Certainly, not Dan Abodakpi
By Michael J.K. Bokor, Ph.D.Feature Article | Wed, 15 Jul 2009
 You are only as smart as you want to be - By: Dominic  More Quotes | Submit a Quote |
Advertize Here for $8 a day to reach over 30,000 people
Ghana Tourist Villas Offers an unforgettable holiday and business experience in Accra.
The Nigerian Voice gives daily news updates of the country Nigeria
The list of 32 nominees for appointment as Ghana's Ambassadors or High Commissioners has stoked the fire of criticism against the manner in which President Mills is handling the affairs of state. A quick glance at the list reveals that there is something drastically wrong with the choices that have been made. Forget about the constitutional prerogative of the President in making such appointments.
Although we are not told who is going where, it is certain that these political appointments into Ghana's Foreign Service leave room for much to be desired. I will say above board that some of the nominees are liabilities and shouldn't be on the list at all. Prominent among them is Dan Abodakpi, who needs no description because I assume that his huge presence in Ghana politics is common knowledge.
President Mills may be cheering himself with the illusion that he is his “own man,” but the reality is that Ghanaians see things differently. Most of his political opponents still consider him as a cat's-paw. He has a lot to do to change that impression. But he cannot do so if he continues creating anxious moments.
In fact, in nominating the 32 appointees, President Mills has made a choiceless choice and is now pushing himself and the NDC government into the center of the political fog, where they will be haunted and cannot avoid being scathed!
Is the NDC bereft of capable and credible “fresh blood” and will now recycle the “old, tired faces” for the President to appoint to public office? Or is the NDC government interested at all in making any positive difference felt in the way Ghana should be ruled? It is baffling.
Many of those nominees may be useful for NDC's local or national politics, not for Ghana's Foreign Service. And I intend to take on President Mills for not being circumspect in the choices that he has made. It is a worrisome development.
In civilized democracies where public office-holding is built on principles of public spiritedness, meritorious service, morality, and good conscience, such nominees (who know very well that they have credibility problems) will politely decline the positions being offered them. They know full well that they'll have no public trust and can't, therefore, represent national interests or even get the chance to pursue personal goals in public office. Such systems have no room for waywardness. On the contrary, our system condones it. Here is why.
DAN ABODAKPI
Dan Abodakpi's political career as a CDR cadre at Tema in the early 1980s raised him to the status of the Minister of Trade only for him to tumble down into the dark cells of the Nsawam Prison after being convicted of defrauding by false pretences and causing financial loss to the state. He was to pay $400,000 to the state, which he hasn't done to date. Bang!! An end of an otherwise glorious political career.
Re-inventing him to become an Ambassador or High Commissioner (whichever works for him) is not in the interest of Ghana. He is not the kind of “face” that Ghana should present to the international community. Abodakpi is a liability.
SAMUEL VALIS AKYIANU
Akyianu is better respected for his successful career as a Fire Officer, rising through the ranks to become the Chief Fire Officer than a politician. Great achievement! Has he had a successful political career? No! As Central Regional Minister, aspiring to become MP for Cape Coast, the death of his body-guard during his (Akyianu's) visit to his ancestral home in the Volta Region dented his image as he attracted damaging public comments. In consequence, he resigned as the Regional Minister but contested the Parliamentary elections.
He lost his political bid but was sustained by JJ Rawlings when appointed as Ambassador to the far East (Serbia, Croatia, etc.). He resurfaced as the Central Regional Chairman of the NDC. Now, he is being re-engineered as an Ambassador. More questions than answers.
MRS. AANAA ENIN
Mrs. Aanaa Enin is remembered for being booted out of the PNDC for what was described as “insolence” and impolitic behaviour only to be sent out after two years in the doldrums by Rawlings as Ghana's Ambassador. That appointment shouldn't have been made if the right thing was being done. She has now been brought back into the limelight by President Mills.
Is this the new face of the NDC?
