What Prof. John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills Should Have Done
Prof., a Scholar from Ekumfi Otuam in the central region of Ghana was born in Tarkwa. He was educated at Achimota School, received a bachelors degree and professional certificate in law at university of Ghana, Legon in 1967. In 1968, he studied at the London School of Economics and Political science and received a PhD at the school of oriental and African studies at the University of London. Just from these few lines, we can see that Prof as he is fraternally called spent most if not all his early days as a Ghanaian and an international academician. For his academic credentials, hold on tight for they are numerous.
You can not talk about Prof without talking about his political life. Arguably, his political picture can not be completely painted if you don’t talk about him filling the vacant position created by Kow Nkensen Arkaah. For why there was a vacancy, please permit me not to talk about it now may be later. When Jerry John Rawlings was re- elected to serve his second term as the President of Ghana in 1996, Prof became the Vice President from then till 2000.
To make a long story short, Prof. through his ups and downs, later became the President of Ghana after been elected in the 2008 elections. Ups and downs? Yes!!! This is how I will describe Prof’s political journey.
Folks don’t let us forget about this geographical theory “the higher you go, the cooler it becomes” But for Prof. I think the higher he went, the hotter it has become for him. With all these experiences and qualifications, I think Prof should have by now known what he was ahead of him. When the headlines started rolling out “Will the Rawlings’s be back?”, “Does Nana Konadu want to be a President too?’ I think Prof did not believe until he saw the shocker “Nana Konadu Will Pick up a nomination form today at the NDC’s headquarters. I believe Prof. and his advisors thought they were almost late so they hurriedly went to pick up theirs after it was alleged that Nana Konadu literally schooled the NDC general secretary after picking up her forms. I think Prof and his counselors should have been prudent enough to know what was ahead of them. Therefore what should Prof have done?
First of all, I think Prof should not have even picked up a form from the parties headquarters. As a commander in chief, he should have sent for the forms to be brought to him. Prof.’s “gorgeous” journey to the party’s headquarters just to pick up a nomination form was just unnecessary. What counsel did he get from his advisors on that decision? Hmmm…...Your guess is right!!!! Do you know he went to the office with some good old big shots of the NDC party? Oh My God!!!! This day should have been a perfect day for the birth of a new party. Yes!!! A new party!!! Prof and his gurus should have walked straight to the Electoral Commission’s office to register their party and leave the NDC for its founder and leader. I think the founder of the NDC party just needs his party but not Prof and his able men. Prof. and his men should have travailed to bring forth a new party that day.
Apparently, a similar situation happened in Malawi just 2 years ago when Malawi’s President Bingu Wa Muthrika who was elected on a UDF ticket in 2004 but then fell out with Mr. Muluzi (Founder of the UDF party), accusing his one-time right hand man of corruption charges, quit his rival’s party in 2005 to form the DPP. President Muthrika quit the United Democratic Front (UDF) to form his own party the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Interestingly, this 77 year old former World Bank official won the presidency and his new party won 59 of the 193 parliamentary seats in the 2009 presidential and parliamentary elections in Malawi.
So didn’t Prof hear about this? Did he read about it? And what did he do? What about his big shots? Prof. should have done same. Yes!!! He should have formed the “Fiifi’s Party” and become the founder and leader. He could have even made John Dramini Mahama (currrent Vice President) the presidential candidate and chosen one of the Nkrumahists; I mean CPP to be the Vice just to make up for the small number of votes he would have had from the NDC’s. You never know? The “Fiifi’s Party” could have done wonders in Ghana. Ghanaians have tried the NPP and the NDC and may be this was the turn for “Fiifi’s Party.
Now let’s wait and see from now till July 9th. God bless our homeland Ghana. God bless all the political parties. God bless the former Presidents and God bless President John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills.
Kwadwo Amankwah
Woodbridge, Virginia- USA