Duty of care is intrinsically woven into any public contract no matter who is appointed, selected, elected or chosen to hold a public office. It is assumed that when individuals have forsaken their private lives and have given themselves up to be used by the state to make a contribution towards the national stability and development, it is incumbent upon the state to take good care of them and their families. As a nation, we are too backward to understand that holding a public office apart from it being a privilege, involves in a lot of risk, you become the state’s property and every tom dick and harry look at you as the person who has answers to all their problems. However, the sad part of it is that nobody cares about your welfare and the Ghanaian would tell you “But they are paid handsomely”. As a nation I think we let the late President John Evans Atta Mills down big time.

We are practicing the Western democracy where in all situations the view of the majority is respected. In the same western democracy they have laid down rules that govern the rights of public officials. They have independent bodies outside the public sector to look into the affairs of public office holders like the President, Prime minister, cabinet ministers and their assistants as well as the parliament and anyone who holds a public office. In such matters, it is non-partisan so that when there is change of government and the other side fails to win power, both those in government and those in opposition sing from the same song book. The only sad aspect for those in opposition is their loss of power so you can see they work together for the common good of the country. I will entreat the Ghanaian to watch the healthy debate that goes on in the UK Parliament every Thursday, where you see Synergy at its best.

Let us look at how democracy works in the United Kingdom, the USA, Canada, Republic of Ireland,France,Australia,just to mention but a few and compare it to that of Ghana and you will think we are in a different planet. In the countries I have just mentioned and almost all the West, Political parties are seen as vehicles that make it possible for the parties to travel to win elections. Political parties present their manifesto and programmes to the electorate and it becomes the duty of electorate to decide at any given elections which of the parties deserve to be given the right to govern the people for a specified term. Politics to those in the West is the quest of the politicians to put their skills at the disposal of the people, most of the time it is the skill and their desire to do something to help better the lots of their societies that attract them to political or public life. Yes, they clamour for prestige but in almost every situation, it is what they want to do for society that is paramount. Yes, they will be remunerated and looked after handsomely, but because such societies have a strong built in control systems, corruption is not too rife.

Come to Ghana, the name of the game is power. In Ghana, you have power you have access to riches and more corruption. The Ghanaian politician sees the holding of any public office as a right. They assume it is their God given right to head public office instead of seeing that role as a privilege. Let us look at the way the party in power in Ghana treated our President. The late President John Evans Atta Mills was not just the leader of the NDC; he was the elected leader and President of the Republic of Ghana. Those around him, like the Anyidohos, the Segbefiahs, the Okudjato Ablakwas,the Omane Boamahs, Lante Vanderpuijes and on and on, the list will become endless, never saw the need for Ghanaians to have the feel of a president. They instead saw the rest of us as irrelevant to the occupant of the highest office in our land and because of their selfish and personal interests, they mastered the grand art of deceit and each day had its portion and dose they had to administer unto us. These people made the president’s life very difficult and as a result, Ghanaians never knew what was happening around him. What the over 21million adults and teenagers saw as something wrong with our president’s health, these sycophants made us believe we were blind to speak like that about our president. These are genuine Ghanaians who wanted to show our love and concerns for this fine gentleman but, they kept pushing us away with their chronic lies.

Within a day, these people who have all acquired degrees in LIES and Fabrications would change statement of importance and meant for public consumption about hundred times. Ghanaians deserved to know what was happening to their president because when they queued during the elections, they were entrusting their rights and power unto the president as a lien on his life so that he could carry out his assignment of leading our nation to development, prosperity and improved standard of living.

Where in the world should it become the duty of a few people that decided what the nation should hear and what they should not? The NDC and the few power drunk adventurers in the government prevented we Ghanaians to demonstrate our true love and the duty of care for our late president. The late Professor was right to have given these young men, the opportunity to taste public life but I am afraid Ghanaians are going to think very hard in selecting immature young men like the Ablakwas and Anyidohos into public life. The Professor knew very well that the future of Ghana depended on the younger generation but if in Ghana, the so called FUTURE generation cannot marry such opportunities with decorum,responsibility,trust,truth,sincereity,duty of care,intergrity and all the virtues embedded on cool heads, then what future generation can this country entrust their children and their children unto? I am never an NDC supporter but Professor John Evans Atta Mills was my president. I would not have voted for him if I had the right to vote but the bottom line still remains he was my president. I did not need any sycophants to have surrounded him to the extent that even the “breath he took”, he needed some people to determine it.

Dear Late President John Evans Atta Mills, your passing and parting is very sad. It has touched me so much even when I lost my mother, I never felt like I am feeling now. I am sad because the opportunity was there for you to have taken an extended sick leave to recuperate but they would not let you. When I watched the clip that you were instructed as a PR exercise to jog at the airport, it hits me so much and that it has opened my eyes very well to know how wicked people have found their way into public life. They put 2012 elections ahead of your life. They were afraid that without you not in a million years will they have this same opportunity in public life so they had to resort to the game they know best, more lies and twisted facts forgetting to look after the “Milk Cow” that produced the milk well. Now the milk cow is gone where will their milk come from? Selfish and unpatriotic people.

Ghana let you down too much in the duty of care and I pray that the Good Lord will keep your soul in the bosom of Abraham and I can assure you, if they had told us you were not well, we could have voted to let you take an extended rest until you were well after all we elected you into that office and they owed us a duty to have told us instead of the pack of LIES coming from people we never queued to vote for. Till we meet, Mr President Rest in Perfect Peace. May your passing become an eye opener to our public office holders that we the electorate owe them a duty of care but until they are truthful to us, it will become a mirage; we could not offer it to them. It is simple: The President is not well so he has taken an extended leave to seek medical attention and rest. What is wrong with that?