No employer hires any employee to come over and create more trouble that will compound challenges already confronting their organisations or outfits. For this reason, every genuine and business-minded hiring officer focuses attention on personal competencies above all other considerations. Everyone shuns incompetent and ineffective leadership. It is incontrovertible fact that leadership incompetence is the cause of Africa’s woes. The strength of every society depends largely on its leadership. Throughout history successful societies have been those whose leaders were able to rise to the occasion to calm storms during crises and advance the course of prosperity during peace time. During economic hardships, poverty and wars it is the leaders who make tough economic and military decisions to steer the nation out of those troubles. However, leadership incompetence is a key factor in entrenching poverty in almost all African societies. The leadership in Africa today could be likened to a bad chef who has all the ingredients needed to prepare a delicious soup but fails to do so for lack of skills.
Agya Atta is a name commonly used by ordinary Ghanaians to refer to the sitting president, John Evans Atta Mills. It is coined partly from circumstances of his birth as a twin (Atta) and his age, 65 years. In Ghana, a male twin is called Atta either as Atta Panin (Elder Twin) or Atta Kakra (Younger Twin). When people what to address an elderly person respectfully, they say Agya or alternatively Opanyin. Since Opanyin has similar meaning as Atta Panin, it would have confused a number of people whether they were paying him homage or simply calling him as a twin. His other twin brother is Cadman Atta Mills. As Lucky Mensah mentioned in his 'Nkratoo' (message) song composition, Ghanaians don't know who is panin and Kakra hence conveniently chosen to call him Agya instead.
Another lazying reflecting name given the President is 'Professor Do Little'. This was given by the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) leader, Nana Akufo-Addo referring to his inability to fix the many problems confronting Ghanaians. The president has always found it very convenient to shift blame on his predecessors for any challenges and difficulties they can handle as government. Within his own ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), some bigwigs have labelled him lazying-reflecting names severally for his lackadaisical approach to handling issues. His 2007 main NDC challenger, Ekwow Spio-Garbrah nicknamed Team B Coach implying 'leaving out best human materials in favour of people who have either no experience or lack understanding of national issues'. His own NDC Founder and former president Jerry John Rawlings called him Mediocre explaining that President Mills is clueless regarding resolution of problems.
As if only Ghana has a lazy and ineffective president. In the Far East, President Benigno Aquino III of the Philippines is getting his fair share of criticisms and name calling. Over the past week, sworn critics of the President coined what turned out to be a pretty effective term to dismiss the President as ineffective because he is lazy. I think it is unfair. It is obvious from the number of public events President Benigno Aquino III attends that he is far from lazy or just taking it easy. I have also been told that he is pretty hands-on, attending meetings of cabinet clusters and participating in policy formulations.
Unfortunately, his less than competent communications staff made a bad situation worse by announcing the President (shortned as P-Noy) was “under the weather” and will just be at Malacañang working on state papers. They then released an obviously posed photograph of the President at work with a glass of wine on the table. It was sheer stupidity—so defensive and trying too hard. And they did it again sooner showing P-Noy trying to carry a heavy load of paper, a photo quickly parodied in social media... photoshopped with the DPWH officials “inspecting” typhoon damage.
So the term “Noynoying” (pronounced noy-noy-YING) landed not just in the local lexicon but featured in Wikipedia and horrors… the Wall Street Journal. The WSJ story defined it as “a term that involves sitting around and staring into space.” Wikipedia entry defined “Noynoying” as “an Internet meme that defines an effortless pose, or activity consisting of sitting or standing around, in an unconcerned manner.”
Hopefully the name calling of President John Evans Atta Mills will not get Noynoying much worse a WSJ article which will not give investors reason to pause and reverse their very positive attitudes towards Ghana but Professor Do Little, Team B Coach and President Mediocre remember that to be forewarned is to be forearmed. A word to the wise (NOT highly educated) is enough.
