From Eric’s Diary: As the curtains are drawn on Akufo-Addo’s presidency…

In primary school, we were taught this rhyme – “If at first you don’t succeed try, try and try again. then your courage should appear, try again…”

The lesson in this popular rhyme is that it is through failure that we gain experience. And if eventually we succeed, the evidence is there for all to see.

I guess President Akufo-Addo, with whom I am generations apart in terms of age, had similar lessons along the line of his educational journey. That’s because he applied the lesson in this rhyme to the hilt. First, at the party presidential primaries level and subsequently in the national presidential race.

What seems to have done the magic for him in 2016 was the resort to divine intervention. A trip to the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem and a campaign slogan that committed everything to God did the trick – “The battle is the Lord’s.”

Somehow, one cannot say that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s (NADAA) success is there for all to see. It is only New Patriotic Party (NPP) members and his appointees who seem to be experiencing his success- Flying 1^st class out of the country at the least opportunity and riding in the most expensive V8s.

The reality though is that, even within the NPP, there are many who cannot see the success that should have come with NADAA’s success. The situation is so dire that persons who hitherto jump with joy at the mention of Akufo-Addo, now frown at the sight of Blue, Red and White- ‘Wo nfa nfri meso- They should get away,’ they shout.

For those of us outside the NPP, all we see is hardship- a daily rise in the cost of living with no corresponding increase in income. Indeed, journalists are suffering, PR people are suffering, communication consultants are suffering, lecturers are suffering, lawyers are suffering, even pastors are suffering due to a significant drop in money paid as tithe and offering…

Fortunately, President Akufo-Addo is constitutionally barred from seeking re-election. So, he has handed over the baton to Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, who is trying so hard to dissociate himself from the not so successful Akufo-Addo administration- “I am only a driver’s mate, the 2024 budget, is it my budget?” Yet Dr Bawumia claims he is the only Vice President in the 4^th Republic to have spearheaded 33 policies. With which budget? One may ask.

As the curtains are drawn down

With barely three weeks to the December 7 elections, campaigns by NADAA’s New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) have reached fever pitch.

Radio and TV adverts have filled the airways. And it seems to me that the NDC is outdoing the NPP with the ads- in terms of creativity, relatability and number of slots. All this money spent just to serve you and I?

Anyway, a significant implication of this state of affairs is the fact that soon, President Akufo-Addo will become irrelevant in our affairs as a nation. The governance experts refer to this phenomenon as lame duck president- A president is a lame duck after a successor has been elected. Even that will only be until January 6, 2025 when we will be spared of anything Akufo-Addo.

As the countdown begins, I have deemed it appropriate to write my last article on NADAA. And how best than to look at the state in which NADAA is leaving Ghana, after 8 years of being entrusted with the reign of governance and the public purse- “Y3te sika so, nso 3kom di y3n” – We are rich yet hungry.

• Galamsey: Where are the gods?

I studied African Traditional Religion at the Advanced Level. While the study of this subject clarified many hitherto inexplicable happenings, it also made it clear to me that some traditional practices are mere myths.

Some of those that have proven to be mythical are; you don’t sweep at night, you don’t sing while bathing, you don’t whistle at night. There is also the belief that some of the lesser gods reside in rivers, trees etc. and any attempt to disturb such residences attracts their severe wrath- Madness, instant death etc.

I am unable to outrightly consider this as a myth because I have heard and read stories about trees that have been cut to make way for road projects but re-sprout almost instantly. Also, right in the middle of the beach road at the area near the Fire Service Training School in Accra, statues of some lesser gods can be found. Indeed, a whole haven has been created there. The story is that it was impossible to pass the road through that particular portion. Hmm.

However, recent happenings in the country with regard to galamsey or illegal mining have made me wonder if the belief that gods reside in rivers and water bodies still holds. That’s because evidence available show that almost all the rivers in the country, including the Pra, have been polluted due to the effects of galamsey. Even the Densu near Accra, has began showing signs of pollution.

This state of affairs begs the question, where are the gods? Why are the gods not holding President Akufo-Addo to the vow to “put my presidency on the line?” Why are the gods not striking down the polluters of their residences. Well, an explanation has come forth- “They have been appeased with Schnapps and may be drunk from over indulgence,” some say.

• Forever in our faces

When was the last time you heard anybody say anything about ex-president John Agyekum Kufuor (JAK)? Well, he seems to have gone into oblivion. In all the public discourse about governance lately, I have not heard any expert cite him as reference for anything.

The vice-presidential candidate of his party, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, even believes Prez Akufo-Addo has performed better than JAK. It seems to me that it is for this evidence of Ghanaians having short memory, that President Akufo-Addo okayed a decision by the chiefs and people of the Western Region to honour him with a life-size statue in front of the Effia Nkwanta Hospital.

The honour has been condemned by many, especially the residents of Sekondi-Takoradi. As for me, I think politicians don’t learn. This is a mistake JAK committed when he rewarded himself with one of the topmost national awards- the Star of the Eagle of Ghana during the dying embers of his reign.

This is different, you would say. The value is the same, is my response. Not now! is what NADAA should have told the chiefs of Upper Dixcove when they mooted the idea. I dare say that this honour could have been done on 8^th January, 2025 without anybody raising an eyebrow.

• Dumsor (erratic power supply) is back

Yes. But on a low-key. The lights go off for at least four hours a day without any notice. People are having to service their generators on standby. Those of us who don’t have standby generators are forced to adopt Equatoria Guinean Baltasar’s pastime to kill the boredom at night.

