North Tongu lawmaker, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa paid a worthy tribute in honour of late President Prof. John Evans Atta Mills on the floor of Parliament on Thursday.
The Member of Parliament emphasised “Mr Speaker, being the 10th anniversary since the Asomdwehene’s departure to our Maker, I intend to honour his memory with this tribute by highlighting a selection of 10 “Millsian” attributes which I humbly consider being epitomizing and defining of his character and works”.
Full speech below:
10TH ANNIVERSARY TRIBUTE IN HONOUR OF THE MEMORY OF H.E. PROF. JOHN EVANS FIIFI ATTA MILLS – 3RD PRESIDENT OF THE 4TH REPUBLIC BY HON. SAMUEL OKUDZETO ABLAKWA, MP FOR NORTH TONGU AND RANKING MEMBER, FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE OF PARLIAMENT AS DELIVERED IN PARLIAMENT TODAY
Right Honourable Speaker, I am exceedingly grateful to you for the opportunity to eulogize Professor John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills, the third President of the Fourth Republic of Ghana on the solemn occasion of his 78th birthday.
Mr Speaker, it is already a decade since the sudden departure of President Atta Mills who is the first Ghanaian President to die in office.
We recall the monumental outpouring of genuine sorrow and the sea of emotion that engulfed our nation on that 24th day of July 2012.
The resilience of our constitutional democracy was tested and as an enduring testament to his peaceful and unarming persona, the citizenry and our institutions, particularly this Parliament emerged with flying colours.
Mr Speaker, born 21st July 1944 in Tarkwa, in the then Gold Coast, Professor John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills remains a refreshing and iconic addition to the Ghanaian intelligentsia and national politics.
Mr Speaker, being the 10th anniversary since the Asomdwehene’s departure to our Maker, I intend to honour his memory with this tribute by highlighting a selection of 10 “Millsian” attributes which I humbly consider being epitomizing and defining his character and works:
1) Integrity
Prof. Atta Mills left a legacy of high-grade integrity. He didn’t have to say it, he simply lived it. Both those of us who worked with him closely and those who observed him from afar knew that was his true character. Integrity came to him naturally. He was absolutely incorruptible and throughout his service to Ghana as a lecturer, tax administrator, Vice President and President – never was he embroiled in any scandal. That was a rare achievement for the extremely sensitive positions he held. He had a strict personal policy about gifts and even sought to extend the same in his government by banning the acceptance of gifts including Christmas hampers which he considered inducements.
It is therefore not surprising that during his tenure as President, independent assessors ranked Ghana high on all integrity indicators.
2) Modesty
President Atta Mills was the true definition of modesty. He didn’t allow the trappings of high office to change his modest character. His presidential convoy remains perhaps the leanest in Ghana’s entire history. His tastes and proclivities didn’t change or adjust to aristocratic allurements due to high office. He kept faith with his favourite bread, kenkey and waakye sellers and often insisted on paying them visits to engage them and find out how his economic policies were impacting their businesses.
3) Punctuality
We remember Prof. Mills for his punctuality. He was a stickler for time. He didn’t think keeping people waiting was a sign that you are the big man – he rather thought it was a show of indiscipline from the big man. In a country where Ghana Man Time (GMT) has become legendary, he showed that despite multiple exacting schedules of a President, it is possible to be organized and always be on time. To him, it was also a show of respect for the people you serve.
4) Scholarship
As a Fulbright Scholar and having earned a PhD in tax law at the young age of 27, he dedicated a greater part of his life to training hundreds of lawyers and tax experts.
A few of his seminal publications include:
• Taxation of Periodical or Deferred Payments arising from the Sale of Fixed Capital (1974)
• Exemption of Dividends from Income Taxation: A Critical Appraisal (1977)
• Report of the Tax Review Commission, Ghana, parts 1 – 3 (1977)
• Ghana’s Income Tax Laws and the Investor (1978)
• Ghana’s New Investment Code: An Appraisal (1986)
• Criminal Law Treatment of Sexual Activity
• The role of the state in the evolution of the family in Anglophone countries of Africa: An overview
• A survey of taxes on the individual in Ghana
• Ghana’s wealth tax: Some issues and problems
• Africa in the World (2002)
• NEPAD and New International Relations (2002)
• The Decline of a Regional Fishing Nation: The Case of Ghana and West Africa (2004
5) Economic Achievements
During his tenure as President, Ghana recorded its highest GDP growth rate of 14.4%. Ghana also secured its longest sustained single-digit inflation. It is also significant to note that under his stewardship, Ghana secured its first 1 million metric tonnes of Cocoa production.
