Mr President, Hear Ye this – Every Unique Problem has Its Unique Solution (Part II)

President Akufo-Addo

How do we judge, or declare, one team as being better than the other after a football match? Is it not by the number of winning goals the acclaimed better team scored as against the team that lost the match? Do we base the judgment on how better the players played, the styles and dribbling even if they had lost the match?

Why would the late Ghanaian football legend, Baba Yara, after whom the Kumasi Sports Stadium is named, say, “Goal na ma fe fe?” It is because he wanted his team to win to emerge as the best team. The team could only win and be given a pat on the back if it scored more goals than the rival team.

Again, why is Cristian Ronaldo admired by most football fans and often declared the best footballer in the world or in a football tournament? Is it the styles he plays or the number of goals he scores? The objective of every good footballer or football team is to score more goals? Isn’t it?

The methods or styles they adopt to score the goals are irrelevant as long as the goals scored are many and are declared genuine. Am I wrong, although I am not a football enthusiast? More goals scored, the game won, the objective achieved. More styles adopted, no goals scored, the objective not achieved. This is the philosophy of a football tournament.

The same can be transposed to leadership. A good leader or president is he who is resoundingly able to achieve his cardinal policies within a promised timeframe. It is not about achieving all their campaign promises which should fall within a long term development plan for their country but the outstanding ones that became the rallying focal points attracting the electorates to their side to earn them the victory.

If the methods in place to realising such promises or objectives had been tried over years and are found ineffective, what should you do? Do you have to adopt new methods that are capable of achieving the set objectives or you still have to hope on the old methods to deliver the expected results no matter how long they take?

The systems in place in Ghana, especially the judicial system, are known not to work in the collective interests of the citizens but in the self-serving interests of particular persons, especially those in charge of such systems or services or those who offer them bribes or promises of some kind. If it were not so, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo would not have created the Office of the Special Prosecutor. If it were not so, the Ghanaian “ace investigative” journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas” in his exposé on judicial corruption in Ghana would not have found some judges taking bribes to twist delivery of justice in favour of the otherwise guilty parties in lawsuits.

If some of the systems are not reliable enough to deliver certain dire results, why should a president desirous to obtain positive results in fulfilment of his electioneering promises still fall back on same corrupted systems when he has the right and power to adopt more radical but lawful means to get things done much quicker and better?

Failing to adopt credible methods to solve urgent problems, e.g. the devastating chronic institutional corruption in Ghana, will make whoever is the president of Ghana a failure without any ifs or buts. Corruption, if not fought successfully, will erode away any gains any president chalks in any sector of the Ghanaian economy.

Going forward, who is a good teacher, tutor or professor, if I may have the guts to ask? Is it not the one who is capable of successfully imparting their knowledge to their pupils or students? A teacher may be highly qualified with all the higher degrees you can just imagine of, however, he/she may be poor in delivering their subject lessons to the understanding of the pupils or students. The other may be less qualified but can deliver to the best understanding and appreciation of the pupils or students. Which of these two teachers, tutors or professors, do you think the students will prefer more to the other?

So also, a president who adopts ways and means to deliver on their promises which are of collective interests to the populace will be more welcomed and praised than the one who gets confused and ends up not doing much irrespective of their superb leadership qualities or integrity.

Why would the late Accra High Court Justice Agyepong, say to his late nephew Kwame Nyame a.k.a Emmanuel Marfo that “Some judges may have higher educational qualifications but are unable to deliver fair judgment?” Is it not probably because these judges allow corruption to dictate to them how they must render their verdict? Could it not be that although they are judges and are highly qualified[SN1] , they still don’t understand the tricks and the ethics of their profession?

I am sure Ghana is not a bigger, stronger and better democracy than the United States of America (USA) or the United Kingdom (UK). Do we see what is going on in these two bigger democracies under the presidency of Donald Trump and the premiership of Boris Johnson, respectively? With their “American interest” and “British interest” respectively, look at the policies they are stubbornly pursuing which to the Ghanaian may appear in flagrant of democracy. Once the policies achieve the set objectives to the best interests of their citizens and countries, they are happier with the delivery methods adopted.

I think His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo cannot claim to be better than them. Subsequently, he must pursue another method to nail corruption to the history books in his first term as the president of Ghana without any further delay. His reliance on referrals to the same corrupt and ineffective investigative agencies to solve the endemic official corruption in Ghana will NOT work?

If the old systems which are still current work satisfactorily, why would Hon Martin Amidu, the Special Prosecutor, sue the Attorney General, Hon Gloria Akuffo, for failing to carry out an order to retrieve a €47 million judgement debt paid illegally to Waterville Holding owned by Mr Alfred Agbesi Woyome?

Amidu drags AG to Supreme Court over €47m Waterville judgment debt

Mr President, could you please do the necessary to deal with the official corruption in Ghana? Should you fail to deal with it, then I am afraid, your year 2020 re-election bid is in danger concluding from the views many Ghanaians are expressing.

They appreciate your free Senior High School education policy but your failure to successfully prosecute many corrupt officials will pale off the education policy.

Why can’t the double salary MPs cum Ministers be prosecuted? Is that attitude not a crime? Ghanaians are watching and will decide at the appropriate time.

Time is running out, Mr President!
Rockson Adofo
Friday, 13 September 2019