The second President of the Fourth Republic of Ghana, John Agyekum Kufuor, is celebrating his 73rd birthday today, December 8 2011. Ex-President Kufuor, affectionately known as the ‘Gentle Giant’, ruled Ghana from 2001 to 2009. His birthday is often characterized by live radio interviews in the mornings and Ghanaians could be treated to one of his rich statements this Thursday morning. During his reign, Kufuor, who succeeded former president JJ Rawlings, took some firm decisions that were met with stiff opposition from his critics, but eventually helped transform the fortunes of the country. Notable among the drastic policies taken by the Kufuor administration was the heavily criticized Highly Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC), the repeal of the Criminal Libel Law as well as the birth of the Fast Track High Courts among others. Citifmonline.com caught up with one of the admirers of the former president, Alhaji Haruna Attah, who is also the editor of The Mail newspaper in Ghana to share his thoughts about Kufuor’s reign. “I want to wish him a happy birthday,” Mr. Attah said. “May he live much longer to give us the benefit of his experience as a former president. ” “He has been an inspiration to the young generation of this country. I wish he continues to cut himself out of the gutter politics being witnessed in this country because we need people who will rise above what is taking place now. The editor had another wish for the former deputy minister of foreign affairs. “I hope that within his power, he will bring all former leaders not only in the political arena, but from the private to the public sectors together,” he stated. Alhaji Attah outlined what he felt were some of the highlights of the Kufuor era. “I commended him for the repeal of the Criminal Libel Law from our statute books. I also remember the HIPC initiative and his excellent engagements with the international community. Kufuor was admired for his adherence to human rights and Ghana was fairly at peace with its neighbours. “Of course, we witnessed the killing of the Ya-Na Yakubu Andani and the stadium disaster under him, but there is no nation in this world that lives in perfect peace,” he noted.