I have witnessed the era of four presidents in the country. And in all, I saw the impunity and sheer deliberateness with which things were done in the country by either the Presidents or their appointees. They carried out acts, which are responsible for the rot in the country, to satisfy their interest relegating that of Ghanaians to the backburner.

The outcome of the December 7, 2016 general elections was a resounding vote of no confidence in the way ‘things are done in the country.’ The humiliating defeat handed former President John Mahama is a testament that the citizens had been patient with him. After months of harping on the refrain of fighting corruption and ensuring equity in the treatment of Ghanaians, a key legacy of the former President was that he left a fragile and broke state.

Former President Jerry John Rawlings from 1992 - 2000 [excluding era as a military leader]

Mahama’s actions and inactions were unbelievably surreal leaving doubts in the minds of the citizens whether he ever trusted his own decisions. In the midst of international disgrace brought on the country during the 2014 Brazil World Cup, the former President set up a committee whose recommendations he failed to implement. His laid back attitude made him accommodating of wrongdoing and wrongdoers. Surprisingly, people who never had the interest of the nation at heart found an ally in him. He gave free reign to his appointees to malign the reputation of opponents needlessly.

This is obviously not the trajectory Ghanaians want President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his appointees to take. We do not want to see a leader who is tardy in response to threat to the security of the country. Merely setting up committees to interfere when urgent reactions are needed will take us back to the days of the previous regimes when the formation of committees was the prevailing state of things.

Former President John Agyekum Kufuor from 2001 - 2008

We want the President to be consumed by the mess corruption has created in the system, treatment meted out to students from deprived homes, stale political climate, and worsening cedi. President Akufo-Addo has to prioritise these issues and handle them head on. He must convince Ghanaians that ridding the society of these maladies matters to him. Curing these problems is the urgent need of the citizens and the President must act as if it is. He must purge his government of persons who will act contrary to the public cause. He must drive reforms at the civil service to abandon the bureaucratic way of doing things that has slowed government business for decades. State institutions must not be allowed to function as if it is business as usual. Things must change.

We want President Akufo-Addo to sack appointees whose actions or otherwise result in loss of money by the state or death of scores of Ghanaians. He must get angry at Ministers who fail to do due diligence in the award of government contracts. He must not interfere with the work of the Office of the Public Prosecutor after it has been legally established. He must periodically audit his appointees to ensure they don’t engage in malfeasance directly or indirectly. He must compel the police to conform to the new way of doing things and put an end to their old corrupt ways which have marred the integrity of the Service. He must summon and cause the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to sanction personnel who misconduct themselves in public. He must insist the police treat the citizens with care and respect because they are there to serve the public cause.

Late President John Evans Atta-Mills from 2009 - 2012

We want the President to communicate with Ghanaians on critical issues affecting the country since his silence might result in loss of faith in his leadership. He must avail himself to new ideas, consult experts and collaborate with the various research institutions in the country to re-engineer new ways of doing things in the country if his vision of creating the new Ghanaian were to come true. We want the President to cure his backroom staff such as the Chief of Staff and Communication Director of inconsistencies in their communications. They committed that in the issue of the alleged missing state vehicles and this should not be repeated. Consistency douses doubts even if one is merely engaging in deceit.

We don’t want President Akufo-Addo to think like his predecessors. He must not be interested in longevity of power which was the preoccupation of the former Presidents. He had demonstrated in the course of the 2016 campaign that he would vote for a good name than the opposite. He must demonstrate that by seeking a place in the history books by his decisions and actions. We want him to get his day organised and stop living by ‘I act as it comes.’ He should optimise his days as the leader of the country by making them count.

Former President John Dramani Mahama from 2012 - 2016

We want the President not to surround himself with praise singers whose voices are too good to ignore. He must break through the prism of the sycophants who want to court his favour and get in touch with the ordinary citizens.

I want President Akufo-Addo to know that I will be critical of decisions and actions he takes as leader of the country. He should know that I will take him to the cleaners if his actions are not in the interest of Ghanaians, but it will be constructive. I don’t want him to be defensive whenever he is attacked by his political opponents. He had done that while in opposition and should expect same.

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Disclaimer: Views expressed here are the Author's and do not reflect the position of management of the Multimedia Group Limited or Myjoyonline.com. Austin Brako-Powers is a journalist with Joy 99.7 FM and could be reached via Brakomen@outlook.com or www.brakopowers.com