Ghanaian workers still celebrate him for the successful implementation of the Single Spine Pay Policy which was announced in the final days of the presidency of his predecessor, H.E. John Agyekum Kufuor. He is credited for improving the wages and quality of life of Ghanaian workers and the general population.
6) Belief in Youth
The Asomdwehene had an abiding and unflinching faith in the capacity and promise of the Ghanaian youth. Even in the face of criticism, with some accusing him of being a coach who loves to field Team B players, he remained unperturbed and kept inspiring confidence in the young team he assembled to help him govern.
As he told some of us, having lectured for some three decades, he better appreciated the dynamism and fresh insights that youthfulness brings and therefore he will always encourage and offer opportunities for young people to transform our society with that verve, dynamism and courage. He believed the elder generation should be more accommodating to the views and ideas of younger people. He thought mentorship and guidance were an obligation for the elder generation and that they should never stifle the progress of young ones. He always said: “this country is for your generation, start making it what you want it to be now.”
7) Compassionate and Tolerant Leadership
He left a legacy of a more united, loving and stable nation because of his philosophy of leadership. Celebrated for his “Father For All” mantra, he didn’t think leadership or the presidency should be used to harras political opponents and settle scores. Of course as a law lecturer of many years and of high repute, he believed in the rule of law and in sanctions for those who fell foul of the law. What he abhorred was misusing the law to antagonize and victimize political opponents or anybody for that matter. He always lowered tensions, de-escalated, and calmed the nation with his ever-famous salutation: “my brothers and sisters.”
8)Investment in the Next Generation of Intellectuals
Prof. Atta Mills brought his many years of nurturing young intellectuals to the presidency. That vision of constant empowerment and building intellectual capacity led him to formulate the profound policy of establishing a public university in all regions of Ghana. During his time, the Volta, Brong Ahafo and Eastern Regions did not have public universities. It is to his credit that today these regions and our nation can boast of the University of Health and Allied Sciences in the Volta Region, the University of Energy and Natural Resources in the then Brong Ahafo Region and now the University of Environment and Sustainable Development in the Eastern Region which his successors – President Mahama and President Akufo-Addo continued.
9) Honest to Admit Contributions of Political Opponents
For a country often caught up in pettiness and small-mindedness at great cost to the taxpayer when inherited projects are not continued because political opponents may take credit, the Asomdwehene was a refreshing break from that sordid tradition. He continued the N1 project, the Bui Dam project and many more across the country. He is the first president to invite his predecessor to join him commission a project which he has finished but started by his predecessor – we all recall the beautiful images when he invited President Kufuor to assist him commission the famous N1 Road Project.
10) He was Not Ashamed to put God at the Centre of his Government
He had an unwavering belief that God reigns in the affairs of men. He had absolutely no reservations in boldly professing his Christian faith and living by example. Indeed, He was accused of turning the Castle – the former seat of government into a prayer camp but he was unrepentant, much to the glory of God. When some Westen Leaders had the audacity to cajole and compel President Mills to accept LGBTQI – his thunderous principled response based on his Christian faith made them back off completely.
Right Honourable Speaker, these Millsian Doctrines and Accomplishments which may be described as MILSSISM are still more than relevant in our contemporary body politic.
As we reflect on his legacy and thank the Good Lord for blessing Ghana with this great Pan Africanist, Visionary, Thinker, Moral Leader and Believer in the Youth, may I appeal that he is allowed to rest in dignity and in peace?
Prof. Mills towers above egotistic pettiness and division.
The Asodwehene’s legacy lives on.
Forever in our hearts, Prof.
I am most grateful, Mr Speaker.
Source: Mybrytnewsroom.com/Kwabena Nyarko Abronoma
