I am not a fan of the Military. I was born in 1979 at a time when Ghana was under Military rule and most of my childhood days were under Military rule until 1992 when Ghana returned to Constitutional rule. Since I began my practice as a Human Rights Lawyer, I have also dealt with a number of Military brutality cases which made me develop a very negative view of the Military and their approaches.
However, I recently chanced upon a profound statement by a renowned Military General and decided to read a little about the said general and found that he was such an astute Soldier who dedicated his life to fight for Britain during the 1st and 2nd World Wars and fought many other battles and was extremely successful. I discovered that his secret was how he perceived leadership and the roles of leaders. This was what this very successful British Army Officer said about Leadership: He stated “My own definition of leadership is this: The capacity and the will to rally men and women to a common purpose and the character which inspires confidence” – General Montgomery
I decided to reflect on these words: capacity to rally men and women to a common purpose and the character which inspires confidence. In my reflections, I realized why Ghana has not developed much under previous Leaders but most importantly under this Akuffo-Addo – Bawumia led Government. I again asked, since 2016, when the NPP took over the reins of government, what can we say is our common purpose; how has this government led us to this common purpose, and in what ways has the President inspired confidence in Ghanaians into our collective future? Obviously, ours is a cocktail of failed promises, covered cases of corruption, naked abuse of power and intimidation of all well-meaning Ghanaians who criticize government, unlawful arrests of journalists; closure of radio and tv stations perceived to be critical of government, insensitive and senseless banking sector clean-up leading to several job losses, lack of accountability with covid-19 funds, among many others. How can this tail inspire confidence into a common future?
On account of the above, I have decided to briefly assess the leadership of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia. This article covers the 5 years of failed leadership which could lead to a failed state if care is not taken.
Following completion of the first term of President Akufo-Addo, as President of the Republic of Ghana and Commander-In-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces and completion of the first year of the 2nd term of this government, I seek to assess the record of the Akufo-Addo-led Government in areas of Democratic Accountability and Governance, Economic Transformation, Foreign Affairs, Corruption, Security, Education, Human Rights and Media Freedoms, Industrialisation and Job Creation, and Agriculture and Food Security. The areas of assessment were carefully selected because they form the building blocks of any Democratic State and governance in general.
Democratic Accountability and Governance
Every democracy hinges on accountability and good governance. Accountable governance means the willingness to accept responsibility for one’s governance decisions and actions. This implies the conscious decision to empower agencies of accountability and subjecting the governance decisions to public scrutiny on high moral and ethical standards and honesty for public life. This has been visibly missing in the Akuffo Addo-Bawumia led government for these 5 years.
Speaking at the launch of the NPP Manifesto in Accra on Monday, October 10 2016, then-Candidate Akufo Addo stated “I am passionate about promoting a state structure that rests on a true separation of powers, with three genuine co-equal branches of government, because that guarantees good governance and is the best protection for citizens.”
However, under this government, Ghana’s rank on the World Democracy Index 2020 reduced from 54th position with an overall score of 6.75 in 2016 to 59th position with an overall score of 6.50 for the year 2020. This followe
