End of Year Advice to the President - Going into Year 2020

Belated Merry Christmas to you, the President of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. I thank God for keeping you strong, healthy and well-focused.

As the year 2019 has almost drawn to an end with year 2020 so near, rearing its beautiful but not ugly head, I feel it incumbent upon me to not only convey the Christmas greetings to the President but also, bring to his attention messages of importance or advice. When you love someone, you care about him or her always. You guide the person. You advise the person to do the right things. You take steps to protect the person. And, you point out the persons mistakes to him/her to keep them on the correct path as well as praising the person when they do the right thing.

Mr President, I know you have been trying your hardest to deliver your campaign promises to Ghanaians. It does not take one, two, three, or four years, to be able to fully fulfil your numerous visionary promises to the nation. It takes more than that since the policies and programmes espoused in your manifesto fall within a long term development plan which Ghana unfortunately has none. However, most Ghanaians are holding you to account to deliver your promises at the crack of the finger because you have made them. I will not accuse them of not being politically savvy, although their high expectations culminating in outcries to you to deliver all your promises now are surreal.

It is said, "It is never too late until it is late". You are still on course to delivering your promises BUT the most important promise for which Ghanaians voted for you massively seems not delivered or not being delivered. It is the fight against institutional corruption in the country. Many Ghanaians knew you to be a very strict person able to exterminate or reduce official perpetration of corruption in Ghana. However, that trust in you to curtail corruption has flown out of the window into the sky as does the griffon vulture which can fly at an altitude of 37,000 feet above sea level.

All is not lost on you yet, although the political terrain has become more slippery as year 2020 comes into play.

Mr President, as I always say, I shall not be telling you what you want to hear but what you need to hear. You may be different, preferring to hear the truth but since biblical times, it is on record that most leaders prefer to hear only sweet words or good things reported as being said about them by the public even if such reports are completely false. Without being told the truth, you wouldn't know exactly what the public are saying or thinking about you to redirect your steps for the better. And, failing to adhere to the wishes of the people comes at a higher unfortunate cost.

I shall advise you to seek to listen to the voice of those that appear to be your critics but not only to the voice of those that surround you. Those closer to you may not tell you the absolute truth for fear of incurring your anger. They will tell you sweet lies in the hope of keeping their jobs and affiliation to you instead of telling you the bitter truth to help you understand the reality of things as they are prevalent on the ground to readjust yourself to meet the expectations of the governed.

Benjamin Franklin, one of the America founding fathers, said, “Critics are our friends, they show us our faults.” Subsequently, the president must have ears for his critics, sift their criticisms to take what is best for the nation rather than to ignore them completely, although some criticisms are destructive and are done in bad faith.

Don't get me wrong. It is said tat the majority is always right but with exceptions to rules, it can well be accepted that "It is not always that the majority is right". Whether Ghanaians' demands on you are right or not, you need to hear what they are saying to make informed decisions, that is the bottom line. You can choose to ignore them but since they hold the ultimate power at the end of the day, according to our democratic dispensation, you do so at your own peril.

Please, let effective communication become your weaponised tool to employ in year 2020. Get effective, well-trained and well-resourced communication teams on the ground, armed with your truthfully-achieved programmes to tell to the Ghanaian public. They have to explain why you have not met all their demands on you and your plans to meeting them. Without communicating with the people, your political rivals can easily turn the public against you, painting you darker than you appear, to them.

You may be happy with the achievements by the Office of the Special Prosecutor so far. Nonetheless, the public including myself see the office as not pulling its weight to meet the high expectations of the public. Your greatest political success hinges on the Special Prosecutor's successfully prosecution of corrupt past and present government officials. Help solve the problems facing him in case there are any, to enable him swing into real action.

It is never true that all your appointees are performing satisfactorily. Would you please look into that; have in place a complaint mechanism with dedicated and honest persons chosen to look at the complaints to report to you for actions to be taken?

The clock is ticking with the alarm bells sounding. All is not easy for you and NPP come election 2020. Should you fail to listen to the clamouring by the public to better explain things to them, then the NPP are digging their own grave to be buried in at election 2020. The NPP leaders are known to erect iron fences around them once the party comes to power. They tend to look down on those who put them there, according to the opinion of many. That is political incorrectness if not suicidal.

Mr President, God anointed you for that position. The same God touched the hearts of many a Ghanaian to play different roles for His purpose for you to come to pass. The same God will appoint people to redirect your steps through advice and suggestions as it does not belong to he who is leading to redirect their steps. God, has a way of punishing His disobedient servants or people He appoints to lead a nation or other people.

God disowned King Saul when he, Saul, disobeyed Him - 1 Samuel 15. God punished King David, then restored him back to his favourable position when King David realised his fault and repented (King David taking Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite and having him killed and also the rebellion of his own son, Absalom, against him).

Those who may be lying to you do not allow you to see the reality on the ground to readjust the execution of your policies accordingly. Such persons stand to be condemned same as it was in the bible with some people – 1 Kings 18 and 22.

Finally, please rely more on your wife, children and those you perceive to be your political rivals or enemies to learn more about what the majority of Ghanaians are currently saying about you. With that, you will be prepared for success because you will readjust to meet the demands of the people, or do what is on their mind most. Encourage the Inspector General of Police to continue to do the good job he is doing and to punish offending police officers. The incoming Chief Justice must be assisted to fight judicial corruption by sacking judges caught accepting bribes to twist delivery of justice or judges induced to overlook the credible evidential documents before to only pronounce false judgments.

Please, do not be hoodwinked by any powerful traditional overlord to believe that governing a nation is not by applying strict rules but by going it softly softly. No, such advice if heeded will bring you down.

Peace of God be unto you.
Rockson Adofo
Saturday, 28 December 2019