National cohesion critical

On Monday, January 7, 2013, Ghana went through another inaugural ceremony, when President John Dramani Mahama was installed as the fourth President of the Fourth Republic. The global community watched with appreciation and applauded, heaping tonnes of accolade on us. But we would be wiser to realise that we still have a long way to go. Since the 1992 Constitution came into force on January 7, 1993, the country has held presidential and parliamentary elections in 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 and the latest in 2012. None of these came off without controversy and acrimony. The most contentious one was that of 1992, when the presidential election was held before the parliamentary one. The New Patriotic Party’s presidential candidate, Professor Albert Adu Boahen, had serious problems with the polls which he claimed were heavily rigged in favour of Flt Lt Jerry John Rawlings, who stood on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC). So aggrieved was the New Patriotic Party (NPP), that it boycotted the parliamentary elections. That development did not only undermine our political advancement, it also affected our national psyche and tore the country into two, with one party running the show, while the other looked on passively. The 1993-1996 parliament nearly upturned the constitutional order and made Ghana a one-party state but for a few members who stood on the ticket of the National Convention Party (NCP) and as independent candidates. That might have informed the decision to hold both presidential and parliamentary elections on the same day, apart from cost considerations. What could be described as the biggest test for the Fourth Republic and the electoral process came in 2000, when the NDC lost power to the NPP in the December elections of that year. At least, that change gave assurance to Ghanaians that change through the ballot box is possible and reinforced our confidence in the democratic path we chose for ourselves. Incidentally, that was the second election conducted by the Electoral Commission (EC) under the chairmanship of Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan. A second test came in 2008, when the NPP lost political power to the NDC in the general election. A case was made again emphatically that a political party in government could easily go into opposition if it failed to deliver to the satisfaction of the electorate. That is the strength of our democracy and which has brought us this far. With the nasty experience of the 1992 polls as timely warning, a lot of reforms were introduced into the electoral process to make it more transparent, and reliable to reduce or minimise malpractices associated with general elections. At various stages, transparent ballot boxes were introduced, black and white photo ID cards gave way to colour ID cards. The latest reform was the introduction of the biometric registration of voters and verification of voters on voting day. All these notwithstanding, our EC, under Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, which presided over all the country’s presidential and parliamentary elections except the one held in 1992, has still not been able to erase doubts from the minds of all Ghanaians. The approach of every election puts the country in a war mood. Every interested party has something to complain about the electoral process and the integrity and impartiality of the EC and its officers are always put to question. Violent and foul words always fill the air, causing fear and panic among the larger population The Afari-Gyan, who presided over the 2000 polls which saw power being transferred from the NDC to the NPP and in 2008, when the NPP handed over to the NDC, is still seen with suspicion by both parties. After the latest reforms, we were all expecting that after the polls, both the winners and losers would shake hands and this country would move on with all hands on deck in the pursuit of national development. This was not to be. In fairness to the EC and to ourselves as a people, the 2012 election was without any incident such as ballot box snatching, intimidation or violent attack on political opponents. That was to our credit. While the world was praising us for one of the best elections ever, one party, the NPP, which commands the support of almost 50 per cent of the electorate, is in court challenging the results. The challenge is legitimate, more so when it is being pursued in a court of law as prescribed by the Constitution, so there should be no qualms about that. What is of worry to some of us, and I want to believe that we are in the majority, is the fact that since 1993 when the first government under the Fourth Republic was formed, we Ghanaians have never been able to put our energies together behind our governments. We have never succeeded in pursuing any national development agenda with a common purpose, with collective resolute and with national determination. Many projects on which national resources have been spent are still at the skeleton stages because they were initiated by other governments. Policies have been abandoned midway because there was a change of government. Our educational system has been one of the victims of such lack of national cohesion and national development agenda and our children are the greatest losers. This year for instance, there will be two batches writing the West African Senior School Certificate Examination. One group did four years of senior secondary education while the other did three years of the same course. So two batches, one examination and the same number of tertiary institutions to admit them. That is the chaos we are creating for this country without knowing because we lack accommodation, tolerance and understanding in our politics. Until President John Mahama decided to relocate to the Jubilee/Flagstaff House, the edifice built at national expense to house the presidency was a wasteland, maybe home to rodents and miscreants. This country has enough resources to turn the place if we would allow patriotism and nationalism to take the better part of us. If elections are the dividing line, then the EC must go a step further by introducing biometric voting in 2016, so that human beings would play very little part in the counting process to reduce any doubts or the possibility of cheating in any form. We have held on through thick and thin. We have proved our determination to make things work no matter the challenges. But we cannot continue to rely on luck. We need to tackle our electoral process with all seriousness if we are to avoid the pitfalls of others and to move this nation forward in unity. fokofi@yahoo.co.uk kofiakordor.blogspot.com

