appreciate his decision to protect their lives against the virus and cooperate with his government to take austere decisions to revive the economy. He again got it wrong as Ghanaians failed to appreciate his good-will on this matter. Again, he was accused of sinning for choosing to protect their lives against the deadly virus that plagued and killed millions of people worldwide.

Mr. President, it doesn't matter how much the very Ghanaians who benefitted from your policies and decisions have used same against you. What matters most is the fact that you meant well for them and you did your best for them. So, never feel bad for the good you did for the citizens when you had the opportunity to serve them. God, the fair minded and your conscience are the best judge on this matter.

May the good Lord bless you for the propaganda-laden sins you have been accused of and made to pay for? We love you, Mr. President!

The author is an Information Officer with the Information Services Department, a columnist with Modern Ghana, an esteemed online news portal and a regular contributor to News Commentary, a current affairs programme, by the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC).