Dr. Sekou Nkrumah has said even though President John Evans Atta Mills is a great intellectual, when it comes to the political arena, he (Mills) lacks the acumen to excel and offer decisive leadership to propel the country to greater heights. “Nobody doubts President Mills’ academic credentials. I believe he is an exceptional person but he is a poor politician; his leadership qualities is in question” he opined. Sekou Nkrumah was commenting on the controversial first class fiasco raised by Deputy Information Minister Baba Jamal while comparing President Mills to the opposition New Patriotic Party flag bearer, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. Baba Jamal, infuriated by Nana Akufo-Addo's comment that Ghana is in dire need of an intelligent stated that the president had a first class whiles Nana Akufo-Addo was awarded a third class from the University of Ghana. He added that given this fact, the NPP flag bearer has no moral right to question the intelligence of President Mills who sat in the same lecture room with him (Nana) at the University but did better. But Sekou Nkrumah, contributing to the discussion on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen programme Tuesday, observed that “being an academic does not make you more intelligent than somebody”. You could be more academic but not necessarily intelligent”. He explained that having a first class does not guarantee an individual the right of place as a good politician since the leadership qualities of an individual also counts. Mills' avowed critic noted that given the academic excellence of President Mills, his appalling performance in handling the country’s economy is evident that he has not got the leadership quality to run the country. He stated that given the massive successes chalked by Nana Akufo-Addo as a lawyer; he should be given the opportunity to also prove his leadership skills ahead of the 2012 general elections. Dr. Nkrumah observed that having a first or third class is a non-issue because ‘you don’t need University degree to become a president of Ghana or any other country.