The monster at Tetteh-Quarshie

Many Ghanaians were excited when the Kufuor Administration decided to put on the ground, what had been on the drawing board for years to transform the huge Tetteh-Quarshie roundabout into a modern traffic interchange. The reasons for this were many: First, Tetteh-Quarshie had become a major central point from where traffic moved in various directions and its major transformation would to enable it to redirect and ease traffic flow. Second, since it was named after a great son of the land who was instrumental in bringing cocoa to Ghana which has become the mainstay of the national economy, it was only fair to expect that the place would be developed to international standards as a monument befitting the memory of the person after whom it was named. Third but not least, at the time that programme was initiated we were approaching the Golden Jubilee of nationhood, and we were expecting that the new Tetteh-Quarshie Interchange would be one of the monumental birthday gifts for the country as we prepared to journey through another 50 years of national development. Strange to relate, after its completion and opening to traffic, the government did not show any enthusiasm to do any official inauguration, which was contrary to the culture of our political leaders who are too eager to inaugurate even the smallest of projects with a lot of fanfare. This naturally aroused suspicion that something might have gone wrong. It did not take too long for us to realise that the Tetteh-Quarshie Interchange was after all a mistake. The poor design work did not meet the expectation of many as we realised sooner than later that the interchange which was supposed to be a masterpiece of engineering work that would add beauty to the national capital and facilitate free flow of traffic turned out to be the opposite. Upon questioning, we were told from some sources that as part of cost-cutting measures, the government ordered the downgrading of the original design. It does not need any technical mind to notice that the Tetteh-Quarshie Interchange has serious design defects which have made nonsense of beauty and free traffic flow. One visible feature of the interchange which without any doubt is one of the most horrible bottlenecks in road construction is a roundabout which blocks traffic coming from Accra towards Tema and those coming from the Spintex Road trying to make contact with the interchange. On normal days, traffic between Accra and Tema via the motorway and from the Spintex Road is heavily impeded because of that ubiquitous roundabout which defies any engineering logic. Matters were compounded and made worse, when the government granted permission for a huge shopping mall to be constructed at the interchange. This increased the human and vehicular traffic and the accompanying frustration of motorists. As stated earlier, on normal days, the traffic situation could be very bad. It becomes worse on special occasions such as weekends and holidays when attendance at the shopping mall increases. On such occasions, vehicular movement is virtually at a standstill. The decision to scale down the design of the interchange may sound prudent at the time it was made, but as things stand now, it is more or less like saving money today to suffer tomorrow. An attempt to ease traffic at the interchange by constructing a by-pass from the Polo Grounds to link up with the Spintex Road is moving so slowly that many are wondering if it would ever be completed to serve the purpose. City authorities are still unable to define the status of the Spintex Road, one of the busy roads that discharges into the Tetteh-Quarshie Interchange. From the Sakumono end, it begins as a single-lane road till the Flower Pot area, where it expands into a dual carriageway. Then getting close to the interchange, it narrows again as a single lane. Meanwhile so heavy is the traffic that the least obstruction in the form of an accident or otherwise quickly builds it up and compounds the already bad situation. By all considerations, Tetteh-Quarshie still remains a major obstacle because vehicles on the N1 from the direction of Achimota going to Tema or the Spintex Road come to meet the poor design work at Tetteh-Quarshie which slows down everything. The lesson we should learn from the Tetteh-Quarshie Interchange is that: Accra is not just a national capital; it is also a fast-growing city and any new road development project should factor in this reality in the design work. Work is expected to start very soon, hopefully by the middle of the year, on the Kwame Nkrumah Circle Interchange. We hope the engineers and politicians are not going to do a piece of shoddy work in the name of cost cutting. The Kwame Nkrumah Circle is more or less the city centre and it bears the name of the great Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, the Founder of the Republic of Ghana, a man who had shown great vision and foresight in all his plans for this country. We should, therefore, not do anything that would demean the image of the man. Monuments are not built or erected for the fun of it but for serious purposes. Any edifice named after Nkrumah should command respect befitting the man. The Tetteh-Quarshie Interchange in its present form has done very little to project the image of the man after whom it was named. The little money we claimed we saved yesterday is wasted because we are going to spend tenfold or more of that money to bring Tetteh-Quarshie Interchange to appreciable international standards that could make this nation proud. Until we do that it will remain a monster that would continue to devour our precious time and limited fuel and raise our blood pressure to dangerous levels. fokof@yahoo.co.uk kofiakordor.blogspot.com

