A Political Communication Strategist, Professor Kobby Mensah has criticized the running mate to the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh for downplaying the contribution of the first president of Ghana, Dr Kwame Nkrumah.
During his unveiling at the Jubilee Park in Kumasi on July 9, the running mate to Dr Mahamudu Bawumia said among other things that no president of Ghana has developed the country more than President Akufo-Addo, not even Dr Kwame Nkrumah.
“I can boldly say that if the history of Ghana is told from 1957, we have never had a president that has helped Ghana more than Nana Akufo-Addo. I mean from 1957, even including your Kwame Nkrumah, none of them has protected Ghana and developed the country more than Nana Akufo-Addo,” he said at his official unveiling event at the Jubilee Park in Kumasi on July 9, 2024.
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Dr Opoku Prempeh stressed that, “President Akufo-Addo has developed this country to the admiration of all. Therefore, we will not allow what happened in 2008 to repeat itself. It will be most appropriate for Nana Akufo-Addo to hand over to his junior brother, Dr Bawumia.”
Earlier, Dr Opoku Prempeh was introduced formally to the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, who happens to be his uncle. During that ceremony, the Asantehene cautioned his nephew to purge himself of the arrogant tag placed on him by his critics.
Reacting to Dr Prempeh’s comparison of the performance of Dr Nkrumah to President Akufo-Addo on TV3’s Ghana Tonight programme, Prof Mensah said by this statement, he has ignored the Otumfuo’s advice and proved his critics right.
“Out of the many politicians that were put out, why would you be tagged as arrogant? It means that you haven’t done your homework well in order that your brand identity which the Otumfuo talks about, that you were trained in the palace, why is that not aligning with the perception of the general public? It means that you are doing something wrong,” he asserted.
Prof Mensah continued that, “For me, it is something that Otumfuo is saying, ‘prove the people wrong’. Has he really proven the people wrong? Just some few minutes later, look at what has happened. You go and take a swipe at a global icon. A former president that everybody, the whole world over, adores. Somebody who has been voted as the leader of the century. You take a swipe at him. You just dismiss him. You denigrate his image just as you are stepping into a presidential journey. Have you not confirmed the kind of tag that people are talking about?”
The Political Communication lecturer noted that, “I thought that when he was overwhelmed with emotions, he could not control it. But leadership asks that if you are overwhelmed with emotions, you have to have the emotional intelligence to deal with it. If you are a leader and you can’t control your emotional environment, you have failed the task of leadership.”
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They say you are arrogant, don’t let it be a reality – Asantehene tells Opoku Prempeh
