President Atta Mills: A Reluctant Politician & National Hero!
Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress, Koku Anyidoho, eulogises late President Mills in this tribute to commemorate the 4th anniversary of his death.
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People of Ghana; I was going to really dig into Dr. Bawumia for lying to us about his dreany foreigners being on our voters register.
I was also going to dig into Akufo-Addo for lying that over “1 million foreigners” are on our voters register.
Do you not recall Akufo-Addo saying that our voters register is an “ECOWAS Register” and not a Ghanaian Register?
Has it not come to light that Akufo-Addo was lying about the “ECOWAS Register”?
As far as I am concerned; Bawumia and Akufo-Addo are a lying duo that must be “attacked” and exposed for attempting to mislead the nation down a destructive path.
I will however deal with Akufo-Addo and Bawumia in our next conversation.
Today, it will be remiss on my part if I do not pay tribute to President John Evans Atta Mills; an astute Leader, who has left his indelible footprints in the sands of Ghana’s political history.
He started off as a RELUCTANT POLITICIAN but ended up being a NATIONAL HERO.
Yesterday, July 24, 2016, was exactly 4 years that we woke up that fateful Tuesday, July 24, 2012, and got hit hard in the soul by the passing away of our sitting President.
It seems like it was yesterday that he passed away into glory: it seems like it was yesterday that he left us into eternity: it seems like it was yesterday that I saw the lifeless body of, my boss, father, mentor, teacher, and friend, at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), of the 37 Military Hospital.
Well; it certainly was not yesterday that it happened. It happened 4 years ago and it is very clear that President John Evans Atta Mills has departed this sin-filled and treacherous earth for good and shall return no more.
For sure; I shall not be able to ever erase that picture from my mind: The lifeless body of my boss, with so many questions crisscrossing my mind.
So President John Evans Atta Mills was really dead? Eish!!!!
So I was not going to ever speak to him again?
So I was never going to write speeches for him again?
So I was not going to speak on his behalf again?
So I was not going to ever enjoy working and learning from him again?
Phew!!!
Nothing; and nobody shall stop me from forever appreciating my relationship with President John Evans Atta Mills.
President Atta Mills was indeed a reluctant politician. He chose not to go down the path of VINDICTIVE POLITICS, because of good reasons.
In lots of my private conversations with him, President Atta Mills told me why he never wanted to get back into mainstream politics because of his bitter experiences after the 1966 coup that overthrew Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.
According to President Atta Mills, he got a major shock of his life after CPP elements on the University of Ghana, Legon Campus, were chased and hounded after the 1966 coup which was staged by the United Party tradition (now NPP), in collaboration with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), of the United States.
According to President Atta Mills, he could not stand the betrayal of some CPP colleagues of his who turned coat after the 66 Coup; and led the wicked crusade against CPP persons on Legon Campus.
He recounted how one day when he returned from lectures, his room was deliberately filled up to the roof with water because of his CPP links (President Atta Mills actually attended the Kwame Nkrumah Ideological Institute which was at Winneba).
President Atta Mills told me how, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who was a strong CPP guy; jumped ship, and led the evil and wicked crusade against the CPP students on Legon campus.
According to President Atta Mills, the gross betrayal of the likes of Nana Akufo-Addo, kept him away from frontline politics until, 1996, when he was asked to be Running Mate to President Jerry John Rawlings. (I will tell the other details of how John Evans Atta Mills reluctantly accepted to be Running Mate to Jerry John Rawlings in a Book I am putting together).
In fact, President Mills told me that at the time he reluctantly accepted to become Running Mate in 1996, he planned to quit after 4 years and return to his first love –teaching and imparting knowledge.
Somehow, God had another career path for the Asomdwehene, and so after leading the NDC in opposition for 8 torrid years under the vengeance-filled reign of the NPP, the learned Professor led the NDC to once again win the mandate of majority of Ghanaians to restore dignity to the governance process.
President John Evans Atta Mills is being remembered as a National Hero today (and will be remembered always just like Kwame Nkrumah) because he did not have “an inordinate desire to become President At All Cost” and also did not abuse his tenure as President.
As a Leader; all he did, was to Serve his Motherland.
Certainly, the reluctant politician that he was, there was no need for him to have had any inordinate desire to become President “At All Cost”.
I recall how we were so sure that the NDC had won the 2004 elections, and wanted to hit the streets and misbehave after, Jake Obetsebi Lamptey (may his soul rest in peace), held an illegal Press Conference at the Castle Gardens and announced that the NPP had won the elections.
For days, myself and lots of other young folk slept at the Osu Kuku Hill Campaign Office not knowing what to do with our lives after the victory had been stolen from us by Jake and the NPP.
“I do not want to become President on the drop of any innocent Ghanaian blood so I will not hit the streets. Let the NPP take the victory because if it is the will of God that I should become President of Ghana, 4 years will pass in no time and Ghanaians in their collective wisdom, will vote for me to become President”.
These were the words of prophetic wisdom that Professor John Evans Atta Mills spoke to us and prevented us from misbehaving.
Indeed, in God’s own time: and with the support of majority of Ghanaians, he became President of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s Ghana after the 2008 General Elections and was sworn-in on January 07, 2009, as the third President of Ghana’s Fourth Republican dispensation – and that began the solid process of building A BETTER GHANA.
Juxtaposing the words of Professor Mills against that of NPP, Flagbearer, Akufo-Addo; is the NPP Flagbearer leading his party up the path of good conscience? Certainly not!!!