Many more rivers to cross

Another gruelling, nerve-wracking election has come to an end, with the declaration of President John Dramani Mahama, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate, as the winner. Official results released by the Electoral Commission (EC), which were read to the public on Sunday night, indicated that Mr Mahama received 5,574,761 votes, being 50.7 per cent of the 10,995,262 valid votes cast nationwide. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) followed closely behind with 5,248,898 votes, representing 47.74 per cent of the national votes. The other presidential candidates cumulatively received a little over one per cent of the votes. The process was generally acknowledged by many, including the various observer missions, to be free and fair and without many nasty incidents. However, there were equipment challenges and delays in delivery of electoral materials which dragged the election into a second day in some places. The challenges posed by the electoral equipment had not been ruled out totally in the estimation of affairs, but the delays were purely human and should have been avoided. Otherwise, the voting process was faster than it had been in previous years, which means with time the voting time could be reduced considerably. Just as we were about patting one another on the back for a good job done, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) raised an issue with discrepancies they claim were recorded at some polling and collation centres. If there should be any element of truth in the allegations, then it means those appointed by the NPP to protect its interests dropped their guard somewhere along the line. That could not be blamed on the EC, which had always stressed the point that elections were won or lost at the polling centres and, therefore, urged party representatives to remain vigilant at all times. The reaction of the supporters of the party who stormed the offices of the EC brought back painful and distressful memories of what happened in 2008 when NDC supporters, acting on suspicion that the EC was in for some sinister acts, massed up at the offices of the EC, ready to do battle. Such a picture being beamed to a global audience, while our democracy continued to be touted as a beacon for the rest of Africa, is disgusting and, to some of us, even disgraceful and should be avoided at all cost in future events. It is unfortunate that more than 24 hours after the declaration of the official results, Nana Akufo-Addo is yet to concede defeat and congratulate the victorious Mahama. What that means is that we are embarking on another political administration already fragmented without any national cohesion. We are starting in an atmosphere of suspicion and acrimony, a situation which is damaging to our national health. Mr Mahama can now feel confident that he has moved from a caretaker leader to an elected one who has the full confidence of the people. I believe that during the campaign, his focus was not only on the crowd of party supporters who clamoured to listen to him but also on the condition of the roads in the country and the abject conditions under which the majority of our people live. He, therefore, does not need anyone to remind him that there is a big task ahead of him. We must begin to see the problems of this country beyond Accra and a few other towns and cities and face the real truth that the majority of our people are only existing and are still far away from the basic requirements of human survival. During the electioneering, almost all the presidential candidates pledged to distance themselves from factionalism and see themselves as leaders of this dear country of ours. This is a big challenge to the President as he fastens himself into the saddle to take up the mantle of leadership. He must try to break the winner-takes-all syndrome which is at the centre of the hostility, viciousness, mischief and intolerance that have characterised our politics. The fear of losing one’s livelihood and self-esteem when a group of people are in political power is, arguably, one of the reasons people are prepared to do anything to gain or retain power. If we will see governments as institutions that are to shepherd state affairs for the benefit of all, there will be very little motivation for people to adopt all sorts of cruel and crooked means to win political power. It is the hope of many that President Mahama will live up to his words to ensure that the national wealth flow in all directions, without distinction or discrimination, so that any person who is prepared to work will get his/her due reward. We have scraped through another election with some appreciable level of success. Ours may be far better than that of others and the international community is going to heap praises on us. That is good for our national psyche. We must, however, admit that so long as our national elections continue to be conducted in an atmosphere of fear and suspicion, so long as we never conclude any election without one party or another complaining of discrepancies, and so long as our elections never bring us together as a united people who must share in the bounty of our national resources and, where it becomes necessary, we acknowledge our failures and resolve to correct them, we must gird our loins, for there are many more rivers to cross. fokofi@yahoo.co.uk kofiakordor.blogpot.com

