It is not in Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh’s place to be making comparison between past presidents and the current president when his job is to become Vice President of the Republic, Dr. Richard Baah Amoako of the KNUST, has asserted.
An ‘Unforced Error’ is a term in tennis when a player misses a shot or loses a point that is entirely a result of the player’s own blunder and not because of the opponent’s skill or effort.
Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, also known as Nana Poku (NAPO) after his comparison between Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and President Akufo-Addo in a tonation and wording being considered by many as a display of arrogance, has explained that he was misconstrued and that what he spoke was the truth.
During his unveiling at the Jubilee Park in Kumasi Tuesday, July 09, 2024, Dr. Opoku Prempeh said among other things that no president of Ghana has developed the country more than President Akufo-Addo, not even Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.
“I can boldly say that if the history of Ghana is told from 1957, we have never had a president that has helped Ghana more than Nana Akufo-Addo. I mean from 1957, even including your Kwame Nkrumah, none of them has protected Ghana and developed the country more than Nana Akufo-Addo,” he said at his official unveiling event at the Jubilee Park in Kumasi on July 9, 2024.
He stressed that, “President Akufo-Addo has developed this country to the admiration of all. Therefore, we will not allow what happened in 2008 to repeat itself. It will be most appropriate for Nana Akufo-Addo to hand over to his junior brother, Dr Bawumia.”
But his comment has sparked controversy among Ghanaians, leading to the Convention Peoples Party calling on him to apologise.
Meanwhile, he says he has been misinterpreted during his call on the Omanhene of Wassa Amenfi traditional area and President of the Western Regional House of Chiefs, Tetrete Okuamoah Sekyim II on Wednesday, July 10, 2024.
“They have misinterpreted what I said. I said since 1957 from Kwame Nkrumah’s tenure to date, no government has worked more than Nana Akufo-Addo. In our politics, if you speak the truth, they say you are ungrateful, if you tell lies, you are praised. I am your child, you did not train me to be untruthful or a coward,” Dr. Opoku Prempeh explained.
Reacting to his explanation on Ghana Tonight Wednesday, July 10, 2024, on TV3, the political analyst and lecturer indicated that NAPO’s attempt to say what he said is the truth and that being hated for telling the truth is an attribute of Ghanaian politics is out of place.
Dr. Baah Amoako noted that the platform he got to speak during his unveiling was not a time to talk about history and his assessment was completely wrong.
“This is the problem with him. This is called unforced error. He should accept it, move on and not do those things anymore and not to say that it is Ghana politics. What is Ghana politics? If you are running for Vice President, is it your place to go and compare the former President to Kwame Nkrumah?
“Are we doing Ghanaian history? This is now, we are talking about how you are going to fix Ghana’s problems now not to talk about history which is completely wrong. Your assessment was completely wrong, either your judgement was skewed or just an attempt to play to the good side of Nana Addo,” he told host of the show, Alfred Ocansey.
NAPO will shoot himself in the foot if… – Political Scientist
