Personally, I have learnt a great deal from the eight long months of Supreme Court proceedings on the 2012 election petition case that was brought before it. I have come to appreciate and even gained a lot of insight into some of the processes that go on from the minute we cast our votes during general elections till the results are declared. During these eight months, and thanks to Ghana Television, the Supreme Court has been demystified and parts of the 1992 constitution which ordinarily, one would never have turned the pages to are all refreshed in one’s mind. The judgement day has thankfully come and gone and we are back to our normal selves. There has not been any anarchy in our land. I am certainly proud of my country. In all that, one thing that has impressed me most is the statesmanship demeanor of one of the first petitioners, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. His post judgement day encouraging statement that though disappointed with the verdict, we should go the path that builds rather than destroys, cannot pass without comment. Having watched him on television, read and listened to clips of his “acceptance” speech, I have picked up some lessons from his posturing. What is not lost on me is the fact that he comes across as a true statesman. The fear that gripped many Ghanaians in the build up to the verdict was the question of violence being visited on us by the aggrieved once judgement was handed down. Those who held that fear posited it in the context of what had gone on in other African countries as a result of election disputes. As genuine as those fears might have been, we all prayed against anything untoward and wished for demonstrable leadership example when the time came so their followers would take a cue. Thankfully, nothing untoward has happened to Ghana despite the disappointment of the petitioners. That is why as a proud Ghanaian, Nana Akufo-Addo’s posturing to date and particularly his prepared speech, post the verdict, reveals the true statesman in him. Ghana would need more of such posturing as we embark on his prescribed path that builds rather than destroys. Shortly after the verdict, which by now the world knows as having gone in favour of President John Mahama, the first respondent, Nana Akufo-Addo, is said to have called the President on the phone and congratulated him minutes after the Supreme Court had pronounced its judgement. This was even before he spoke to the public. True to his promise to accept the judgement whichever way it went, he is reported to have said, “While I disagree with the court’s decision, I accept it.” He is reported to have gone further adding that they were not going to ask for a review of the verdict (even though that option is available), saying, “So we can all move on in the interest of our nation.” For the sake and love of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, in his prepared speech to Journalists who had gathered at his Nima residence shortly after the verdict, called on Ghanaians to join hands to embark on a move “that builds, rather than destroys”. That is a meaningful call coming at a very crucial time in our county’s progress. The picture it creates is someone who sees Ghana bigger than his presidential ambitions. We have come to a defining moment in the history of our nation for all to join hands to work towards the progress of our people. Ghana has set so many paces and the challenge to take each success story and build on it going forward is what we should be aiming at. Admittedly, excessive partisanship has hurt Ghana and slowed down our progress, 56 years on, no doubt. But progress and development would not come if we continue to work as a divided people. We preach unity in the Church because of what we know from the Bible. We work hard to preserve unity in our families because we believe that in unity lies strength. At the work place, we are encouraged to work together as a team to help the organization achieve its goals. We come together to fight competition and aim to win at the marketplace. We are proud to give a place on our curriculum vitae (CV) that we are team players. Even in sports which we do for fun it is always the united team that wins. The best choirs render inspiring renditions because they bring all the parts together in singing to achieve harmony. Why can we not transfer this basic life application to building a strong winning nation? When you talk to them, many well meaning Ghanaians have switched off their radio and television sets because to them, everyday brings nothing but excessive noise that create even more deeper divisions rather than bringing the nation together. I believe we have the prescription to treat the fractures and dislocations that we have inflicted on ourselves. What we need is how to administer the doses. We need to stop, look back and move quickly into the lane that will continue to build Ghana, rather than create any destruction. For years to come, the history that has thus been written following the landmark election petition case, will also not forget the maturity with which the first petitioner readily accepted the verdict in order to see Ghana move on. Would anybody be right in referring to him as Ghana’s president that never was and a true statesman that evolved with time?