Fear, suspicion and desperation

Under normal circumstances, we would expect that periods of national elections would offer exciting moments when we look forward to electing a national leadership that will steer the affairs of state. Not only that; we would elect a leadership that would be able to harness the enormous resources God has given this country to move it from a state of under-development to a developed one. Unfortunately, elections in Ghana have become periods of fear, anxiety and apprehension. Whenever national elections approach, the whole country becomes a vast prayer camp where, with one voice, we pray for God’s abundant mercies and eternal forgiveness to see us through those elections with our bodies intact. It is strange and somehow sad that an opportunity to elect national leaders leaves everybody nervous and prepared for the worst. Strangely, those who are the key players in the exercise that has forced this country into a type of jungle where the fittest survives are the loudest calling for restraint and pledges of commitment to peace. Maybe the seeds of national discord and hostility were planted many years ago when we could not agree on a common ground for political independence. That disunity at independence continued to run through our political discourse and drew a battle line between the for and the against people. Somehow, that antagonism at independence which played a role in the declaration of a one-party state by Dr Kwame Nkrumah and his eventual overthrow faded a bit, as evidenced by the political campaigns of 1969 and 1979 when the country emerged from military dictatorships to civilian administrations. There was a return to the pre-independence and immediate post-independence days when the country was torn between powerful and rival political factions with the return to the Fourth Republic in 1992. The National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) both campaigned with strong tribal or ethnic undertones, a development which was not good for the psyche of the country. Our politics, for the larger part, is, therefore, not a contest of ideas and how to choose the best among the lot but a straight fight between those who can exert ethnic muscle and fan tribal hatred to win power. While there is the possibility of ethnocentricism, devastating though it is, crumbling with time or diminishing in influence as more and more people get enlightened and appreciate the beauty of unity in diversity, there is a more dangerous canker which poses a greater danger to the survival of our democracy and the stability of our country. This is the commercialisation of politics. Politics is gradually losing the objective of being an opportunity to serve and has rather become a means to instant wealth. If politicians are becoming desperate to win or retain power, it is not because their efforts to contribute to the development of this country are being thwarted but because, in the case of majority of them, their ambition to make it big without any sweat is being frustrated. It is obvious that many of those who have already established themselves in their chosen careers are not anxious to pursue political ambitions, even though they would prefer to have people they perceive to be more sympathetic to their cause in political authority. The only way to solve that problem is to make it more and more difficult for politicians in power and their collaborators in business to walk away with what they loot from state coffers. Once it becomes more unattractive to steal from state coffers, many people will not have the incentive to plunge head-long into politics. As a first step, anti-corruption laws and institutions should be strengthened and granted greater autonomy, with very little or no interference from the Executive, which spearheads the corruption deals in public service. Institutions such as the Economic and Organised Crimes Office (EOCO), the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Attorney-General’s Department, as presently constituted and operating directly or indirectly under the authority of the Executive, do not offer any hope in the fight against corruption. Until we make it difficult for men and women to turn millionaires overnight because of their political activities, we may chant peace but we should not expect a smooth terrain in our political discourse. We may not get the men and women with the call and the desire to serve this country, except the marauders who want to rape and plunder. Again, until we get an economy that can sustain credible employment for our young men and women, the hordes of our youth will fall prey to political vampires who would exploit their vulnerability. We are a few days away from Election 2012. We have said enough prayers to drown the ears of God. We have signed peace accords and made public declarations in favour of peace. Let’s wake up on Friday morning and cast our ballots peacefully and wait for the outcome. That is an obligation we owe to ourselves, not to any politician or political party. Let fear, panic and desperation evaporate into the skies and in their place, calm and order should reign. fokofi@yahoo.co.uk kofiakordor.blogspot.com

