Nana Akufo-Addo: Why This Long Silence?
By Margaret Jackson
Nana Akufo-Addo, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Flagbearer for the 2012 election is widely known as a political fighter. He is even admired by his political opponents for not taking a jab without landing one of his own. In fact, it is Akufo-Addo’s penchant for standing on his own and matching his opponents while deflecting any political punches that have endeared him to many NPP members and supporters. I will even say that he is one of the best pound-for-pound politicians that the NPP has ever produced.
Over the years, Akufo-Addo has proven to his supporters that you can never lie about him and go scot-free. That is why in the run up for the 2008 elections when some newspapers quoted some of Akufo-Addo’s political opponents as referring to him as an old man, Akufo-Addo did not take it kindly nor just sat back without fighting back. He forcefully challenged those who were saying he is an old man to go and ask the women whether he was weak in bed or not. I am not making this statement up, but it was something that Akufo-Addo said which brought a lot of criticisms from his political opponents and the National Democratic Party (NDC) that by saying that Akufo-Addo was in fact confirming that he is a womanizer.
But in spite of Akufo-Addo’s colourful tract record for standing toe to toe with his opponents and defending himself in any given situation, there is one thing; just one thing that has made this political fighting animal called Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo virtually dumb. Ladies and gentlemen, I do not have to belabor you by saying that the only issue or accusation that has practically frozen or paralyzed Akufo-Addo on the political turf and has sent him packing whilst he keeps dodging the issue is his perceived drug usage.
It has been 4 years now since Akufo-Addo was initially accused of being an occasional drug user or to qualify it an occasional wee-smoker. This accusation first surfaced from the NPP quarters when one of NPP’s presidential candidates sought to damage Akufo-Addo by that revelation. Ghanaians thought that Akufo-Addo was going to come out cogently and deny that serious accusation and put his enemies to shame whilst he concentrates on his presidential ambition, but we all got it wrong when Akufo-Addo chickened out and just allowed sleeping dogs to lie. Might be Akufo-Addo thought that by not commenting on the issue it will go away and Ghanaians will forget entirely about it for good.
But for some unknown reason which is increasingly becoming a political shackle around the necks of the NPP faithful, Akufo-Addo’s superficial drug use does not seem to be fading away nor does it seem to be heading towards the cemetery for final funeral rites any time soon. Reason being that since the 2008 elections many people including Kofi Wayo have variously hammered Nana Addo on his drug use, but all what Nana Addo has done is to send his underlings to defend him whilst he continues to hide behind the political curtains and praying fervently that the damaging political exposure will pass him by.
For the past two years Akufo-Addo had been a little lucky hanging on the ropes on his supposed drug usage until the Wiki leaks came out with the bombshell about two weeks ago, with accusations from his known friend, Mr. Kwesi Pratt, Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, the former United States Ambassador to Ghana, Ms. Pamela Bridgewater, and Dr Kwesi Aning, a researcher at the Kofi Annan International Peace-Keeping Centre and known sympathizer of the NPP that he is in fact on drugs and a womanizer as well.
The Wiki leaks bolt from the blue clearly brought Akufo-Addo’s apparent drug usage to a head and most Ghanaians thought this presented the greatest opportunity for Akufo-Addo to either set the records straight or put the issue to bed once and for all by either holding a press conference or issuing a strongly worded statement signed by him to compellingly deny the accusation. But we are all dead wrong. We all missed it or our political guesses or calculations were off beam. For the past two weeks since the Wiki leaks information came out Akufo-Addo has gone AWOL. The man Akufo-Addo who claims he has the political courage to face or stomach any issue under the sun in Ghana and beyond is nowhere to be found. He is simply not there leaving his underlings with the painful burden of trying to defend the indefensible Akufo-Addo.
One thing Akufo-Addo and the NPP may not have realized is that even though silence is considered golden it is equally considered consent. Therefore, Akufo-Addo’s continuous “Maradonaring” of the issue is continuously planting in the minds of Ghanaians and especially voters that indeed he is a drug abuser which is why he cannot say anything to defend himself. Do you know that even Rawlings surprisingly came out to deny that he is a drug user? So why is Akufo-Addo still hiding and has virtually said nothing. Nothing at all to this date!
The best Akufo-Addo could have done was to come out to even say that yes, he used drugs as some point in time but no more, then asked for the forgiveness of Ghanaians and moved on. But it seems the NPP Presidential hopeful does not have good advisers who can read the political spectrum and advice Akufo-Addo accordingly which is why to date he has not commented on the issue leaving it to Devine Providence for intervention.
When then US Presidential candidates Bill Clinton and Barak Obama were accused of drug usage they came out to confirm the accusations, told Americans that they are no longer on drugs, asked for forgiveness and moved on with their campaigns. The good news is Clinton & Obama both won the elections in 1992 and 2008 respectively and became presidents. I will therefore say with all certainty that Akufo-Addo has done the biggest disservice to his campaign and the NPP by refusing to address or comment on his drug usage accusation. In fact it has rather given credence that what people are saying or what many people perceive about him concerning drugs is true which is why he has decided to keep quiet so that he does not open up a can of worms when he tries to defend himself.
Ghana needs a president who can think on his or her feet at any given time and not someone who has to go high before taking decisions that affect the lives of 24 million people. The country needs someone who will not sit at table with drug abusers and toy with the lives of Ghanaians. In fact our dear country is dying for a leader who will team up with the international community to fight the drug menace destroying the lives of many people across the globe. Therefore, my biggest question is, if Akufo-Addo cannot even come out to deny or confirm his perceived drug abuse, will he be able to rise up to the task if given the nod by Ghanaians in 2012? Think again, Akufo-Addo.
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