Kufuor Okays 'All Die Be Die'
Former President John Agyekum Kufuor yesterday endorsed the controversial 'all die be die' refrain used by Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, describing it as a natural response to the incessant attacks of a bully.
Explaining that it is not a negative refrain at all, President Kufuor created a scenario of an underdog who is always at the receiving end of a bully's attack.
'One day such a victim would muster courage and dare his aggressor, 'come on I am ready to die'. It is at this stage that the aggressor would discover the manliness of the person he has always bullied,' he told Ekuorba Gyasi of Hot FM yesterday.
Mr Kufuor had earlier deferred media comments on the matter to Nana Addo when he was asked by journalists for his views.
It is untoward to have one person all over the place bullying people, he said, adding that the 'all die be die' refrain is therefore not a negative idea but a natural response after getting fed up with constant attacks.
''All die be die' is an instantaneously courageous revolt against bullies by perceived weaklings who may have gotten to their wits end as a result of having suffered perennial bullying at the hands of bullies. I think that should be a normal human practice. We can't allow any one person to hold us eternally hostage when that person doesn't even have our welfare at heart. They must be made to know their limit. It is important that Ghanaians clearly understand what the slogan 'all die be die' means,' Mr. Kufuor said.
The former President was speaking to Hot FM, an Accra-based radio station, following his arrival from the United States where he was named co-winner of the World Food Prize Foundation award for 2011, alongside former Brazilian President Inacio da Silva da Lula at a ceremony in Washington last week.
The two former leaders will share the $250,000 prize money, with the Ghanaian former president promising to use his portion for a leadership foundation.
The former President described the interview as one which afforded him the opportunity to discuss issues he would otherwise not have done.
He described as irresponsible, persons who label others as dealing in drugs when there is no evidence to support such allegations.
The former President was reacting to yesterday's utterances by the head of the Narcotics Control Board, Yaw Akrasi Sarpong during which the latter sought to label some politicians as dealers in narcotic drugs.
'Ghanaians talk too much. Issues about people dealing in drugs is about the law and so persons who make them should be mindful about what they say,' he said.
Responsible citizens should report people they suspect of dealing in narcotics, if they have evidence, to the police, he said, adding, 'Not doing so would render such a person irresponsible. I know Akrasi Sarpong very well; if he sees such activities and fails to alert the security agencies then he has goofed.'
Continuing, he said, 'If there is no evidence to the allegations he is throwing out, he is only polluting the atmosphere.'
Many would jump to the conclusion that persons riding big beautiful cars are dealing in narcotics, he said.
'Such persons who make allegations against others do not undertake investigations before drawing their conclusions.'
On whether political parties use drug money to fund their activities as being alleged by the NACOB boss, Mr Kufuor said he did not use such funds to run the New Patriotic Party (NPP), explaining that in every organization such as a political party there are bad nuts, and so it would be improper to describe a party such a person belongs to as a party dealing in drugs.
'There are bad nuts in the NPP, NDC and CPP and so it would be improper to use the case of one to describe the whole party,' he said, adding, 'I did not use cocaine money to fund the NPP. There is too much generalization in the country. A man in the position of Akrasi Sarpong should not be talking the way he is doing.'
Former President Kufuor's interview also touched on his relationship with ex-President Jerry John Rawlings.
He took a swipe at the man he took over from as President, stating that 'when God lifts you to the high office of president you should be mindful about how you talk'.
On Rawlings' claim that he (Kufuor) has stashed enough money to support the NPP in the next campaign, he sneered and asked, 'Which money is he talking about?'
Ex-President Rawlings, he said, should avoid using foul language in his utterances.
'Go and ask the big contractors whether they have ever given money to me after winning a contract'.
There are no instances of former presidents going to jail for embezzling state funds after leaving office, he charged.
Responding to Rawlings' allegations would only mess up the political atmosphere, he added.
'I came to serve my country. Rawlings' allegations have no basis. He does not know what he is saying.'
Former President Kufuor's response to his relationship with President John Evans Atta Mills made interesting hearing.
'President Mills should not consult me on governance since after all we belong to different parties and the idea is to have one's party come to power and so I do not expect him to consult me on a regular basis on how he should prosecute his programmes,' he said.
He added however that 'there is the need to show respect to those who have served their time and are in retirement. What is needed is respect.'
He was quick to add that things have changed these days in the relationship between him and his successor, explaining, 'Mills shows me respect and a few days ago he called to congratulate me upon my winning the award. I was highly elated by the gesture. He told me that he was glad that I had made the country proud. He does not speak to me about the challenges of office but now shows me respect.'
On the chances of the NPP coming back to power in the next elections, he was upbeat, saying, 'I am a democrat and given the fact that the NPP is a big party and considering the developments on the ground, I am confident that the party would return to power in the next elections.'
In recent times, there have been talk about homosexualism but for the former president, it is awful and should not be embraced by society.
'With beautiful ladies all over the place why would a man seek to have affairs with his fellow man? It is bad and unfavourable to procreation. It is a curse,' he said.
Always ready to give witty counsel, former President Kufuor advised Ghanaians not to consider political parties as vehicles of war but a tool for the development of the nation.
He likened it to a person traveling and would prefer a fast-moving vehicle to a slow one for the trip. 'Parties are vehicles of development and not war,' he said.
Regarding the cash award of about $250,000 which would be bestowed upon him in October in the US, he said, 'I intend using the money to set up a foundation through which a museum and libraries would be built in Kumasi. I would also have established at the University of Ghana, Legon, a centre where students can draw from the wise counsel of retired professionals and academics in such fields as Mathematics and others. This way, such students upon completion of their studies would develop the needed confidence to carry on with their lives.'
By A.R. Gomda