On a serious note, what at all is with energy generation that our leaders cannot wrap their heads around? While some say it is a generation/distribution challenge, others opine that it is financial- debt owed Independent Power Producers (IPP). Whatever it is, why can’t we solve this problem once and for all?

When my frustration leads me to conclude that Ghana is a failed state, some say we are not there yet. Really? When we don’t know how to generate enough electricity to power our economy or how to pay for services of IPPs?

–      Dark streets at night

Amid the seeming return of Dumsor, it is as if government has introduced a policy not to switch on street lights at night. Recently, I took a drive from Kasoa to Dawhenya. Throughout the journey, I drove on dark streets.

No single street light was on from Kasoa through the N1, Accra-Tema motorway to the Dawhenya-Aflao road. Remember this route is part of the trans West African Coastal Highway?

The situation remains unaddressed despite numerous campaigns by TV3 and 3news.com to get the relevant authorities to act. And it does not look like the status quo will change anytime soon. At least not within the about 45 days that NADAA’s presidency will expire.

Dark streets!!! when levies are charged on electricity purchased, supposedly for streetlighting. Where does the money go? Why are the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies looking on unconcerned?

Hmm! Living in Ghana now is not sweet at all!!!

• Public transport system remains inhumane

 

Anytime I drive past milling commuters in the morning and evening rush hours and I juxtapose what I witnessed in London and New York, my heart bleeds.

 

In London, one bus is followed by another such that commuters do not have to shove each other to board. After the rush hour, any commuter who arrives at a bus stop is given an indication, on an LED screen, of exactly when the next bus will arrive.

 

In New York, goings on in the sub-way during rush hour is a sight to behold. Trains can be seen moving in a web-like fashion serving commuters who are bound for every corner of the big apple.

 

In contrast, as a commuter one can spend hours standing at bus stops in Accra without gaining access to a ‘trotro’ bound for his or her destination. The Metro Mass Transit company has been run down with only a few buses left on our roads.

 

Close to eight years after setting up a Ministry for Railway Development, Accra cannot boast of a busy railway system that will alleviate the transportation challenges of residents. An attempt to establish a sky train ended at the feasibility study phase with $20m down the drain. Hmmm

 

• The IGP’s bubble has been burst

Dr George Akuffo Dampare had restored some modicum of confidence in the Police with the innovative policing initiatives he introduced upon assumption of duty.

With a few weeks to election however, President Akufo-Addo decided to appoint a Deputy IGP with a specified portfolio of Operations. A decision which in effect tells Dampare to focus on the broader picture and leave election matters to Christian Tetteh Yohonu.

Since then, Damapre has gone shush.

Ei NADAA!!! We can only say farewell.

It’s time to go

The list of things that are not going well as NADAA bows out are numerous. But he has done his bit, albeit below average in my estimation. Not with all the fundamentals being so weak- Inflation rate 22.1, Cedi exchange rate to the dollar GHC17:$1, GDP-$75.31b and unemployment rate- 4%.

Although I wished otherwise, it is becoming clear to me as December 7 approaches that the battle for Jubilee House, is between John Dramani Mahama (JDM) and Dr Mahamudu Bawumia (DMB). As I have said here before, all the attempts by DMB to extricate himself from the performance, nay lack thereof, of the Akufo-Addo administration will not work.

That leaves us with JDM who wants a second chance. That all the surveys conducted recently point to his win, gives credence to our religious nature as Ghanaians- We have forgiven his “dead goat” tendencies. Indeed, some have said that NADAA-DMB’s poor performance has made JDM look like an angel.

My hope is that JDM will make very good use of the second chance IF he gets it. That’s because the task is gargantuan, thus cannot be “business as usual,” to quote what Zanetor Rawlings said at the 4^th anniversary of the passing of JJ Rawlings, founder of the NDC.

I add that four years are not enough to reset Ghana. That is why JDM must focus on getting the basics right immediately.

Here is an abridged version of my long wish list:

• Address factors that cause the cedi to depreciate so rapidly
• Focus on plantation agriculture to create jobs for the teeming unskilled youth
• Facilitate the creation of agro-processing industries
• Solve Dumsor once and for all
• Place a temporary ban on small-scale mining
• Let NHIS cover more than paracetamol
• Let students loan scheme work in a manner that does not require free first-year fees
• Scrap ex-gratia to free up funding for social projects
• Scrap E-levy to facilitate e-transactions
• Reintroduce road toll for maintenance of our roads
• Reduce number of cabinet ministers to 20 (It is Possible- Use Chief Directors and their numerous technocrats to run the ministries)
• Reduce the fleet of V8s in the presidential convoy to free up funds for social interventions
• Allow the Public Services Commission to recruit competent Ghanaians to man the public services
• Make the position of Municipal, Metropolitan or District Chief Executive elective on non-partisan basis to attract competent Ghanaians
• Revamp Accra’s transport system- A sky train between Accra and Cape Coast is long overdue.
• Review the 1992 Constitution

In sum, let’s see what people who get second chances do- They go all out to make up for what they failed to do- “… pledge myself to the service of Ghana, with all my strength and with all my heart… so help me God.

Aurevoir – That’s goodbye in French

Let God Lead! Follow Him directly, not through any human.

The writer is the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Columnist of the Year- 2022. He is the author of two books whose contents share knowledge on how anyone desirous of writing like him can do so. Eric can be reached via email [email protected]

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