The President, J. A. Kufuor has announced a final list of 241 distinguished Ghanaians to be given national honours for outstanding services to the nation.

The Awards are in the following categories: Grand Order of the Star and Eagles of Ghana (for Presidents of the Republic of Ghana), Order of the Star-Companion, Order of the Star-Member, and order of the Volta-Companion.

The rest are Order of the Volta-Officer, Order of the Volta-Member and Grand Medal.

According to a press released signed by the President’s Press Secretary, Mr. Andrew Awuni, himself nominated for honours, the list includes former Vice President and NDC presidential candidate, Prof. John Evans Atta Mills, Vice President Aliu Mahama, NPP presidential candidate, Nana Akufo-Addo, Interior Minister, Dr. Kwame Addo-Kufour, Greater Accra Regional Minister, I. C. Quaye, former Interior Minister Kwamena Bartels and former security chief, Kojo Tsikata.

This final list is comprehensive, but it is not without controversy. It is likely to generate a much more unexpected reaction, this time from non-partisan sections of the Ghanaian public than the earlier list of 158 which was announced on May 23, 2008 did.

The others on the list include, Paa Kwesi Nduom, presidential candidate of the CPP, gospel musician Ohemaa Mercy, Actor, Adu Kofi Mensah alias Agya Koo and owner of King Faisal Football Club, Alhaji Grunsah.

The exhaustive list also includes some opposition politicians, medical officers, former and current footballers, market women, foreign diplomats, broadcasters and pressmen.

When the awards list was first announced on May 23, it raised some controversies. These controversies were spearheaded by NPP operatives who made political meal out of it because they felt the nomination of Prof. Mills for a national award of merit by the President was an endorsement of him over and against the NPP’s candidate, Nana Akufo-Addo. This unfortunate development was complemented by the NDC’s own response, as some of the party’s apologists also attempted to use the awards to make political capital in their campaign.

At the height of the debate, the only reasonable and refreshing voice to be heard was that of Prof. Emmanuel Gyimah Boadi, the respected Political Scientist and Executive Director of the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD). He has also being nominated on the final list. Prof. Gyimah Boadi argued that, Prof. Mills deserved the award because he has made contributions to Ghana’s democratic culture.

He said in reaction to a purported postponement of the original awards day that if the postponement was because of the agitations of those who have politicised awards, then “it is a dent on the image of tolerance and accommodation that the country has been cultivating.”

Prof. Gyimah Boadi also said he believes Prof. Mills was being given the award “on the grounds of what he has achieved already and not what he is going to be in the future,” he asked Ghanaians to remember that Prof. Mills has been of great service to this nation when he graciously conceded defeat after the 2000 elections to pave way for the first incidence of peaceful change of government through the ballot box.

He acknowledged that by that action, Prof. Mills “did Ghanaians a big favour and that was a big credit to his credentials as a democrat.”by conceding defeat to President Kufuor after the 2000 general elections. He further argued that if President Kufuor acceded to the jostling of the agitators within the NPP and changed his mind about giving the award to Prof. Mills, he would be perceived as weak.

As a result of the brouhaha that followed the earlier announcement which obviously forced the state to announce that the list was not final and informed the public that a final list would be announced at a later date, this new list would certainly evoke heated debates in a country where partisanship appears to overshadow every national endeavour, making the country look more polarized even at this level of the country’s democratic growth.

Certainly some of the names on this new list would stir even more controversies and some critics of the president would question his firmness.

Appearing on the list is Mr. Lamptey Mills, Proprietor of Great Lamptey Mills School. This school has recently been in the news and was cited for torturing some of its students. TV3 showed very disturbing pictures of a student, who according to the report was being beaten by land guards who have been invited by the school authorities to punish the said student for misconduct. In a follow-up report another student was shown on TV with severe body injuries which he claimed was as a result of punishment he received from the school authorities. This school though, has achieved some gains in promoting basic education in the country.

In the past, some Ghanaians have been given national awards that didn’t go down well with the public. Some of these individuals were noted deviants whose achievements of any national nature were vague and doubtful.

It is common knowledge that national awards are given to people who have offered exemplary service and made extraordinary contributions to national development. Often, when it is done, no reference is made to their partisan affiliation, and there is usually national consensus on their suitability.

There are certainly some great achievers on the list who more than deserve the awards because they have excelled and paid their dues to the nation and to humanity.

But the manner in which these national honours are being handled this time, it is likely to bring the august exercise into disrepute.

But would any of the nominees politely reject the awards in protest?


By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi