What I Learned From Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s Appointments
Sometime in January-March 2017, barely a month after winning the election and being sworn into office as Ghana’s 5th President of the 4th Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo commenced the process of naming his able team to man the affairs of the country in the next four years.
Such announcement happens to be the most anticipated event for citizens after every election. Everyone looks forward to the ‘who-is-who’ of every new government.
The first batch of announcement took place at his Nima residence where he revealed the administrative staff going to help him at the Presidency. Among some of the portfolios mentioned were Chief of Staff and Deputies, Personal Assistant, Executive Secretary, National Security Advisor, Director of Operations, Communications Director among others.
In the ensuing days, President Akufo-Addo continued the process of appointing officers to the various ministries and state agencies as enshrined in the Constitution of Ghana. Apparently, he created new ministerial portfolios which somehow incensed a large score of members of the opposition party and the citizenry.
I read with zest, the CVs/Resumes of those who had been appointed by the President as Minister designates for the respective ministries. This post is not about the number of ministries created thereof, because I do not want to wade into the debate.
I cannot tell whether you read about any or all the persons who were lucky to be appointed. For those who followed, you would recall that, in the three (3) part press conference by the President to announce his team, he took the time to elucidate their experiences, his personal relationships with them and brief qualifications.
I believe this exercise was to throw light and assure the citizens that he has confidence in the persons he is appointing to deliver on the Party’s campaign promises. It means the President has no doubt about their competencies.
Frankly, I truly admired this style of justified appointments. Whether they would be able to cross the hurdles and deliver diligently, I leave it for posterity.
Whiles the President continued, I was reading extended profiles of the nominees as shared by some NPP loyalists on Facebook. I paused to peruse the profile of the Ministers-Designate for Finance, Education, Sports, Defence, Security, Justice and so on.
What I said next was, “woooow”.
What a behemoth of experienced men and women. With a blend of public and private service practitioners, the respective nominees had had years of distinguished careers.
Well, as I sat down to digest them, I steeped into moments of rumination. Looking at the appointments of these ministers-designate, I decided to put myself in their positions.
Would I have earned such an honour to serve in the government? What would be my specialty? Would I be qualified and competent enough to deserve a nomination?
What would have the President read about me in my introduction?
Pause! Have you thought about this, too?
How is my CV or profile going to portray in the next 10–15 years? What skills am I building in order to be an expert in my chosen field? How prepared are you, should you be called up to take up a mantle.
I was reminded once again that, to become a technocrat is not an overnight deal. It requires continuous learning, failures, challenges and hard work. It involves consistent gain of experiences, resilience and a vision.
Do you have a burning desire to become a President, a Vice President, a government Minister, a Director of a public institution, a CEO of a global organization or even a leading entrepreneur?
How old are you now? What will be your age in the next 10–15 years? How are you preparing yourself for the colossal tide ahead? Will you be ready when the call comes through?
To borrow the words of Nana Awere Damoah, “Rome was not built in a day, but was built every day”.
Have you begun building your Rome? What is your foundation? Which stage are you?
And if you haven’t, there is no other time to start than NOW!
Keep working on building it block by block.
But as you ponder over these, be reminded once again that, “experience cannot be plucked from the tree like mangoes,” said my friend Uncle Dave (a former Ghana Athletics Coach).
