Nana Akufo-Addo: A politician of conviction
He is a man of great courage and conviction, with a vision and on a mission to transform Ghana.
Advertisement
Though one of Ghana’s most successful, high-earning lawyers of all time, he has devoted most of his adult life to fighting for his country and the well-being of its people.
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is the personality who is seeking to lead the New Patriotic Party (NPP) as its 2016 presidential candidate for the third time running.
As one of the three shortlisted aspirants vying for presidential candidacy on the NPP’s ticket, the 69-year-old astute politician is contesting against two-time attempted presidential aspirant of the party, Mr John Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, and the new kid on the block, Mr Francis Addai-Nimoh, the legislator from Mampong Asante.
From a very young age, Nana Akufo-Addo led, with great courage and conviction, Ghana’s 20-year non-violent struggle against military dictatorship. That ended with the emergence of the Fourth Republic and the return to constitutional democracy in January 1993.
Conscious of the fall of three previous Republics within three decades, the next 20 years again saw Nana Akufo-Addo leading the fight to strengthen Ghana’s democracy.
Next Challenge
The next challenge, as he sees it, is the rapid and deliberate industrialisation of democratic Ghana.
As he puts it, “Ghana deserves a leadership that thinks of the next generation and not just the next election.”
Other Trending Stories
An international statesman, he is admired and respected around the globe for his selfless sacrifice for his nation, his uncompromising respect for the rule of law, his incorruptibility and his confidence in the capacity of Ghanaians to build Ghana as the model of a free, modern society of opportunities and prosperity in Africa.
Nana Akufo-Addo is a politician of conviction and determination. In spite of failing in his two previous presidential bids, he has stayed true to his message that the path to Ghana’s prosperity has three main lanes: education, economic transformation and a public sector that delivers value for money.
As he prepares to be given the nod to once again lead the NPP into the 2016 general election, there is a growing feeling across the country that this may just be it – that this is the time for the Akufo-Addo vision and leadership to be given the opportunity to move Ghana forward to the necessary next level.
Born at Swalaba in Accra on March 29, 1944, Nana was raised in the Ga Maami (Accra Central) and Nima areas of the city. His father’s Accra residence, Betty House at Korle Wokon, became the de facto headquarters of the country’s first political party, the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC), after it was founded in Saltpond in 1947.
Three of the Big Six (the founding fathers of Ghana) were Nana’s blood relations: J.B. Danquah (grand uncle), William Ofori-Atta (uncle) and Edward Akufo-Addo (his father), who became the third Chief Justice of Ghana and later served as the ceremonial President of the Republic from 1969-72.
Nana had his primary education at Government Boys’ School and later Rowe Road School (now Kinbu), both in Accra Central.
He proceeded to England, first to Preparatory School, and to study for his O- and A-levels, returning to Ghana in 1962 to teach at Accra Academy.
He then entered the University of Ghana in 1964 to read Economics.
After graduating in 1967, he read Law in the UK and was called to the English Bar (Middle Temple) in 1971 and the Ghana Bar in 1975.
Political career
Like J.B. Danquah, the “Doyen of Gold Coast politics”, and others before him, Nana Akufo-Addo used his legal practice to champion human rights, the rule of law, justice, freedom and democracy.
At age 33, Nana became the General Secretary of the broad-based People’s Movement for Freedom and Justice (PMFJ), a group spearheaded by stalwarts such as Okatakyie Akwasi Amankwa Afrifa, William Ofori-Atta (Paa Willie), Komla Agbeli Gbedemah, Prof Adu Boahen, Sam Okudzeto, Obed Asamoah, Godfrey Agama, K.S.P. Jantuah, Dr Jones Ofori-Atta, Johnny Hanson and Nii Amaah Amarteifio.
That group led the “No” campaign in the Union Government referendum of 1978, ultimately bringing about the downfall on July 5, 1978 of the military government led by Ignatius Kutu Acheampong and the restoration of multiparty rule in 1979.
Advertisement
In 1991, Akufo-Addo became the Chairman of the Organising Committee of the Danquah-Busia Memorial Club, dedicated to the preservation of the memory and ideals of the two great advocates of Ghanaian democracy, J.B. Danquah and Dr Kofi Abrefa Busia, Prime Minister in the Second Republic on the ticket of the Progress Party.
