<<Print>>

Welcome home Mr. President, after a rewarding trip to the United States of America (USA) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Your speech at the 69th Section of United Nations (UN), is one of the best you have given since you assumed office in 2012 and will go down as one of the showdowns that our President, has ever graced at the UN. For once I was impressed with your delivery, thumps Mr. President. Whiles you were away, a lot of things happened that I will like to bring to your attention. The last letter I wrote to you, in which I brought to your attention the unholy relationship between your government and the media favorably disposed to the national Democratic Congress, the letter was wrongly misconstrued and taking out of context by hovering vultures in the media interested in sensational stories. A genuine concern, shared by many, instead of all making a rallying call to you for us to get our fair share of what is due us, rather excited the mercantile journalist with fallacious claims. I never said this paper or the media predisposed to the NDC should be given state money, all I said was advert that sustained every media house, should be extended to us. As I said in my earlier epistle, I consider myself among the least to advice you, taking into account the number of competent and experience hands in your government to advice you, but please do give me a hearing as I am one of the few people, who are ready to tell you the truth, for what it is worth, I voted for you in 2012. As the Constitution demands, the Vice-President is expected to act in your stead anytime you are out of the country, in fulfilling that provision, you left the country for your capable and able hands of your Veep, who left no stone unturned to earn the love and admiration of Ghanaians. The two weeks that you were out of the country, the Vice-President, Mr. Amissah Arthur, was more than excellent, he held the fort and was visible all over the country. I can confidently say that after the 2012 election campaign that took the Vice-President, away from his home and Accra to most part of the country, this was the next opportunity he had to go out of Accra, and he did not joke with it. I was reminded of the leverage and the free hand our late President, John Evans Atta Mills, gave you that brought you more into the limelight and made it easy for you to win the 2012 Presidential election, which was a landslide compared to the percentage Prof. Mills had. I can tell you without a scintilla of doubt that the 2016 campaign had just being made easy, as Ghanaians have come to appreciate what your Deputy could do, give him more working hours, he deserve it, he has earned it. About a fortnight ago, when public schools reopened, many media houses, especially radio stations, as they do at the beginning of every academic year, went round some schools with the local authourities, mostly outside the capital, to interact with the pupils, in what is known as my first day in school. The outcome of the exercise is so exciting and interesting, the pupil could not tell, who the Vice-President of the country was. Some of them went to the extent of mentioning Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the twice-defeated Presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) as the Veep. Not that this is the first time, but as we move forward and make use of Information Communication Technology (ICT), it is inexcusable for pupils to mistake Nana Addo as the Vice President. I have personally lost count of the number of newspapers in the country, the number of radio stations, as well as television stations, handlers of the Vice-President, Amissah- Arthur, are also not helping him, can�t they use the media to project him, but for the absence of the President, John Dramani Mahama, I don�t recollect the last time the Veep, made headlines on the front pages of the newspapers. Ministers of State, who report to the Vice-President, always find their way on the front pages of both the newspapers favorably disposed to the NPP and the NDC. The only time, you will read any story of the Veep making the headlines, is only when the story is negative. Mr. President, although it is a fact that the handlers of your second in command have not lived up to expectation, it is my fervent wish that going forward, the Veep will be assigned more roles often. He was a very good lieutenant, in your absence, he was everywhere, virtually has been around the country, from the Eastern, Western, Northern, Upper West and East, etc, if he can achieve that much in just two weeks, imagine what he will accomplish if he is given more time and exposure. In as much as we appeal to the President, to grant him more time and assignments, it behoves on Mr Amissah Arthur to also make himself visible, lurking around in the shadows like a shadow Vice-President is not going to help his course, it is what is fueling the rumors that he might not run in the 2016 Presidential election, as the running mate of President Mahama. Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia is more popular and more visible than Amissah Arthur. It is about time he also takes the commanding height of his office. I have said mine; I wish I don�t get taken out of context again.