There are others too whose peculiarities cannot be dismissed as insignificant. One of them is Hodari Okae, former Deputy Director of the Ghana Immigration Service whose encounters with the NPP government reinforce public apprehensions of the wickedness in our political dispensation. Pitiable though his plight is, I don't think that he is qualified enough to become Ghana's Ambassador or High Commissioner. He is already a retiree and has had no stint with “diplomacy” either.
Daniel Ohene Agyekum, who was once Ghana's High Commissioner to Canada before becoming the Ashanti Regional Secretary and holding other appointments in the Rawlings government, is another. As the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NDC, he stood his grounds against the NPP's intimidation and worked hard for the NDC's good showing in the elections. He is rumoured to be on his way to Washington. Good for him.
The crux of the matter is that by this very issue of appointments, President Mills has created anxious moments for the NDC. Let nobody deceive himself that all these appointments into the Foreign Service are agreeable or acceptable. They are not, for several reasons.
Abodakpi and all others with questionable characters who are now being honoured with these “juicy” appointments are liabilities in the current political dispensation. They may still function in the NDC as party stalwarts but in reality, their public image doesn't warrant their being sent to represent the face of Ghana in foreign lands.
In the Nietzschean sense, they are like coins which have lost their picture and now matter only as metal, no longer coins. Ghana's Foreign Service deserves more than what President Mills is offering it.
Our political leaders must learn to separate partisan political party interests from those of the country. For instance, what works well for the NDC in national politics shouldn't be misconstrued as beneficial for Ghana. It is in this sense that the current list must be reviewed and those known to be carrying baggage of skeletons weeded out.
In all considerations, President Mills appears to be mindless of the broad implications of what he has just done. In effect, he is rewarding malfeasance, which the Judiciary frowned upon in the case of Abodakpi and the other felons (Kwame Peprah, Dr. George Sipa Yankey, Ibrahim Adam, etc.). But it shouldn't be so. No national leader should do things to create the demoralizing impression that he is condoning wrongdoing by public office holders. Continued
Source: Michael J.K. Bokor, Ph.D.
Although we are not told who is going where, it is certain that these political appointments into Ghana's Foreign Service leave room for much to be desired. I will say above board that some of the nominees are liabilities and shouldn't be on the list at all. Prominent among them is Dan Abodakpi, who needs no description because I assume that his huge presence in Ghana politics is common knowledge.
President Mills may be cheering himself with the illusion that he is his “own man,” but the reality is that Ghanaians see things differently. Most of his political opponents still consider him as a cat's-paw. He has a lot to do to change that impression. But he cannot do so if he continues creating anxious moments.
In fact, in nominating the 32 appointees, President Mills has made a choiceless choice and is now pushing himself and the NDC government into the center of the political fog, where they will be haunted and cannot avoid being scathed!
Is the NDC bereft of capable and credible “fresh blood” and will now recycle the “old, tired faces” for the President to appoint to public office? Or is the NDC government interested at all in making any positive difference felt in the way Ghana should be ruled? It is baffling.
Many of those nominees may be useful for NDC's local or national politics, not for Ghana's Foreign Service. And I intend to take on President Mills for not being circumspect in the choices that he has made. It is a worrisome development.
In civilized democracies where public office-holding is built on principles of public spiritedness, meritorious service, morality, and good conscience, such nominees (who know very well that they have credibility problems) will politely decline the positions being offered them. They know full well that they'll have no public trust and can't, therefore, represent national interests or even get the chance to pursue personal goals in public office. Such systems have no room for waywardness. On the contrary, our system condones it. Here is why.
DAN ABODAKPI
Dan Abodakpi's political career as a CDR cadre at Tema in the early 1980s raised him to the status of the Minister of Trade only for him to tumble down into the dark cells of the Nsawam Prison after being convicted of defrauding by false pretences and causing financial loss to the state. He was to pay $400,000 to the state, which he hasn't done to date. Bang!! An end of an otherwise glorious political career.
Re-inventing him to become an Ambassador or High Commissioner (whichever works for him) is not in the interest of Ghana. He is not the kind of “face” that Ghana should present to the international community. Abodakpi is a liability.
