My encounters with Akenten Appiah-Menka ... A consummate politician

Mr Akenten Appiah-Menka had an unwavering commitment to the development of his country and the ideals of his Danquah-Busia tradition which gave birth to the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

In retrospect, it is easy for me to remember some of the memorable encounters I had with  the consummate politician, industrialist and lawyer, who passed on last Tuesday at the age of 84.

Hard-hitting denouncements

He never shied away from speaking against some of the developments he found untenable in the party.

His hard-hitting denouncements manifested in one interview I had with him in the run-up to the 2008 general elections which the Daily Graphic published as a front-page story.

President J.A. Kufuor, who swept to the  Presidency in the 2000 presidential elections defeating the then National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate Prof J.E.A. Mills, was exiting power after two-terms of eight-years at the helm.

The contest for who would replace Mr Kufuor at that time became intense with 17 people filing to contest the NPP presidential primary and when I sought his views on it, he gave a damning verdict of the development.

He declared that only five of the aspiring candidates were presidential materials, although he fell short of identifying them.

Mr Appiah-Menka’s pronouncement stirred controversy, particularly within the party's stronghold in the Ashanti Region, and I remember the morning when the Daily Graphic hit the newsstand, I had phone calls from colleague journalists and some NPP members all over the country trying to find out from me if he confided in me the names of the five “winnable candidates”.

Indeed, Mr Appiah-Menka had told me the Council of Elders of the party would issue the names of the five candidates who were potential winners but the then National Chairman of the party, Mr Peter Mac Manu, in a reaction, said the party had never taken any official position on that.

Official duties

My official duties as the Daily Graphic correspondent in the Ashanti Region between 2002 and 2013 brought me into direct relationship with the man I called Papa and I can say without all certainty that it was a great experience for me.

While I called him Papa,  he also called me Agya Boadu.

His affection for the Daily Graphic and me personally as a journalist, was something I cherished.

This was why it came to me as a big blow when I received the news from Kumasi last Tuesday evening that the old man had passed on peacefully.

And, I cannot wait until the final day of his journey to his maker to say adieu Papa; I will say it now.

Most of my encounters with him had to do with his favourite political issues, especially about his most-cherished NPP of which he was a member of the Council of Elders and democracy in Ghana in general.

2010 interview

The NPP, then in opposition, was going for an early congress to elect a presidential candidate.

Again, I had an encounter with the outspoken elder of the NPP who in a typical fashion, waded into the party’s flag bearer race with a bombshell that two of the five candidates were not marketable.

When I enquired about their identities, he replied,  “You know them and they also know themselves and so there is no need for me to mention names.”

Like the earlier one, the story put a number of  party members in a quandary.

Notwithstanding the fact that he wrote off the two unnamed candidates, Mr Appiah-Menka said entering the flag bearer race was a good opportunity for the two to market themselves to the nation for future elections.

“Kufuor did the same thing. In 1992, when he came into the race knowing that he could not beat Prof.  Albert Adu Boahen and Dr Kofi Dzane-Selby, he took it as an opportunity to market himself and eventually won the 2000 presidential election This is what the candidates must do and build themselves up for the future,” he stressed.

Aftermath of 2012 election

After the 2012 presidential election, the results of which the NPP disputed, I made enquiries with Mr Appiah-Menka on his impressions on the demonstrations by the NPP over alleged fraud in the general election.

In his response, he expressed disquiet about the street demonstrations that followed the results of the election which declared Mr John Dramani Mahama the winner and encouraged the party leadership to pursue the intended Supreme Court action to challenge the results of the election.

While stressing that the demonstrations were not necessary since they could not change the results of the election as announced by the Electoral Commission (EC), he pointed out “the right of the NPP to go to the Supreme Court rather than the route for blood to flow in the streets.”

He stated, “Happily, we have President Mahama and his vice, as well as Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his running mate, all of whom believe in the national constitution.”

But he did also not spare the NDC for the provocative actions that he said was a recipe for disaster.

The Rawlings factor

I also recall one of my encounters with him as I prepared to do a profile story on him.

When I asked about how he treated former President Jerry John Rawlings’ admonition to Ghanaians not to buy Apino Soap, Mr Appiah-Menka said he bore Rawlings no grudge.

Mr Appiah-Menka was an industrialist whose company manufactured Apino Soap, the only decent and readily available soap for bathing and washing during the Rawlings revolutionary era.

In a fiery June 4 anniversary speech in 1993, the media reported that President Rawlings attacked Mr Appiah-Menka, urging Ghanaians not to patronise his soap because he used the proceeds to finance the opposition party (NPP).

Consummate democrat

Mr Appiah-Menka was a consummate democrat and very meticulous in handling matters affecting his party.

This was a man who spoke strongly against corruption. He attacked massive corruption at all levels of national life, naked tribalism and political-party polarisation of national issues.

In 2014, I was transferred to Accra but I occasionally called him from my base in Accra to find out how he was doing and on some of the days that I was in Kumasi, I paid him visits.

Less than three weeks to his death, I called him on phone and when I asked how he was doing, he responded he was doing well.

Anytime I visited him, he would hand me red wine. He will either call his dear wife or any of the men in the house to bring red wine to Agya Boadu.

You paid your dues to your nation.