We need President Mills’s servant-leadership style: To battle economic woes — Kwesi Pratt Jnr

A veteran journalist and social activist, Kwesi Pratt Jnr, has stated that the servant-leadership exhibited by former President John Evans Atta Mills is what the country needs to address the current economic challenges.

According to him, the economic challenges which had led by high cost of living plunging many people into poverty and utter despair, could only be abated by a leader who was sensitive to the plight of people and had no interest in the grandeur of power to the detriment of the people.

Delivering the keynote address at the 12th President John Evans Atta Mills Anniversary Commemorative Lecture, he extolled former President Mills as a leader who was interested in solely serving the interests of the country, and willing to make personal sacrifices in his quest to develop the country.

“Professor John Evans Atta Mills's personal intellect, honesty, decency, humility, work ethic and determination to serve his country made it possible, even pleasant, to work with him and even to help him in pushing the Ghana Agenda forward in spite of the limitations of social democracy.

“This is the kind of leadership our country needs today in the face of the hydra-headed problems confronting us. A leadership which encourages us to rise above our differences to work for decency in our very limited democratic environment,” he said.
 

Statistics

In his lecture, Mr Pratt Jnr provided numerous statistics, including the 2021 Population and Housing Census, which revealed that more than 7.3 million people were multidimensionally poor, the depreciation of the Ghana cedi over the last seven years, and the increase in prices of commodities, to drive home the point that the country was in a dire economic situation.

With him is John Dramani Mahama (right), a former President of Ghana and NDC flag bearer, interacting with Justice Sophia Akuffo, a former Chief Justice. Picture: ERNEST KODZI

He said former President Mills would not have allowed such a situation to occur due to his leadership qualities.

“I have done this in part because I have just been wondering what the Professor Mills I knew would have done in the face of the current challenges facing Kwame Nkrumah’s Ghana.

I have no doubt that the Professor Mills I know would have done all in his power, even under the most difficult circumstances, to bring about a change in the governance of his beloved country,” he added.
 

Commemorative Lecture

The 12th commemorative lecture was organised by the J.E.A. Mills Memorial Heritage, a non-governmental organisation dedicated to promoting the ideals of the late President.

The lecture, held at the University of Ghana (UG) last Friday, was the climax of a series of lectures across the 16 regions of the country in honour of former President Mills.

The well-attended event attracted notable personalities such as the flag bearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for the 2024 elections, former President John Dramani Mahama; the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin; the running mate of the flag bearer of the NDC, Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang; a former Chief Justice, Justice Sophia Akuffo, who chaired the event, and the Vice Chancellor of UG, Prof. Nana Aba Appiah Amfo.

 Also in attendance were family members and former appointees of the late President, Members of Parliament and traditional rulers. The event was also used to launch and auction a compilation of all the lectures delivered since the start of the commemorative lectures.

The lecture, which is an annual event, is part of activities celebrating the life of former President Mills, who died on July 24, 2012, and was the first President to die in office.

 Other activities earmarked for the event will include a wreath-laying ceremony on his tombstone on July 24, this year, and a hockey tournament, dubbed “the President John Evans Atta Mills Hockey Tournament” on July 27, at the Theodosia Okoh Hockey Stadium in Accra.
 

True patriot

Justice Akuffo described former President Mills as a national icon and true patriot who served the country diligently and selflessly.

The former President, she added, served the country selflessly, in humility and love for all in spite of the country’s political system which was plagued with favouritism and personality cultism.

“He dedicated five decades of his life to public service and one of the kindest persons I have ever known. He would be mourned deeply in death and remembered forever,” she said.

 The former Chief Justice said former President Mills was her tax lecturer at the UG during her time as a Law student, describing him as a patient person who mentored his students and had a profound impact on them.

For Prof. Appiah Amfo, former President Mills was a strong believer in democracy who embodied the principles of accountability and integrity.

“It is my hope that we will not only remember the former President, but will draw useful lessons from his inspired life,” she said.
 

Empathy

A brother of former President Mills, Dr Cadman Mills, who spoke on behalf of the family, said his brother had an inordinate passion to help people, which was his guiding principle.
 
“He could not see people suffering and not do anything about it. I was not surprised that he championed the Constitutional Review Commission because he felt that the power given to the imperial President could be misused,” he added.
 
Writer’s email: emma.hawkson@graphic.com.gh