Posted: Daily Guide |Thursday, 15 July 2010
By Charles Takyi-Boadu
The Coordinator of the National Youth Council (NYC) and son of Ghana’s first President, Dr Sekou Nkrumah, appears to have incurred the wrath of President Atta Mills and members of his administration, following comments he made about the performance of the President since he assumed office.
Deputy Information Minister James Agyenim-Boateng dropped the hint yesterday when he spoke on Joy FM’s ‘Super Morning Show’.
Though Agyenim-Boateng does not want to link the dismissal of Sekou to his comments about the President, the deputy minister noted that the Board of the National Youth Council was unimpressed about Sekou’s output and delivery since he took office and was therefore ready to relieve him of his appointment and look for a replacement.
Whilst he rubbished Sekou’s claim that President Mills lacked the charisma, dynamism and strong will to inspire hope in the populace, the deputy minister said the President was unfazed by such comments and criticisms but rather took them in good faith since he believed in dissenting views.
That notwithstanding, he noted, what the NYC boss said was far from the reality on the ground since it was not only preposterous but also baseless.
He stressed that President Mills had made significant progress in the management of the economy since he took over the reigns of power about 19 months ago.
“We have an excellent leader in President John Evans Atta Mills. We have a president who is fair and firm. He is in control and in charge of affairs.
We have a president who is committed to the prudent and efficient management of the economy. We have a president who is honest, trustworthy and is committed to the fight of corruption.”
According to him, “if these are not the virtues of an excellent leader, then I do not know what we want in an excellent leader.”
Sekou Nkrumah, who had thrown more light on the raging issue of the president’s incompetence in follow-up interviews on a number of radio stations, after DAILY GUIDE’s publication on Tuesday, has currently disappeared from public view.
He failed to turn up for a scheduled interview in the studios of Joy FM yesterday and subsequently refused to answer queries from DAILY GUIDE about the board’s intention to sack him.
Asked whether he was aware of the NYC board’s intention to relieve him of his appointment, Dr Nkrumah only said “I am not giving any interviews” and hung up his phone.
It is however believed that Sekou is merely being sacrificed for the comments he made about the president.
Sekou had told the ‘AfricaWatch’ magazine that “a lot of people see Mills as an academic and a gentleman. But in the political arena, you need to be strong-minded, and it looks like this leadership quality is missing in Mills.
So I guess we need a more strong-willed, dynamic personality, a charismatic person to inspire national confidence, and also to let the population see the national agenda and feel part of it.”
Dr. Nkrumah was asked: "Is the Mills government on course to deliver its pre-election promises of a Better Ghana?"
He answered: "Honestly, there is a big question mark because since the NDC came to power in January 2009, there has not really been any serious change in real terms."
He stated that "from where I am standing, I can see clearly that since coming to power, the Mills government has not fulfilled its promises. I know it is not politically incorrect, but that's a fact."
The AfricaWatch magazine asked Dr. Nkrumah, “Is the economy any better now than when President Mills met it in January 2009?
"I am not an expert, but it doesn't seem to be better now than when the NDC met it. I don't think much has changed," he said.