In 1992, Nana became the first National Organiser of the NPP and, later that year, the Campaign Manager of its first presidential candidate, Prof Adu Boahen, the man who broke the “culture of silence” of the Rawlings years in Ghana.
In 1995, Nana led the famous “Kume Preko” demonstrations of the Alliance For Change (AFC), a broad-based pressure group which mobilised more than a million people onto the streets of Ghana to protest against the harsh political and economic conditions of the Rawlings era.
Those demonstrations helped create the environment for the NPP’s victory in the 2000 elections.
Advertisement
Nana was elected three times between 1996 and 2004 as the MP for Abuakwa in the Eastern Region.
Between 2001 and 2007, as a Cabinet Minister — first as Attorney-General and Minister for Justice and later as Foreign Minister, a position he held for five years — Nana served President John Agyekum Kufuor with distinction.
He resigned from the Kufuor government in July 2007 to successfully run for the position of presidential candidate of the then ruling NPP in the 2008 elections.
On 7 August, 2010, after the NPP expanded the size of its electoral college from 2,300 to 110,000 delegates, Nana Akufo-Addo was re-elected as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2012 general election.
Advertisement
On 9 December, 2012, the Electoral Commissioner of Ghana declared that Nana had obtained 5,248,898 of valid votes cast (47.74%) and had, therefore, lost the 2012 elections.
NPP supporters hit the streets, angry because they believed the election had been rigged in favour of the ruling party’s candidate.
Nana Akufo-Addo managed to calm the supporters, got them to abandon the streets and then made a case at the Supreme Court challenging the validity of the elections.
The proceedings of the case were shown live to the public. Ghanaians saw, at first-hand, evidence of the irregularities, malpractices and violations that had plagued the 2012 elections.
To the surprise of the masses, the Supreme Court reached a controversial ruling in favour of the party in power in a 5-4 split decision.
At the peak of the ensuing tension, as everyone feared for the future of Ghana, to the relief of the masses, Nana Akufo-Addo stated: “While I disagree with the court’s decision, I accept . . . that what the court says brings finality to the election dispute. We shall not be asking for a review of the verdict, so we can all move on in the interest of our nation. Everything in my bones, in my upbringing and in what I have done with my life thus far makes it imperative that I accept a decision made by the highest court of the land, however much I dislike or disagree with it.”
He added, “I appeal to all members and supporters of our party . . . to accept the verdict of the court. Even in our disappointment we can take pride in the way we have conducted ourselves. Even in our disappointment we can take pride that the NPP has again led the way in deepening Ghana’s democracy. To quote one of the Supreme Court judges, ‘After this case, elections in Ghana will not be the same.’ In other words, we might not have been given the ruling we sought, but thanks to our efforts, we can hopefully look forward to an improved electoral process in our country.”
That act of statesmanship culminated in the AU, the European Union, the UN, the United States of America, the Christian Council of Ghana, the Office of the Chief Imam, among others, applauding Nana Akufo-Addo for preserving Ghana’s peace and maintaining its status as the beacon of democracy in Africa.
In May 2014, Nana was appointed the Chair of the Commonwealth Observer Mission for the 7 May national and provincial elections in South Africa.
His fellow observers were Hon Dorothy Pine-McLarty OJ, the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Jamaica, and Sheikh Abdul Carimo Nordine Sau, the President of the National Elections Commission of Mozambique.
The African National Congress retained power in the election, which was declared free and fair by the Observer Mission.
Nana is a keen sportsman who still trains regularly on the treadmill. He has a legendary stamina for campaigning, staying on the stump sometimes from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m.
In his youth, he was an excellent footballer and played for the Real Republikans, the leading Ghanaian club of the time, alongside stars such as Jones Attuquayefio, Anue Cofie and Edward Boateng.
He was Ghana’s squash champion for a period in the 1970s.
He is an avid reader, particularly of political biographies, history and novels. He loves highlife, jazz and classical music and is a big fan of movies.
Nana Akufo-Addo, a keen sportsman who is seeking his third attempt at winning the presidential slot of his party on Saturday, is married to Rebecca Akufo-Addo (nee Griffiths-Randolph). They have five daughters and three grandchildren. They are both devout Christians.