By Iddi Muhayu-Deen
Martin Amidu
The appointment of Martin Hamidu, an internationally acclaimed anti-corruption crusader and a former Attorney General of the Republic of Ghana by President Akufo-Addo as the country’s first Special Prosecutor has taken the world by storm with many describing the decision as one of the greatest developments in the Fourth Republic. And that, it demonstrates the President’s indubitable abhorrence for corruption and his unwavering commitment to fighting same with all the needed alacrity and finesse.
It has been hailed by all the actors in our democratic and anti-corruption enterprise including CHRAJ, credible civil society organizations like the Ghana Integrity Initiative, OccupyGhana, Citizen Movement Against Corruption, ImaniGhana and ordinary Ghanaians. Mention can also be made of notable individuals like former President Rawlings and an ‘objective’ NDC member of parliament in the person of Hon. Inusah Fuseini.
Speaking on Citi Fm in the evening of Thursday, January 11, the respected lawmaker stated categorically that the President has by this decision, demonstrated that he is committed to fighting corruption and more importantly, to building an all-inclusive government. But of course, you would expect the likes of Kofi Adams and other “babies with sharp teeth” in the NDC, who unfortunately think that everything must be politicized in this country, to sharply disagree with Hon. Inusah Fuseini and possibly attack him with their venomous sharp teeth as they are seeking to do.
I certainly agree with people who say that, by this decision, President Akufo-Addo has done something that NO President in this world has been able to do. Not even in far advanced western democracies and so called bastions of good governance and the rule of law. For a sitting President to appoint not only a member of the opposition but a leading and founding member of the largest opposition political party to serve in such a sensitive position in his government clearly means a lot.
This is something a lot of us think can only happen in dreams especially when talking about African nations with our rather unenviable democratic peculiarities. But glory be to God, President Akufo-Addo has made what seems to be an impossibility and a dream, a REALITY in Ghana, a tiny country in the West Coast of Sub-Saharan Africa. If with this novel development, you still doubt President Akufo-Addo’s commitment to fighting corruption, then I have every reason to doubt that you believe in the existence of God and that is beyond sacriligion.
Now, if you are an appointee of this government and you think that Martin Hamidu would be mild on you if you are alleged to be involved in corrupt act on the basis that you were all appointed by the same president, then you must be deluding yourself. In fact, he would come so strongly at you in a manner that has never been seen before. If you like, try it and let’s see. Remember, this man is perhaps, the ONLY politician in our recent history who fought his own against all odds in order to protect his uncompromising principles even at the detriment of his life and job. If he can fight the party he co-founded in order to protect the national interest, is it you that he can’t fight on the same yardstick?
To me, as a Ghanaian taxpayer, this appointment gives me the strongest assurance that my taxes will not be misused for whatever reasons and that, anybody who dares, will unavoidably face the FULL RIGORS of the law regardless of who they are. With Martin Hamidu, I can say without equivocation that the era of lawlessness and impunity which characterize the actions of officialdom in our country is over. History has been made in our country and we should all be proud of ourselves.
It is for this reason that I humbly submit that POSTERITY will always remember President Akufo-Addo for all the good reasons including free SHS and defying politics in order to prioritize the national interest. It would certainly be said that an Akuffo-Addo did it for his country. Ghana is certainly on the path of progress and prosperity for all her citizens. Now, more than ever, my fellow countrymen and women, I am proud to say, I am a GHANAIAN; a citizen not a spectator.
Assalamu Alaikum