The Ghanaian Transition

President John Atta-Mills of Ghana died on July 24, 2012 and was succeeded by his Vice-President John Dramani Mahama on the same day. Atta-Mills, who was aged 68, served as President of Ghana from 2009 when he took over from ex-President John Kufuor till his death. He had previously been Vice-President under Jerry Rawlings from 1997-2001 and unsuccessfully contested the presidency in 2000 and 2004 as candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC). He was the first Ghanaian president to die in office. Born on July 21, 1944, Atta-Mills was Fante from Ekumfi Otuan and attended Achimota School and University of Ghana, Legon where he obtained his law degree in 1967. He studied at London School of Economics and the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London obtaining a PhD in law based on a doctoral thesis in taxation and economic development. He lectured at his alma mater in Legon for twenty-five years and served as Visiting Professor at Temple Law School, Philadelphia, USA. He was in charge of Ghana’s Internal Revenue Service from 1986 to 1996 and remarkably won the presidency in 2009 with only 50.23% of the vote against the equally formidable candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akufo-Addo. He was married with a son. (Source: Wikipedia) Upon Mills death, his erstwhile Vice-President, John Dramani Mahama was promptly sworn-in as mandated by the Constitution of Ghana. Born in November 29, 1958, Mahama is described by Wikipedia as a communications expert, historian and writer. He was a Member of Parliament from 1997 to 2009 and Minister for Communications from 1998 to 2001. Born in Damongo in Damongo-Daboya Constituency of Ghana, Mahama’s father was also a Member of Parliament. Like Atta-Mills, he attended Achimota and Legon, and obtained a degree in History and post-graduate qualification in communications. He also studied social sciences in the old Soviet Union and worked in Ghana’s diplomatic service and the development sector. He is now the presumptive nominee of the NDC in the next presidential elections and is expected to be confirmed as candidate in a party congress scheduled for September 1, 2012. Nigeria and Ghana share many historical similarities-British colonialism and its legacies of the English language, legal system and civil service amongst others; military interventions early in the country’s post-independence history; return to civil rule after multiple military rulers and coups; and transition from parliamentary to presidential system of governance. Remarkably both countries now share the experience of losing sitting, civilian leaders post-return to democracy-Yar’adua in Nigeria in 2010 and Atta-Mills in Ghana in 2012! But that is where the similarity ends! We can draw several distinctions between the processes of democratic deepening and national cohesion in the two countries as evidenced by the reaction to the demise of these two leaders. In Nigeria, as we all recall, Yar’adua’s illness and subsequent death almost led to the truncation of democracy in Nigeria. There was a long period of denial of his illness; there were several attempts by some to rule by proxy in his stead; there were numerous subterfuges around his illness, medical treatment in Saudi Arabia, re-entry into Nigeria and his eventual death. On the night he was brought back to the country, it was done in the dead of night and all lights were reportedly switched off at the airports during the “operation” conducted by senior military officers without the knowledge of the then Vice-President! Many attempts were made to intimidate then Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan from accepting the position of President and we needed an extraordinary action by the National Assembly to invest Jonathan as Acting President while Yar’adua lay gravely ill in Arabia!!! In the end, it is clear that only the fact that an attempt to prevent Jonathan from taking power as mandated by the Constitution would have resulted in serious danger to our national unity and cohesion prevented such desperation from some cliques! Indeed many would argue that we are still dealing with the consequences of Jonathan then seeking and accepting the nomination of the ruling PDP and winning the subsequent elections in 2011!!! The response in Ghana has been starkly different! Immediately Atta-Mills died, there was no question about what should and would follow-immediate swearing-in of his deputy Mahama in line with the Constitution. No one from Fante quarrelled that there was a presumption that the office was “zoned” to them for eight years! No one threatened fire and brimstone if Mahama goes ahead to contest the forthcoming election. There were no powerful politicians from Atta-Mills region promising to make the country ungovernable if another Fante man was not found to replace him! No one has had the effrontery to demand that the now sitting president, John Mahama must NOT contest the next polls; Atta-Mills wife and entourage did not attempt to hide his death from Ghanaians in a vain hope of grabbing power and national resources for themselves! Insecurity and indeed terrorism has not erupted in Mills’ Fante region to bring Mahama’s government to its knees for having the audacity to declare his intention of contesting!!! The evidence is clear that Ghana’s process of democratic deepening and nation-building is proceeding in a more qualitative manner than in her West African neighbour. Here rather than deepening democracy, we are endangering it and drawing our people further apart than we’ve ever been!!!