How Akufo-Addo took Ghana from a bad, but hopeful place to a worse and hopeless state

In the past week some news sources have reported the President, Nana Akufo-Addo assessing and marking himself highly as having performed well as president. He is also reported to have unveiled a statue of himself somewhere in the Western region. Wide angled images of the statue show it has been put at a location that is still under construction. The action has irked many Ghanaians with some calling for the statue to be taken down.

Not long ago, one of his appointees was seen in a video circulating on social media expressing surprise on seeing a bust erected in her honour by her staff for being a kindhearted boss.

But there is a lot to be said about the Akufo-Addo Administration. His words, body language, actions, appointees and overall impact of his eight-year run as president of Ghana. His ills outweigh his good.

For someone who has for more than three decades positioned himself as a human rights lawyer, statesman, politician and people’s man, Akufo-Addo’s actual leadership leaves much to be desired.

He has always had his eyes on the presidency. And he made no pretense of it. He was hungry for power and wanted to be president at all costs.

Then a situation presented itself. He exploited the circumstances to the maximum.

The John Mahama Administration wasn’t doing well. There was corruption, mismanagement and arrogance of power, as it is the case with most governments in Ghana. But the Administration didn’t crack the whip as it should, when the issues of corruption among its appointees came up. It didn’t do as much as the citizens expected. How the Mahama Administration responded to corruption didn’t satisfy the citizens. His best didn’t look good enough.

Disappointingly, the government and its assigns also became complacent. The elected and appointed paid a deaf ear to complaints of poor-quality governance. The Akufo-Addo Administration is not any different in that regard. Same script, but different actors.

The administration did the barest minimum of providing infrastructure as usual, but officials made a kill from kickbacks. Barest minimum, because providing infrastructure is the responsibility of a government that is managing the national purse.

For someone who has for more than three decades positioned himself as a human rights lawyer, statesman, politician and people’s man, Akufo-Addo’s actual leadership leaves much to be desired.

That was where Akufo-Addo came in. He exploited the rage of Ghanaians. He saw that they wanted more from their government, and they weren’t getting it. He said the right words that resonated with Ghanaians. Backed by his many years in politics, including in government as minister of state, he appeared like the perfect political messiah.

He even promised to transform Ghana in 18 months when elected. Among other things he questioned why the government of the day was going out to borrow when the money to develop Ghana could be found in the country. He berated the Mahama Administration over the exchange rate. He pressed every button that excited the fancy of Ghanaians and went on to have an easy win in the 2016 election.

But on hindsight, Ghanaians have come to the realization that they have been scammed. Manipulated, deceived and eventually ruined, by a man they thought knew better about governance and the rule of law.

Looking at the posture of Akufo-Addo, on hindsight, despite Mahama’s faults, he was more empathetic as a president than Akufo-Addo has been.

The faith of most Ghanaians in the Supreme Court hasn’t been this low, ever in the history of Ghana, as it has been during the Akufo-Addo Administration.

Akufo-Addo has not carried himself properly as a democratically elected president. He has been very largely condescending towards Ghanaians. He made winning the presidency his personal trophy in a very bad way.

At his inauguration he read a plagiarised speech, bringing embarrassment to the whole country. Despite the shame that conduct brought Ghanaians, he never apologized. He never punished his speechwriters. He went on as though nothing had happened.

It didn’t take long, and he got himself a special chair with the Coat of Arms embossed on it. It is not known if that decision was by fiat, or it is backed by law. He has an SUV with staff, dedicated to that chair, carrying it to wherever he goes, as if he is a feudal king.

He promised Ghanaians during his campaign for president that he would use the ‘Anas Principle’ to expose and punish the corrupt. But instead, his party financiers hounded and hunted Anas and his team. Eventually, as a result, Ahmed Hussein-Suale, one of the investigative reporters working with Anas was killed in broad day light. To date the killers are walking free. No one is answering for that killing in cold blood.

He has not been a good example of a president ensuring the rule of law.

Early in his tenure, political vigilantism emerged and gained momentum – clearly seeking to impose an atmosphere of fear on the citizens.

On April 6, 2017 a vigilante group associated with the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), known as Delta Force, invaded a court while it sat on a case involving their members who were facing trial for assaulting a public official and freed the suspects. The perpetrators received only a slap on the wrist.

During the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-elections, vigilantes using police vehicles invaded polling stations and caused mayhem. According to the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding, the Electoral Commission of Ghana organised by-election for the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency due to the seat being vacant following the death of the MP, Emmanuel Kyeremanteng Agyarko, on November 21, 2018. The by-election was set for January 31, 2019. An hour after commencement of voting, a chaotic scene was witnessed at the La Bawaleshie Presbyterian School Polling Station following an impasse which ensued over the polls. Some armed men clothed in National Security apparel stormed the polling station and attacked some polling agents believed to belong to the opposition National Democratic Congress. Eighteen people suffered gunshot wounds and injuries in the ensued attack. Reports indicated that the armed men also stormed the residence of the NDC candidate, Delali Kwasi Brempong.

A Commission of Enquiry was set up, headed by Emile Short, the former head of the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice. But nothing seems to have come out of the Commission’s recommendations. The recommendations were ignored. As it is, no one was sanctioned for that act.

The faith of most Ghanaians in the Supreme Court hasn’t been this low, ever in the history of Ghana, as it has been during the Akufo-Addo Administration.

His Administration openly hounded the Auditor-General out of office for doing his job – acting clearly in contravention of the laws of the land, and the Supreme Court acted too late over the matter.

He seems to have targeted the judiciary, tainting its independence, by appointing openly partisan lawyers to the bench. An act that independent watchers of the bench believe is meant to give judicial validation for his unlawful acts.

The faith of most Ghanaians in the Supreme Court hasn’t been this low, ever in the history of Ghana, as it has been during the Akufo-Addo Administration.

A few examples would show how he is deliberately packing partisans onto the bench.

Justice Ernest Gaewu who now serves on the Supreme Court was in active politics from 2009 to 2016. He served as a constituency chairman and parliamentary candidate for the New Patriotic Party in the Ho West and Ho Central Constituencies. He contested the Ho central constituency seat on the ticket of the NPP and lost. But the president appointed him to the Supreme Court.

Then there was this other lawyer, a rabid partisan, who also taught at the University of Ghana and worked at the National Communication Authority, Dr Poku Adusei. He spared no opportunity to denigrate citizens on social media for complaining about national issues. The president appointed him and some other partisans to the Court of Appeal. When the news broke that he has been nominated to the Court, Dr Adusei deactivated his Facebook account. A sign that he couldn’t even stand by his convictions and what he posted on social media. He later activated the account and deleted some of his posts that were in bad taste.

Currently, the Court of Appeal is so packed to the extent that some of the justices can’t seat. There are too many of them.

The president nominated 20 individuals, 12 of them already on the bench and eight lawyers, including Dr Adusei to join the Court of Appeal as judges. The Court already had 33 judges, bringing the total to a bloated 53.

Under his watch, the police have become increasingly unlawful – particularly when it comes to protests. The police have consistently hindered lawful protesters from freely expressing their grievances as guaranteed by the constitution, often arresting and detaining them unlawfully.

The economy has been beat. Largely from poor decisions. The country’s public debt has exceeded GH¢760 billion, above 75 per cent of GDP, and the country is now insolvent, forcing the government to sign up to an IMF deal it had vowed never to sign.

A domestic debt restructuring programme in addressing the debt issue, has impacted the savings and investments of many Ghanaians, including pensioners.

The exchange rate depreciation has been remarkably staggering, and Ghanaians are reeling under a weak cedi, with the cost-of-living skyrocketing.

He promised to protect the national purse, instead, he emptied it.

Akufo-Addo pledged to build a national cathedral to honour God for winning the elections. At the onset he said he wasn’t going to use state resources. But it wasn’t true. Taxpayers’ money has been sunk into digging the foundation of the cathedral which construction has stalled, effectively leading to financial loss of over $58 million to the state. At the site of the construction is a gaping hole, yet to be filled.

While at it, he is praising himself for implementing a free high school programme, that itself is badly managed. School timetables have been haphazard. Issues about feeding of students frequently make the news, and school authorities have been gagged.

There are Ghanaians who are deeply disappointed in his leadership, while some are quiet about it, others are not shy about voicing their disapproval over his failure to at the least leave a legacy of good governance.

Under his watch corruption and graft have become a pastime among his appointees. With many of them displaying unexplained wealth. A former minister of state, Cecilia Dapaah, was found with several millions of various currencies in her bedroom, including US dollars, Euros, pounds sterling and cedis, and yet there is no closure to the matter.

His administration has been dogged by high profile questionable deals like PDS, SML among others.

Looking back and looking at social media posts and the verdict of some Ghanaians about his presidency, the Akufo-Addo Administration has failed to meet the expectations of many citizens.

By Emmanuel K Dogbevi
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