LESSONS FROM GHANA – by Mark Amaza

A couple of days ago, the sad news came in from our sister Anglophone West-African country, Ghana that her president, John Atta-Mills had just passed away. The news was given to news agencies from the President’s office. Expectedly, there was the outpouring of sympathy as people also searched for more information about this tragedy. It turned out that the President had been ill, and had gone on 3 medical trips this year alone, before finally passing away in a Ghanaian hospital.

I then cast my back to two years ago when we lost our own President Umaru Musa Yar’adua after a long and torturous battle with ill-health. As I compared the two situations, especially from a political angle, I found stark contrasts:

• While President Yar’adua left for medical check-up every time without informing his citizens, the medical trips of President Atta-Mills were public knowledge. Infact, his last medical trip was preceded by a letter to the parliament where he informed them of his intention to go for medical check-up. On the other hand, President Yar’adua’s last medical trip was shrouded in secrecy and it was not until a month later that tongues started wagging as to the whereabouts and health status of the president.
• While President Atta-Mills passed away in a Ghanaian hospital, our own President Yar’adua gave up the ghost in far-away Saudi Arabia. It is just an example of how very little to none of our political elite every go for medical treatment in Nigerian hospitals, conscious of the fact that our healthcare system is in a sorry state. They rather leave us to try our own luck in a healthcare system that seems to pick those who will get better through a game of Russian roulette. Not even the National Hospital is equipped enough to take care of the President’s health.
• The very day President Atta-Mills passed away, the entire world got to know about it. An official statement from his office broke the sad news to news agencies, who then informed the world. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same of when our President Yar’adua died. Till date, the real date of his passing away is the subject of many a debate. Some go far as saying that he passed away in December, 2009; for some, it was sometime in 2010; but evidently, few agree with the official date of death of 5 May, 2010.

It is not surprising that such conspiracy theories have arisen. This is because his closest advisers and members of his government had turned his illness into a high-stakes power game, where they tried to fasten their grip on power, squandering what sympathy Nigerians had for their president while he lay bed-ridden and facing death. We can all remember the said radio interview ‘the president’ gave from Saudi Arabia, and how the then First Lady kept making arrangements with clerics to come and pray for him. In all that, no one ever saw a photo of him and how he looked. There was a serious vacuum in information-giving.  It is common knowledge that in the absence of information, negativity abounds. It was the lack of information that has created the fertile ground for the growth of such theories.

• In all the 3 times President Atta-Mills was ill and on medical leave, the business of governance did not grind to a halt. Infact, it was barely noticed and definitely gave no rise to controversy. On the other hand, the 2 times President Yar’adua went on medical trips, they have not been without much controversy. The first one in August 20o8 was said to have created a scenario where the Secretary to the Government of the Federation tried to usurp the powers of the Vice President, resulting in his sacking. The second trip caused a go-slow situation in the government, as matters which had to be approved by the President himself, such as budgets, had to pause until his return. Beyond that, there was a serious controversy as to whether or not then Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan should be sworn in as Acting President and whether the President should resign on the grounds of being medically unfit. As with everything in Nigerian politics, religion and ethnicity came into play. It took the intervention of a ‘Doctrine of Necessity’ from the National Assembly to break the deadlock, swear in the Vice President as the Acting President and set the wheels of government business back in motion.
• The passing away of Ghana’s President Atta-Mills did not leave the people confused as to who was going to take over. It was clear as the constitution stated that his Vice, John Dramani Mahama, was to be sworn in as the next President. In Nigeria’s case, we still had to consult legal luminaries and constitutional experts to point out the way to us as to who will be the next head of government, maybe as a warning to those who always took opportunity of such moments to create crisis.
• With a presidential election six months away, the opposition candidate in Ghana and fierce rival of President Atta-Mills, Nana Akufo-Addo suspended his campaign as a mark of respect to the late President. Let me point out how fierce their rivalry is: President Atta-Mills defeated Nana Akufo-Addo in 2008 in a run-off election by only 50, 000 votes. 50,000 VOTES!!! It was a dead heat race. If it was Nigeria, will such mark of respect be shown by an almost equally popular opposition candidate? I leave that for you to answer.

You may ask why I have to go on this whole comparisons between Ghana and Nigeria, especially since in the aftermath of President Yar’adua’s death and the political drama associated with it, there has been constitutional amendments to take care of vacuums left by governors and the president (see 1999 constitution, as amended, sections 145 and 190, subsections 1 and 2)

However, I am not sure as to whether given the same situation, the President will do the least action of informing the National Assembly of his intention to proceed on medical leave. This scepticism is further strengthened by the statement of Information Minister, Labaran Maku, in a response to criticisms of President Jonathan’s trip to Brazil while the states of Kaduna and Yobe were literally ablaze:

“The President can rule from anywhere”(reference)

Coincidentally, these were the very words uttered by President Yar’adua’s Justice Minister, Michael Aondoakaa during the period the president was ill and out of the country for months.

In all these comparisons, one thing is very apparent: Ghana has far stronger democratic institutions than Nigeria. It is not about the president; it is about the Office of the President. It is not about being popular or not; it is about having respect for the rule of law and adherence to due processes. It is not about appealing to only supporters and allies; it is about respecting and upholding the constitution as the supreme law of the land.

It is only by doing the things that are right that we can strengthen the institutions of democracy in our country.

May God help us.

Mark Amaza

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