Drug Menace: Mahama Must Own the Lapses, Not Blame NPP — Manasseh

Investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni has taken on President John Mahama and the NDC administration over Ghana’s drug smuggling crisis, insisting they cannot continue to blame the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) for failures under their watch.

In a Facebook post, Awuni said the President cannot take credit for positive developments while blaming the NPP for lapses occurring under his administration.

Awuni wrote: “You have been in office for nearly two years. Granted that there was a flawed policy at the port that affected vigilance over drugs, as you claim, the officials you appointed over a year ago should have assessed and realised the gaps.”

He warned the presidency against suggesting that its own security and narcotics officials were incapable of identifying weaknesses until foreign authorities began intercepting drug shipments from Ghana.

“Don’t create the impression that your security advisors and narcotics officials are dumb, that they could not diagnose the gaps until foreigners started busting drug shipments from Ghana,” he said.

‘Unacceptably lame’
The journalist described the continued blaming of the NPP as “unacceptably lame,” reminding the President of his campaign message that he had superior ideas and solutions.

“You told us that you had better ideas and solutions for our nation’s challenges. You told us to reject the NPP so that your superior ideas and solutions could be implemented,” Awuni wrote.

Credit and blame
He added: “After nearly two years in office, you are responsible for fixing the shipment drug problem. You can’t take credit for the positive developments and blame the NPP for the lapses under your watch.”

Awuni said it made no sense for the President to keep blaming the opposition when he controlled the entire national security architecture.

The politics angle
While acknowledging that the drug issue had been politicised, Awuni said Ghanaians who have followed Fourth Republic politics remember how the NPP was once called a “cocaine party.”

“The politicisation of the drugs problem is nauseating, but those of us who have followed the politics of the Fourth Republic remember those who championed it in the past. We remember how the NPP was called a cocaine party. So, the politics may not end today,” he wrote.

You are in charge
But he was clear about where responsibility now lies: “As for the real issues, President Mahama and the NDC administration are responsible for solving the problem we have now. Do not shift blame to the opposition. It will not wash. They are not in charge. You are.”