Presidential inauguration-Momentous as Nana Akufo-Addo takes office

January 7 is set aside for the inauguration of a new President in Ghana after a general election on December 7.

Last Saturday was one such day, except that the form and substance of the inauguration could not be conjectured by even the soothsayers.

The overwhelming victory of the  New Patriotic Party (NPP) at the polls brought with it a wind of change and high expectation from even those who did not vote for the new President.

The initial hiccups that bedevilled the transitional arrangements towards the transfer of power were the low points in the transitional process. Thankfully, they were shortlived.

Meanwhile, certain changes in the transitional arrangements meant that the inauguration was going to be a showpiece.

Unlike in the past when the election of the Speaker of Parliament and his deputies, as well as the leadership of the House, was a tug of war, two days to the inauguration of the current Parliament, the names of its leaders were out. So by midnight of January 6, the entire leadership of Parliament, in whose presence the President and his Vice must take their oaths, was in place.

Last Saturday, the Black Star Square was a beehive of activities because by 4 a.m. on that day, the stands were filled to capacity.

As a novelty, an enclosed arena, representing the Chamber of Parliament for the swearing-in ceremony, was set up.

Apart from some NPP supporters who decorated themselves in all kinds of party paraphernalia, all the dignitaries were clad in splendid attire.

It was a day full of pomp and ceremony.

Dignitaries and invited guests walked majestically on the red carpet, one after another, to take their seats, all the time ushered in by protocol officers in rich Kente dresses.

The beauty of the celebration was captured not only in the well-crafted arrangements to seat the guests but also the large number of NPP supporters and Ghanaians from all walks of life who pitched camp on all the streets leading to the Black Star Square.

They put together their own unique way of observing the ceremony from what the planning committee had put together.

Invited guests

The long list of Heads of State and Government from West Africa and beyond also added colour to the event. More than 11 Heads of State or their representatives were at the ceremony — the first time such a large gathering of Heads of State and Government and scores of representatives of governments had converged on Accra to witness the inauguration of a President in the Fourth Republic.

The Heads of State included Presidents Muhamadu Buhari of Nigeria, Alhassane Quatarra of Cote d'Ivoire, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, who is also the ECOWAS Chairperson, Faure Gnassingbe of Togo, Edgar Lungu of Zambia and Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea.

Others were Presidents Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria, Abdul Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt, Ernest Bai Koroma of Sierra Leone,   Mulatu Teshome of Ethopia and Idriss Déby of Chad, who is also the Chairman of the African Union.

Also present were Africa's richest man, Aliko Dangote; a former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo, and Mr Kofi Annan, a former Secretary General of the United Nations.

The ceremony was long but not boring, as the guests had exciting moments to cheer about.

There were deafening cheers from the crowd when former President John Dramani Mahama and his wife, Lordina; former President John Jerry Rawlings and his wife, Nana Konadu; former President John Agyekum Kufuor  and former Vice-President Amissah-Arthur and his wife, Matilda, made their way to the event grounds.

Auntie Rebecca, the popular name for the new First Lady, and Samira Bawumia, the Second Lady, entered the square to deafening cheers in uniquely rich fabrics.

Makeshift Parliament

Not long after the arrival of the First and the Second Ladies, Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the Vice-President, was ushered onto the grounds to loud cheers.

After him came the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, clad in a richly designed Kente cloth.

And because the swearing-in was being done under the aegis of Parliament, the President, his Vice and the leadership of the House had to join the Speaker in a procession to the enclosed arena for the ceremony to commence.

After the Speaker had welcomed the guests to the “makeshift” Parliament House, the Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Georgina Theodora Wood, was called to administer the oaths to the President and his Vice.

They took two oaths each — the Oath of Office and the Oath of President and Vice-President, respectively, after which the guests applauded with deafening cheers.

Dr Bawumia was the first to be sworn in by the Chief Justice as the Vice-President.

About 11 a.m., the 72-year-old Nana Akufo-Addo mounted the rostrum to take the Oath of Office.

The milling crowd, mostly made up of supporters of the NPP, responded with cacophonous cheers, while a 21-gun salute boomed from the direction of the Atlantic Ocean

The wife of the President, Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo, shed tears of joy.

The President then had the signal to hold aloft the State Sword, the symbol of office, before the elected representatives of the people and guests.

President Akufo-Addo, after those rites, had the opportunity to speak to the people in his official capacity as the President of the Republic.

His inaugural speech resonated well with the guests, who described it as a good starting point, with others describing it as unifying.

The inauguration has been described as second to none and a fillip to the agenda to galvanise the people to action.

Some also described the mood at the ceremony as being akin to the excitement that greeted the declaration of independence on March 6, 1957 and the inauguration of President Kufuor in 2001.

Many have attributed the excitement to the fact that both Mr Kufuor and Nana Akufo-Addo campaigned with the message of change.

Others say the crowd that besieged the Black Star Square could only be comparable to the people who gathered at the same venue when President Bill Clinton of the US visited Ghana during the tenure of President Rawlings in 1998.

Greetings

It was an incredible sight to behold as Ghana's three former Presidents walked up the presidential dais to congratulate the new President  and his vice.

Former President Rawlings and his wife, Nana Konadu, were the first to congratulate Nana Akufo-Addo and Dr Bawumia and they received rapturous cheers.

Former President Kufuor, under whose administration Nana Akufo-Addo served as Minister of Justice and Attorney General and Minister of Foreign Affairs, was next.

Then came the man Nana Akufo-Addo defeated by over one million votes in the December 7 presidential election, former President Mahama, and his wife, Mrs Lordina Mahama.

As former President Mahama shook hands with President Akufo-Addo, the two were seen engaged in a little chat.

Former Vice-President Amissah-Arthur and his wife also stepped forward to offer their congratulations, with both embracing Dr Bawumia, who had been a fierce critic of the previous administration.

Guard of honour

After the swearing-in, President Akufo-Addo, who had become the Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, inspected a guard of honour mounted by a detachment of the Fifth Battalion of Infantry.

The Chief of the Defence Staff, Air Vice-Marshall Sampson Oje, and the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr John Kudalor, were the ceremonial aides-de-camp (ADCs) to the President during the ceremony.

President Quatarra, whose administration is battling a mutiny by soldiers demanding improved conditions of service, was the guest of honour.

Merrymaking

On the streets were hundreds of jubilant Ghanaians, mostly clad in the red, white and blue colours of the NPP, while others in their beautiful Kente clothes to signify nationalism and others in white clothes to signify victory were not left out.

From the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) Traffic Light to the Arts Centre, loud speakers were mounted by private individuals and those who could not get access to the grounds danced and made merry there.

Others also mounted speakers on trucks which were stationed at various points along the streets and people danced to tunes which were mostly political in nature.

There were street carnivals and some young men and women pushed a huge inflatable elephant and chanted songs, amid dancing.

Brisk business

Food sellers and other vendors used the occasion to make money. Especially iced water sellers were seen meandering their way through the huge crowds on the streets selling to thirsty customers.

Baba Fuseini, who was spotted selling smocks along the street in front of the National Lottery Authority (NLA), said he was not really eager to sell anything but he just wanted to display his wares for people to see some of the beautiful smocks from the northern part of the country.

Ms Aba Forson, a young iced water seller, said she got to the area round 8 a.m. and that as of 11:30 a.m. she had sold six bags of sachet water.

The telecommunications companies also used the occasion to sell SIM cards, register people for mobile money, as well as sell phones.