I will begin by empathising with the late Mills family for their agony over the unfortunate resurrection of the arguments surrounding his unexplained death.
As a matter of fact, they don’t deserve all the political gimmickry over their departed loved one, former President Mills.
Having said so, despite the unfortunate revisiting of the events surrounding the death of former President Mills, it is worth setting the records straight.
On Wednesday 14 September 2016, while addressing voters at Cape Coast, the PPP presidential candidate Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom had this to say: “the NDC cannot pretend to be sad about the death of the president and at the same time jubilate over something they said was the reason why they won the 2012 elections” (See: ‘NDC leaders jubilated over Mills death’-Nduom; myjoyonline.com, 15/09/2016).
Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom proceeds: “Mills was our kinsman and he became the president”. “Some people criticized and attacked him until he died”.
Unsurprisingly, however, following Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom’s pronouncement, he was virulently attacked by the NDC apparatchiks, most notably, the NDC National organiser, Kofi Adams and the Central Regional chairman of the party, Allotey Jacobs.
Kofi Adams proceeds furiously: “there is something fundamentally and intellectually wrong with Dr Nduom to go out there and be saying some of these things he is reported to have”. “How on earth will you be happy over someone’s death” (See: ‘Something is wrong with Nduom’-Kofi Adams; ultimatefmonline.com/ghanaweb.com, 16/09/2016).
Allotey Jacobs also proceeds lividly: “I am very disappointed in Papa Kwesi Nduom for those remarks made against Mills and the NDC”. “If he continues with those childish remarks, we will chase him out from the region” (See: ‘I will chase Nduom out of Central Region’-Jacobs; adomonline.com/ghanaweb.com, 16/09/2016).
Allotey Jacobs however states categorically: “Papa [Kwesi Nduom] should apologize to the NDC and the people of the Central Region because we think he is making fun of us else the people of Central Region will not accept him”.
May be both Kofi Adams and Allotey Jacobs need help with their apparent memory loss or their selective amnesia.
For if that was not the case, Kofi Adams and Allotey Jacobs would have recollected that their party founder, J. J. Rawlings had previously claimed that the death of President John Mills in 2012 was a life saver for the ruling National Democratic Congress (See- ’Rawlings: ‘Mills’ death saved NDC’ ; starrfmonline.com, 18/03/2016).
The fact of the matter is that Papa Kwesi Nduom was right for reiterating that the late Mills was actually vilified by his own party members.
Take, for instance, disgruntled people like Kofi Adams and his minions, who formed an opposition group called ‘Friends of Nana Konadu Agyemang (FONKA) with a view to unsettling President Mills and his government.
Papa Kwesi Nduom continues: “And some of the NDC people themselves thanked God that Mills died, is that not strange?” “And after his death they came back here to tell us to replace him with another person from the Central region”.
I couldn’t agree more with Papa Kwesi Nduom on this one. Indeed, the NDC apparatchiks benefited from the sudden death of President Mills.
President Mahama for instance, strangely pronounced after the unfortunate death of President Mills: “God in his own wisdom has taken the old man, Professor Mills away to pave the way for youthful Mahama to take over the mantle”.
“Speaking to GHONE’s Nana Aba Anamoah in an exclusive interview, Mr Rawlings said the NDC was in a terrible state under the Professor”.
“If God hadn’t invited him, and I am saying it again; NDC would have been in opposition”. “It was terrible, the climate was really bad for us; we all knew about it, we were just keeping quiet”. “It was his departure that gave NDC a saving grace,” he stated.
Isn’t it therefore ironic that people like Kofi Adams and Allotey Jacobs would turn a blind eye to their party founder’s sensational revelation over their jubilations on former President Mills death, but would rather choose to attack Papa Kwesi Nduom for standing on the shoulders of Rawlings to expand on the arguments surrounding the unexplained death of the late Mills?
As a matter of fact, any critical thinker like Papa Kwesi Nduom will no doubt infer from your founder’s claims that you lots were happy to see the late Mills go.
The fact, though, is if we engage in deductive reasoning on former President Rawlings’s apparent chilling revelations, the inference we could draw is that you lots were happy over the late mills death.
For if nothing at all, former President Rawlings has boldly asserted that all of you were extremely worried over the late Mills fitness and did not have any hope whatsoever on his chances of securing a second term in office.
“In the view of former President John Rawlings, the NDC would have been languishing in opposition if the professor had not died”.
Don’t you lot think you have unfairly attacked Papa Kwesi Nduom for reiterating your party founder’s assertion?
Yes, I think you lot have been attacking Papa Kwesi Nduom unfairly for reiterating your own party founder’s assertion.
Interestingly, however, a lot of NDC executives have supported former President Rawlings’s revelations on the late mills fitness and their concerns about his chances of securing a second term in office.
Thus, it came as no surprise when the Eastern Regional Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Bismark Tawiah Boateng claimed that his party made a ‘mistake’ by presenting the late John Evans Atta Mills for the 2008 elections (See: ‘Mills was a mistake president’-NDC chairman; ghanaweb.com/adomonline.com, 19/10/2015).
“According to him, the party knew very well that the late President, who died some months to the 2012 general elections, was ill and could not perform the hefty task required of a President but yet presented him just to win power”.
“Sometimes, I wonder why Mills became the president because it was a total mistake allowing him to run for president and subsequently dying because of ill health…,” he said.
So, if Kofi Adams and Allotey Jacobs really want to attack anyone for spilling the beans over their jubilations on the late Mills death, then it should be their own founder of the NDC Party, J. J. Rawlings.