On the contrary, the NPP Flagbearer seems to BE the lead actor in all the mayhem that the NPP is unleashing on itself and attempting to unleash same on innocent Ghanaians.
He lost the 2012 elections and instead of accepting defeat and reorganizing himself and the NPP, Akufo-Addo got Bawumia to go to the Supreme Court and waste eight precious months of the Nation’s time.
After the Supreme Court defeat, they now decided to fake a Togolese Voters Register and lie to Ghanaians that there are over “1 million foreigners” on our voters register and so we have an ECOWAS Voters Register and not a Ghanaian Voters Register.
President Atta Mills sought to change the face of governance and indeed changed the face of governance by moving away from the politics of VINDICTIVENESS, and introducing the nation-building culture of the politics of TOLERANCE.
Indeed; he was not forgiven by some elements within the NDC for his “Father For All” approach to building bridges and working hard to unite this dear Nation of ours.
Very often he will say;
“If we continue on the path of the politics of vindictiveness, we will never grow as a nation. In spite of all the harassment that myself and my wife suffered at the hands of the NPP, and in spite of all the wicked things the NPP did to some of my NDC colleagues, as President of Ghana, I do not intend to revenge because vengeance belongs to the Lord”.
It is not surprising to me that President Atta Mills has become a National Hero and an Icon.
Of course, it is also not surprising that even before he became President, Ghanaians long spotted his good spirit and peace-loving soul and named him “Asomdwehene” meaning “King of Peace”.
In his first State Of The Nations Address in 2009; President Atta Mills; in line with his love for God and Country; declared; “Ghana will not die: Ghana will live to declare the good works of the Lord.”
While President Atta Mills never wished death on Mother Ghana; Nana Akufo-Addo is busy wishing death upon Mother Ghana via his war-cry “All Die Be die.”
Surely: Ghana Will Not Die!!!
Maybe; it is the NPP that will DIE under the divisive watch of Akufo-Addo and his bunch of hoodlums; brigands; buccaneers; and thugs.
We are having the 4TH in the series of his Commemorative Lectures today, at the University of Cape Coast Auditorium and I know in my spirit that many more such Lectures will take place.
There are so many people within and outside Ghana who have lots of positive and inspiring stories to tell about the man John Evans Atta Mills and so as the years roll by, there is no gainsaying the fact that many more such Commemorative Lectures will take place to eulogise a Statesman, Politician, Academic, Teacher, Sportsman, Father, and Mentor.
If we wind the clock back one million times, I shall never regret working for President John Evans Atta Mills.
It was such a great pleasure drinking from the deep ends of his fountain of knowledge and eating from his table of good conscience and good heart.
He gave me the rare opportunity to serve my Country and serve my NDC Party, and I shall forever thank him for the opportunity to SERVE; the way he SERVED!
If I am Deputy General Secretary of the NDC today; I owe it to the opportunity President Atta Mills gave me to endear myself to the grassroots over the years; resulting in the massive vote for me at the 2014 National Delegates Congress in Kumasi.
I salute the delegates for the massive confidence reposed in me and I promise to always work in their interest and in the supreme interest of the greater good of the Great NDC Party.
As I beaver away at my keyboard writing this piece about such a great man, I am trying so hard to hold back my tears.
John Evans Atta Mills was a good man; he served his Nation Well.
I am proud to have served such a Great Leader.
I am very happy that President Atta Mills taught me how to get closer to my God. “Koku, God is all we have, so make sure you know God and worship Him in truth”, President Atta Mills often said to me.
May the Good Works and the Legacy of His Excellency President John Evans Atta Mills, glow into eternity.
I loved my boss, father, teacher, mentor, and friend; and I will forever thank the Almighty GOD for giving me the rare opportunity to work for such a selfless and humble Leader.
I never betrayed him: and he never betrayed me too.
Asomdwehene; may your good soul continue to rest in perfect peace!
Egya Atta; I miss you Sir; I really do miss you Sir. May the Good Lord keep you peacefully in his bosom till we meet again Sir. And please continue to keep me under your guiding and protective wings from your new place of abode in the heavens and may your good spirit be with your NDC Party as we soldier on to appeal to the good conscience of the People of Ghana to renew our mandate, for your successor, President John Dramani Mahama, to continue to lead us to build the BETTER GHANA that you so yearned for.
Sleep well Asomdwehene. You will forever be in the heart of Mother Ghana and in the hearts of Ghanaians. Of course; you will forever be in my heart and on my mind Sir.
As loyal as I was to President Atta Mills and the NDC; so shall I remain loyal to President John Dramani Mahama and the NDC; and remain loyal to all future Leaders of the Great NDC Party.
Indeed, one of the last things President Atta Mills told me, was, “Koku, please if the opportunity presents itself, serve John (referring to then Vice President John Dramani Mahama) as loyally as you have served me”.
Little did I know that he was saying goodbye to me. Hmmm!!!!!
My loyalty at all times will be to whoever the Party chooses to be its Leader.
IN ALL I DO: PARTY FIRST!!!
I guess I have to stop hitting my keyboard and take an early morning walk otherwise I will soak my laptop in the uncontrollable gush of tears pouring down my cheeks.
Rain or shine, I remain under the Umbrella.
Hopefully, and by the kind grace of the Almighty we shall have another conversation on Friday.
Shalom!!!
Koku Anyidoho
PS. If Bawumia ,Abu Ramadan & Akufo-Addo do not produce evidence of their fake Togolese Register cum so-called foreign ECOWAS Register: shouldn’t they be called nation wreckers?