What the IEA debates didn't tell us

The presidential debates initiated by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) have been welcomed by many. They at least push us towards the more entrenched democracies where candidates appear before well-informed audiences to respond to serious national issues. We can do better by going beyond the debates and holding periodic encounters where whoever wins the election to form the government could be put before a similar audience to respond to his/her campaign promises and not necessarily wait until the end of his/her term. Whether the debates will influence the voting pattern or whether the candidates will live up to their words are different matters but the venture is worth taking and we hope next time, all the presidential candidates will be offered equal opportunity to make their voices heard on the same platform. This year’s two debates held in Tamale and Accra might have addressed some serious issues but ignored what some may think are trivial and need not bother presidential candidates. Some of us think on a daily basis, some issues have become such a part of us that they should be ignored. But these issues must equally be given serious attention as the other good things promised by the candidates. The first that readily comes to mind is the traffic situation in Accra, our national capital. Accra is a relatively small city compared to some of the world capitals and mega-cities. However, the traffic situation in Accra surpasses that of most of the bigger and more densely populated cities in other parts of the world. The situation has become so terrible that one could hardly predict his/her movement from one part of the city to another with any form of accuracy. Throughout t the day, all roads leading to the city centre are choked with heavy traffic which exert enormous pressure on commuters. Workers and students who want to beat the traffic are compelled to wake up very early to set off. This means one has to wake up very early and return home very late. Such a routine is not good for anybody’s health. Those who cannot make the regular dawn journey are trapped for long hours in traffic and get to the office already exhausted. This seriously undermines the productivity we are all yearning for. The traffic situation is serious and it acts as a huge disincentive to those who will want to do business in the country, taking into account our relatively stable political environment and the resources at our disposal. The relief brought to commuters with the opening of the George Bush Expressway is a clear indication that Accra is greatly handicapped in modern road network befitting a modern capital city. Most of the intersections and roundabouts have become bottlenecks in traffic distribution in the capital. Several of the roundabouts in the capital city, including the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, the Obetsebi-Lamptey Circle, the Danquah Circle, have outlived their usefulness and must give way to modern designs and constructions that will take care of the numerous vehicles plying the city roads. In addition to that, we need a more efficient traffic light system than what is existing now. The Accra-Tema Motorway which was the nation’s pride is now worn out and only a symbol of a past glory. After 50 years or so, the motorway has paid its dues and must be decommissioned to give way to something new. Another thing the debates failed to tell us is what our presidents are going to do to stem road accidents which have become part of our daily lives. Some of us believe that the sermons are not doing the trick and we need to address the fundamental issues right from the office of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) to road checks mounted by the officers and men of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service. If in the past we did not factor road safety as a major national issue, things have changed drastically and we need to give the matter a special attention if we are to restore sanity onto our roads. Perhaps it is time to redefine the mandate of the MTTU as a special wing of the Ghana Police Service with service head whose authority is national and not what pertains now when the MTTU boss has a big title but very little authority. Another national canker is the indiscipline that has permeated the building industry in the country. Two weeks ago, we were witnesses to a tragic event, when a five-storey building collapsed killing 14 innocent people and injuring many others. For those who survived, many will live with the psychological scar for the rest of their lives. Part of the traffic problem mentioned earlier could be attributed to the haphazard way many buildings have been constructed in the city with some taking land that was originally earmarked for roads. We cannot talk about good health without paying attention to the filth that is swallowing the capital city. Accra’s sanitation problems have become a major issue that must be addressed with all seriousness and we would want to hear the voices of our presidential candidates on such major issues. Others may not see it as a big problem but begging in the city especially at traffic intersections has become a menace. It can be scary when someone emerges from your blind side begging for alms. Sometimes it is not easy to tell who is a beggar and who is an armed robber. Both operate at traffic intersections. While focusing on the big issues of unemployment, education, energy and others let us not lose sight of the fact that these little things play significant roles in our daily lives and need to be tackled with equal zeal. fokofi@yahoo.co.uk kofiakordor.blogspot.com

