John Evans Atta Mills: A Life Worth Living

Originally posted on another blog on 9/08/12

When old age shall this generation waste,

                                    Thou shalt remain in midst of other woe
                                    Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say'st
                                    'Beauty is truth, truth beauty,' ---that is all
                                     Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know
                                              John Keats, "Ode on a Grecian Urn"

 Perhaps Man's greatest invention is the art of storytelling. For in great literary works we're confronted with our humanity; our tragic, comic and tragicomic circumstances that we'd prefer not to be reminded. Through the ages, great literary works have reminded us of our potential to rise to the heights of nobility; to descend to depths of caricature and hypocrisy. That is why when tragedy strikes, sometimes the best way to come to grips with the situation is to re-read your favorite classics. That was what I did. In the immediate aftermath of Atta Mills' death, I decided to re-read three pieces: Philip Roth's The Human Stain, Kafka's The Trial and J.M. Coetzee's Disgrace.

Before I proceed, I must confess that I admired the late president. He was the reason I voted for the first time in my life in 2008. My admiration for him stemmed from the fact the I believe that every country needs to be led by people who have attained a certain level of education in order to give the young ones a reason to see education as useful. I'm not unaware that education (book knowledge, degrees) by itself means nothing. By "education" I'm referring to "total" education that transforms character, instills a sense of integrity and nationalism, respect for the other and a supreme commitment to improving the quality of life in one's country without necessarily looking for financial rewards.  Also, I believe that as a nation we need decent people in politics. Of course, people have criticized Mills for his humility. That wasn't surprising especially in a  country where people have come to misconstrue arrogance for intelligence and wisdom; levelheadedness for docility and acquiescence. Like all of us, he had his faults but I believe a time will come when we'll realize that perhaps no other leader in the history of our country has achieved so much in so short a time. When that day comes people like Sekou Nkrumah will learn some lessons of history. Sekou Nkrumah tells us that Mills was not a great man but a good man. Secondly, he makes the disgusting comment that even if the late Mills had died of AIDS there was the need for us to know what killed him. I agree that we need to know but even in the US no one can say make such unsavory remarks about a late president and walk away without incurring the wrath of the public. It's gross disrespect to say the least! But in today's Ghana who'll sanction him? He's an instant hero; just as Martin Amidu! We know that when Sekou's father, Kwame Nkrumah, was overthrown he was a labelled a criminal and a dictator. Today it has taken the combined effort of common people to rehabilitate Nkrumah's memory. For many people, Nkrumah was not even recognized as good man. We dare not blame Sekou if today he can pontificate on the difference between a good leader and a great leader. Today he is the darling politician for a cross section of our country; yesterday he served in Mill's government. Tomorrow? Who knows? I believe we'd criticize when we deem fit but I don't believe we've to denigrate in order to make a point.

Now, let me return to Roth's The Human Stain, J.M. Coetzee's Disgrace and Kafka's The Trial. I've not regretted re-reading these novels. The Human Stain and Disgrace have Professors as their central characters. The Human Stain, especially, has clarified for me the Ghanaian situation as a common human failing, displayed in our case, with unparalleled farce. How can I forget reading comments from unlikely sources and as diverse as the Rawlings', ex-President Kufour, Ebo Quansah of the Chronicle, Osei Kyei-Mensah Bonsu, Ursula Owusu etc. Some key members of the NDC who until the untimely death of Mills had  been some of his most ardent critics, albeit secretly, and leaking information to Mr. & Mrs. Rawlings had suddenly surfaced. Unashamedly, they spoke about Mills in such improbable encomiums, as if they didn't want to be outdone by the NPP.  For a moment, I wondered whether this was Ghana. In all this, it was the love displayed by ordinary Ghanaians as they mourned their President that will forever live with many. If we can garner such unity of purpose, why didn't we demonstrate that during his life time even as we criticized him? 

Roth's The Human Stain in particular has an uncanny resemblance to what has played out in Ghana during Mills' tenure and after his death. As I read the novel, I'd not help but admire the central character, Coleman Silk, "a white Jewish" classics professor in Athena College. Athena College is a microcosm of any other large society, like Ghana. For  using the word spook to describe two students (ironically, it turned out they were blacks) who had consistently failed to attend classes, Professor Coleman is haunted out of the Athena on charges of racism. So determined were his detractors that other trumped up charges were leveled against him. Under such a polluted environment of racial tensions, "Simply to make [an] accusation is prove it. To hear the allegation is to believe it. No motive for the perpetrator is necessary, no logic or rationale is required. Only a label is required. The label is the motive.The label is the evidence. The label is the logic" (p.290). Any society that reaches this nadir of insanity is doomed. It excludes decent people from contributing their quota. In the midst of these concocted allegations, Coleman's singular contribution to the development of Athena College, (he launched the "revolution of quality" (p.9) which saw the appointment of young and brilliant scholars onto his staff when became dean of his faculty), was deliberately forgotten. He lived the rest of his life an embittered, angry and isolated man loved only by Faunia Farley, the 34 year-old cleaning woman of the college. Coleman and his girl friend, Faunia, are both killed in a car accident caused by Faunia's ex-husband, Les Farley. For Prof. Silk Coleman and his girlfriend, who had become pariahs, death becomes a good fortune, a salvation. "Death intervenes to simplify everything. Every doubt, every misgiving, every uncertainty is swept aside by the greatest belittler of them all, which is death" (p.290).

But the novel's masterstroke lies in the fact, that Professor Coleman Silk who had all along presented himself as a white Jew, the basis on which his word spook was given a racial slant was actually black. So that, he was ironically persecuted by his own blacks. The comical aspect of his detractors is seen when during the funeral they attempt to speak well of the dead. Such hypocrisy!

As I look back on the Mills presidency, I'm struck by the swiftness with which the vociferous minority told us that the man was weak and a failure. I'm tempted to believe that in Ghana you're fool if you don't milk the nation for your personal benefit. Otherwise, how can we praise former President Kufour who replicated the Mobutu style of rewarding himself with a golden chain around his  neck; traveled only God knows how many times and collected every single travel allowance; sold Ghana Telecom; sold prime lands in Accra to himself and his cronies; disbanded Ghana Airways and sold its landed property at home and abroad to cronies at ridiculously  low prices, etc? But the consolation is that the vociferous radio stations and newspapers who crucified Mills even before he died can't stop the many ordinary people who've seen improvements in their communities during his tenure from praising him. Perhaps we need more leaders who'll steal our resources, flaunt the ill-gotten booty in our faces on national television, and compensate us with some HIPC toilets in our communities. Perhaps only then will Ghanaians agree that we've made progress in the 21st century. Until the HIPC funds begin to trickle in again, let's trudge on and say "Rest in Peace", Atta Mills.

Prof, some of your worst critics have been students you thought Law at the university. Not the criticism but the manner of criticism was most abhorring. Could your stoical and nonchalant attitude to the unwarranted attacks on your person be equated to the irony Professor Lurie, in Coetzee's Disgrace, discovers is inherent in the teaching profession? Prof. Lurie discovers that "the one who comes to teach learns the keenest of lessons (humility), while those who come to learn learn nothing." Prof., if that was your discovery too, then it was the biggest trick you played on the colossal ignorance of your students. They took their ignorance for perspicacity! Well, it has taken your death to make some of them see that truth and sincerity count. It takes a great leader to bring this about.

Of course, you'd your failings; some were unbelievable and unpardonable. Nevertheless, you did your uttermost. You brought some sense of dignity to the presidency. Fare thee well. Egya Atta!!!!