Murtala Opoola
8 January 2009
column
Yesterday, former law Professor, Arthur Evans Mills one time Vice President to John Jerry Rawlings was sworn in as the next president of Ghana. He beats his compatriot Nana Akuffo Ado with a miniscule percentage point to clinch the coveted seat.
In the earlier election, it was a photo finish by the two of them who, as it were breasted the tape at the same time. Hence necessitating the re-run fixed for the fortnight after the first election which by all estimation had been handled in a clockwork manner to the admiration of the whole world.
The re-run election however was fraught with foreboding raising fears of a retreat from civility, fair play and good sense into political chicanery and cant. As it turned out however, besides futile bickerings of mago mago dealings in Ashanti and the Volta Regions nothing disastrous happened and the election went on smoothly. The happy outcome of the re-run presidential election in Ghana should make every African reach for a glass of... whatever it is he drinks in celebration of genuine home grown democracy conducted in a squeaky clean, transparent way to the approbation of the whole world. For this let's give three happy cheers for Ghana. Hip, hip, hip... Hurray! For leading the way in how to install popular democracy with no pint of blood shed and no bad blood among its people.
Now, many would be wondering why this effusive celebration of Ghana. Well, why not. A cursory look at Zimbabwe, Kenya and... you know where, should convince anyone that there is cause for merry making. In Zimbabwe an old man in the twilight of his days has tenaciously held on to power after his people have resoundingly rejected him in an election. Age, senility and mental incapacity has rendered him clueless about how to run a country once known for its buoyancy thereby bring a plague on his own people who are now ravaged by cholera and sundry other diseases. Though all is now thankfully calm in Kenya but who would forget so soon the murderous orgy that took hold of that country in the aftermath of the elections which subsided only after the protagonists were prevailed upon to form a national government. Need we say more?
A few homilies would be in order here: what transpired in Ghana was a conscious attempt by all those involved in the electoral saga to conduct hitch free elections. From John Kuffour- who stepped down yesterday after 8 marathon years in power. Two times he defeated the new president to clinch the presidency, but after his mandatory tenure (2 terms of 8 years) expired he scrupulously stood aside and watched as the elections took place, resulting into the defeat of his party- the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and its candidate in the parliamentary and the presidential elections. For him it was not "do or die" and the devil take the hind side, as we saw in Nigeria during the 2007 elections whose outcome has now come home to roost. No it was not. Rather he allowed the people to decide and the Ghana people have decided who they want to run Ghana for next 4 years, albeit with a wafer thin margin. Ghanaians are not agreed on John Kuffour's legacy. But one thing they cannot take away from him is the organization of successful elections where the opposition was able to unseat the government in power, much as his own party did some 8 years ago. In Africa that is a feat and it should be recognized as such. So far only Ghana, Senegal and a hand full of others have managed to wrestle with the demon of transition and come out unscathed. They are therefore the real democracies; the others are mere counterfeits and they will remain so until the oppositions in these countries are able to come to power through the ballot.
Beside Kuffour, a word or two on both President Arthur Mills and Nana Akuffo Ado whose comportments are a study in statesmanship, nobility and good sense. They are the reason why there were no riotous barricades or stolen ballot boxes that came back stuffed with fake ballots-thereby easing the diligence of the Electoral Commission in the discharge of its work. Once again Hurray for Democracy in Ghana!
Enough of grandstanding...
Barely three months and already the stormy petrel of Edo state- alias Adams Oshiomhole, the very governor of Edo State is all tied up in knots. The Labour Union in Edo, the House of Assembly and even his own party- the Action Congress (AC) and a host of others are all up in arms against him. The Labour is asking him to reinstate the 96 people employed by the PDP government whom he sacked. The Independent Petroleum Marketers (IPMAN) is threatening to go on strike for daring to arrest its members and closing down their petrol stations ostensibly for selling fuel over and above the mandatory selling price. Unless some desperate measures are taken to rein in Oshiomhole by his party, he certainly is going to self -destruct, and by extension jeopardize the party's chances in 2011.
You see all these boli (fried plantain) eating on Edo streets, sealing of petrol stations and sacking people with immediate effect are all very well for their populist effect but it should not replace deliberate actions borne out of well- thought out policies, which so far have not yet been enunciated. If care is not taken knee-jack actions which fuel everyone's anger may take the place of concrete and concerted policies upon which actions are based. So enough of elevating grandstanding and posturing into state policy because 2011 is already with us.
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