The price for institutional indiscipline, corruption

The whole nation went into frenzy when the unexpected happened. The tragedy of Wednesday, November 14, 2012 triggered a flurry of rescue activities unprecedented in the country. The first individuals who got to scene soon after the collapse of the five-storey building housing the Melcom Shopping Mall at Achimota, a suburb of Accra, the national capital, applied whatever implements they could lay their hands on, including bare hands, before organised institutions like the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), the National Ambulance Service, the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), the Ghana Armed Forces, Zoomlion and many others joined forces in the rescue mission. While rescue efforts were underway, unexpectedly, there was a relentless verbal assault on parties considered to have played various roles to bring about the calamity. They include the owner of the building who was later identified as Nana Nkansah Boadi Ayeboafo, the management of the Melcom Group for not doing due diligence before occupying the building and of course the city authorities for not executing their mandate satisfactorily with regard to the construction of structures whether for domestic, commercial or industrial purposes in the city. Interestingly, one person who was very visible and vocal in the scheme of things was Dr Alfred Okoe Vanderpuije, the Metropolitan Chief Executive, the man who has full jurisdiction over Achimota where the incident happened and who, under normal circumstances should bear full responsibility for the tragedy. It was not strange that after such a monstrous calamity, which at the last count had cost 14 lives and many others injured, there should be a public inquest on the altar of public opinion, to look for scapegoats and possibly pass the buck. The most contentious issue was as to whether there was an approved building permit, and if there was one, whether the building inspectors matched the designed against the site plan and whether the contractor who executed the project, did a professional job. Members of the public were yet to know the truth. While the AMA boss, Dr Vanderpuije, who was quick to download the problem onto the shoulders of others, claimed that there was no permit, Nana Ayeboafo claims he had a permit and other documents that he could produce to prove his case. Dr Vanderpuije was the first to wash his hands off the disaster by telling Ghanaians that the construction of the building started long before he assumed office. He did not fail to point accusing fingers at others and was also instrumental in the arrest of the owner of building, Nana Ayeboafo, and two building inspectors – Karl Henry Clerke and Christian Ababio. Typical of us, there were torrents of advice from all corners as to what should have been done to prevent the Achimota catastrophe and what should be done to avoid similar tragedies in future. What we failed to acknowledge is that even going by existing building regulations, we still have enough legislation to ensure sanity and protect life and property if we apply the rules to the letter. What we lack is the will and determination to apply the rules and regulations we have set for ourselves. We have become a country notorious for making laws that we are not prepared to enforce because of institutional negligence or indiscipline and corruption. One area where we have been severely exposed as a nation is in the construction or better still, the building sector. In comparative terms, Accra our national capital is nothing to write home about because of the haphazard nature of its planning. Accra is about the only national capital where structures of all kinds could spring up anywhere, anytime without recourse to any layouts. Accra has become flood-prone because nobody cares about watercourses and you can drive on roads that end up in the garage of someone’s house. The Town and Country Planning Department and its counterpart departments in the various assemblies have shirked their responsibilities to the state to an extent that those who want to do the right thing become victims of a corrupt system. Because of unnecessary bureaucracy and red-tapeism, corrupt officials have exploited the system, making it extremely difficult for those who genuinely want to acquire building permits to do so without any hindrance. If what pertains in the construction sector could be described as lawlessness, the transportation sector is a huge jungle. This is perhaps about the only place where once you have two legs and two arms you can easily pass as a driver. We all know why our roads have become killing fields but lack the moral strength to enforce the motor traffic regulations to save the situation. Any time there is a major accident which claims innocent lives, we are bombarded with pious sermons on efforts to ensure road safety only to relax and wait for another tragedy. The Melcom tragedy and similar ones are a constant reminder that when we allow national institutions to decay in indiscipline and corruption, we only prepare the ground for such national tragedies, most of which are avoidable. fokofi@yahoo.co.uk kofiakordor.blogspot.com