SAMUEL VALIS AKYIANU
Akyianu is better respected for his successful career as a Fire Officer, rising through the ranks to become the Chief Fire Officer than a politician. Great achievement! Has he had a successful political career? No! As Central Regional Minister, aspiring to become MP for Cape Coast, the death of his body-guard during his (Akyianu's) visit to his ancestral home in the Volta Region dented his image as he attracted damaging public comments. In consequence, he resigned as the Regional Minister but contested the Parliamentary elections.
He lost his political bid but was sustained by JJ Rawlings when appointed as Ambassador to the far East (Serbia, Croatia, etc.). He resurfaced as the Central Regional Chairman of the NDC. Now, he is being re-engineered as an Ambassador. More questions than answers.
MRS. AANAA ENIN
Mrs. Aanaa Enin is remembered for being booted out of the PNDC for what was described as “insolence” and impolitic behaviour only to be sent out after two years in the doldrums by Rawlings as Ghana's Ambassador. That appointment shouldn't have been made if the right thing was being done. She has now been brought back into the limelight by President Mills.
Is this the new face of the NDC?
There are others too whose peculiarities cannot be dismissed as insignificant. One of them is Hodari Okae, former Deputy Director of the Ghana Immigration Service whose encounters with the NPP government reinforce public apprehensions of the wickedness in our political dispensation. Pitiable though his plight is, I don't think that he is qualified enough to become Ghana's Ambassador or High Commissioner. He is already a retiree and has had no stint with “diplomacy” either.
Daniel Ohene Agyekum, who was once Ghana's High Commissioner to Canada before becoming the Ashanti Regional Secretary and holding other appointments in the Rawlings government, is another. As the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NDC, he stood his grounds against the NPP's intimidation and worked hard for the NDC's good showing in the elections. He is rumoured to be on his way to Washington. Good for him.
The crux of the matter is that by this very issue of appointments, President Mills has created anxious moments for the NDC. Let nobody deceive himself that all these appointments into the Foreign Service are agreeable or acceptable. They are not, for several reasons.
Abodakpi and all others with questionable characters who are now being honoured with these “juicy” appointments are liabilities in the current political dispensation. They may still function in the NDC as party stalwarts but in reality, their public image doesn't warrant their being sent to represent the face of Ghana in foreign lands.
In the Nietzschean sense, they are like coins which have lost their picture and now matter only as metal, no longer coins. Ghana's Foreign Service deserves more than what President Mills is offering it.
Our political leaders must learn to separate partisan political party interests from those of the country. For instance, what works well for the NDC in national politics shouldn't be misconstrued as beneficial for Ghana. It is in this sense that the current list must be reviewed and those known to be carrying baggage of skeletons weeded out.
In all considerations, President Mills appears to be mindless of the broad implications of what he has just done. In effect, he is rewarding malfeasance, which the Judiciary frowned upon in the case of Abodakpi and the other felons (Kwame Peprah, Dr. George Sipa Yankey, Ibrahim Adam, etc.). But it shouldn't be so. No national leader should do things to create the demoralizing impression that he is condoning wrongdoing by public office holders. Continued
"The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of Modernghana.com." To have your articles publish, please submit them to editor@modernghana.com.
Comments To This Article
2 readers have commented so far on this story. And below this page is a sample of the latest comments published. Or you can also click view all to read all comments that readers have sent in.
mills appointees
AWURADEBASA | munich-germany (Canada) | 7/15/2009 10:47:00 AM
Are there any intelligent Ghanaians following the NDC ?NOPE..... where are you 2012?
The world bank
Paul Hermit | Koforidua-Ghana (United Kingdom) | 9/4/2009 5:20:00 PM
Dan is from the Volta region and to ensure the 100% vote you can pick anybody from that region be he a thief or what. Their philosophy is ''Get out there and grab everything by any means and bring home'' The thief the person is the betterit is for them.An advice for Mills, the more of Rawlings choices he picks for the armforces the easier it will be for Rawlings to remove him from power. Let's bet!
