Mills: A life worth celebrating
Today, July 24, marks exactly one year of the demise of President John Evans Atta Mills, three days after celebrating his 68th birthday. His shocking death occurred at a time political parties were preparing for the December 2012 general election.
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Even though the President had not been well for some time, there was no inkling death was going to lay its icy hands on him so soon.
So when in the afternoon of that fateful day, an official announcement came from the seat of government at the Osu Castle, that the man who was an epitome of humility and simplicity, had passed on it sent shockwaves throughout the country.
I was in Kumasi that day. The sun had shone brightly throughout the morning and suddenly in the afternoon clouds began to build over the skies. To the superstitious, it was a sign that ' a great tree had fallen'.
Politicians, even his bitterest opponents, paid glowing tributes to the memory of the illustrious and distinguished academic turned politician who had no airs around him.
His moral rectitude, for which he was famous, drew the praise of people across the political divide and beyond the political arena.
One of the tough decisions he took centred on the oil industry in 2010, when he ensured his government through the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) prevented United States oil company, Kosmos, from offloading its 30 per cent shares in the Jubilee Oil field to another US company, ExxonMobil.
Tough decision
The decision was to protect Ghana's interest in the oil industry and even though it was met with fierce reactions at home and the US, the government stuck to its guns.
On assuming office, President Mills also ensured that the practice where district chief executives and other government appointees were sacked immediately a new government took power was stopped.
He allowed MMDCEs in the NPP administration to remain in office until the grounds were stabilised before they left.
Again, Mills refused to buy moves from the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, to force Africa governments to accept gay rights without which they would be denied British development support.
These and others positioned him as a man who was bent on fighting for the interest of his nation rather than personal and political considerations.
His education
A native of Ekumfi Otuam in the Central Region, Prof. Mills started his education from the rural community of Huni Valley.
He entered the Achimota School for his Ordinary Level Certificate in 1961 and Advanced Level Certificate in 1963.
He gained admission to the University of Ghana, Legon, completing his LLB in 1967.
He continued at the London School of Economics earning the LLM in 1968 and then to the School of Oriental and Africa Studies at the University of London, graduating with a PhD in Law in 1971 at the age of 27 after successfully defending his thesis on taxation and economic development.
Mills returned to his alma mater at Legon, to take up a teaching appointment at the Faculty of Law where he spent about 25 years as a lecturer.
Entry into politics
His entry into politics came as a surprise to many. He was drafted from the Internal Revenue Service where he was the commissioner to be the running mate to President J. J. Rawlings in the 1996 elections and consequently became Vice President when Rawlings won the presidential election.
Mills had the opportunity to lead his party into the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections but lost to President Kufuor.
After the two unsuccessful attempts at the presidency, he was elected president when he beat the NPP's Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in the 2008 elections.
Legacies
The good professor campaigned on the slogan “Better Ghana Agenda” and on his election, he moved to put them into fruition.
One of his legacies for contemporary Ghanaian politics was a stable nation that was at peace with itself. His acclaimed ‘man of peace’ accolade was not a mere rhetoric.
Against the background of calls for peace after the Supreme Court delivers its judgement on the presidential election petition, one can only hope the peace that the late Mills persistently championed would prevail and Ghana would be the winner.
To strengthen the democratic process which Ghana started in 1992, President Mills in January, 2010, constituted the Constitution Review Commission to consult with the people on the operation of the 1992 Constitution and on any changes that needed to be made to it.
It is a fact that after 18 years of operation, certain aspects of the 1992 Constitution have outlived their usefulness and need to be reviewed.
For someone who spent the greater part of his life as a teacher, it was no wonder Prof. Mills took great interest in education.
Education
Under Mills, about 1,700 schools under trees were removed and replaced with modern buildings; thousands of laptops were supplied to students free of charge to boost ICT education and nearly 23 million exercise books and tens of thousands of school uniforms given out to children.
Many other initiatives also came on board but significant to mention is the establishment of two public universities in the Brong Ahafo and Volta regions.
The University of Health and Allied Sciences in the Volta Region and the University of Mines and Natural Resources in the Brong-Ahafo Region have enrolled students, and the name of the late President would remain part of the two institutions.
Health
In the area of health, the Tamale Teaching Hospital was upgraded into a teaching hospital while the Korle-Bu and Komfo Anokye Teaching hospitals also saw a measure of refurbishment.
Hospitals were constructed in a number of districts.
Economy
Perhaps, the economy was Mills’s greatest point of success. During his presidency, the economy became stable with inflation staying at single digit for about three years.
With strict fiscal discipline, Ghana’s currency, the Cedi, also stabilised for a long period. GDP growth and international reserves as well as other initiatives brought some sanity into the economy for which Mills would be credited.
Agriculture
Agriculture has over the years been the backbone of the national economy and President Mills ensured that he further built the sector to play a more meaningful role in national development.
It was no wonder cocoa production for the first time hit one million tonnes in the 2010/2011 cocoa season.
The establishment of the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) to see to the rapid development of the three northern regions, and parts of the Brong Ahafo and Volta regions also had an agriculture component.
Regrettably, SADA is yet to hit full throttle but President Mahama has showed commitment to get the authority to run as expected.
Diplomacy
In international circles, President Mills pushed regional peace and strengthened Ghana’s role as a pillar of sub-regional, Africa and global diplomacy and growth.
At his death, ECOWAS paid glowing tribute to his memory. On that occasion, the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Mr Kadre Desire Ouedraogo, said, “The greatest tribute to the memory of Ghana’s late President is to immortalise his ideas of peace building and demonstrate a passion for regional integration which he lived and died for.”
Mills is gone forever but his memory will live on. But this will demand hard work from Ghanaians in all spheres of national live while political leaders learn some lessons from what he stood for.
By Kwame Asare Boadu/Ghana