The beauty of American democracy

One of the fiercest battles for the Oval Office in the White House in modern American history ended dramatically last Tuesday night when Obama added the Ohio electoral votes to his tally to earn his passage for a second term as President of the United States of America. Until then, it was too close to call. When all was over, the Americans exhibited a character which set them apart from the rest of us and which has made that nation the cynosure of the rest of the world. First was the speech delivered by Governor Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate who gave incumbent Obama the scare of his life, to his supporters in Boston, Massachusetts, after he had called the President to concede defeat and to congratulate him on his re-election. Obviously, Romney came so close and was clearly disappointed that his message was rejected by the majority of American voters. However, he never sounded bitter, acrimonious nor antagonistic. He never looked for scapegoats for his defeat or saw the manipulations of unseen hands to thwart his ambition to occupy the most powerful office in the world. In a brief speech, Romney accepted the verdict of the American people and said he had no option than to respect the wish of the majority of Americans and lend his support to President Obama so that together they could work to attain the vision for America. That is well said and done. On the other side, President addressed thousands in Chicago without sounding pompous. At his oratorical best, he delivered one of his most powerful and emotional speeches to thank his supporters, especially those who did the field work to ensure his victory in the tight race. At no time did Obama try to rake old wounds by making reference to the campaign period, which is now history. He did not make any disparaging remarks about the man who was his opponent in the race to the White House. The battle was over and everything he said was about America and the way forward. He said once the elections were over, his administration would work with the Republicans to address the concerns of Americans. Any lessons there? President Obama noted that America had achieved its greatness not because of its status as the world’s wealthiest and most powerful nation, nor for its culture and institutions of learning. America is great because of the greatness and unity of its people who come from diverse backgrounds. This is why others from other nations are clamouring to come and have a taste of the great America. Throughout the campaign period, the American flag was more visible than party flags or other paraphernalia as we see here. The message is simple. The people were pursuing an agenda to elect an American President and not a party president. Electoral contests are not duels between two combatants who are putting their physical strengths to test. They are contests of ideas and the electorate are the judges. Victory for one person means his ideas have triumphed and have been accepted by the majority of the people. This should not be seen as a personal victory to be flaunted and used to taunt others. Political campaigns in the US cannot be said to be smooth always. They could be rough at times, but the bottom line is they are dominated by issues. Once the elections are over, the elected person becomes the President of the US and not a party representative at the seat of government, in our case the Osu Castle who does as he/she pleases to either favour party members or isolate the rest of us. Both Obama and Romney emphasised the point that as individuals, they have their interests and diverse opinions, but what matters is their collective decision and effort to push their nation forward. Obama was elected not because his father came from Kenya in Africa, was born in Hawaii and has Chicago in the State of Illinois as his hometown. His support base cut across the colour spectrum and transcends racial barriers – Whites, Hispanics Latinos and Blacks. He was elected because the majority of Americans bought into his vision of bringing change to America. He won the hearts of the majority of the Americans again because they still share in his vision and believe that he deserves another four years to deliver. If we want this nation to move forward and come close to greatness, we should stop playing the tribal and ethnic cards. We must begin to assess candidates on their merits and what we think they are capable of. We must begin to purge our politics of fanaticism and blind loyalty. America is great because over the years, the people have been able to harness the strength of their diversity and multiple talents into a great cohesive union. We are a few weeks away from our presidential and parliamentary polls and we could do with a few lessons from the American experience. We must begin to dwell on the issues that continue to pin us down to the ground despite all the human and material resources God has generously given us. Our presidential candidates must convince the electorate that they are eager to occupy the Castle not because they want to fleece the country and satisfy their selfish interests but that of the nation. Our politicians must realise that they have no powers of their own and that what makes them powerful is the collective power of the people transferred to them to manage in trust. Let us also resolve that our electoral process will be an opportunity to offer alternatives towards the same ultimate goal. Let us also come to terms with the fact that when we lose, it may not be because the people do not like us or hate us but because other alternatives have prevailed. To those who may emerge victorious, let them not consider it a personal victory but a victory for superior ideas and an opportunity to transform these into practice that would bring drastic and qualitative change in the lives of the people. We must agree that when the contest is over, we are back together as one with one President who must embrace all of us as one big family. fokofi@yahoo.co.uk kofiakordor.blogspot.com