TELLING THE AFENYO MARKIN STORY
AND CELEBRATING HIM
Iddi Muhayu-Deen writes...
He was one
of the most enterprising and successful young business moguls in the country.
He was the owner of arguably, the largest haulage company in the country with
over 80 trucks that were primarily involved in the hauling of bauxite across
the country. The company was involved in the haulage of bauxite from Awaso to
Takoradi port, the haulage of limestone from Aflao to Buipe as well as the
haulage of palm oil from Abidjan to Jos State in Nigeria. So you can imagine
what that meant. I am talking about the defunct Excel Haulage Limited. Sometime
in 2004, he decided to venture into a new territory having excelled beyond
distinction in the World of business.
This
decision was influenced by his unquenchable love for his people, whom he had
served at some point as a Presiding Member for the Effutu Awutu Senya District
and also Presiding Member for the Effutu Municipal Assembly from 2008 to 2010. He
also served as an Assemblyman of Kojo Beedu South from 2006 to 2012. Whilst
serving in these capacities, he brought so many developmental projects to the
relevant communities including the establishment of a number of schools and
health facilities as well as the granting of scholarship to some brilliant but
needy students. Despite this invaluable feat he chalked for his people, he
still felt that he hadn't done enough and needed to serve them in a much bigger
capacity.
He wanted to
have a direct influence on policies
and programmes that affect his people right from the national level. He wanted
to have a much bigger voice. So he decided to get into partisan politics, which
provides such opportunity. His first point of call in this respect, was to
contest for the Effutu Parliamentary Seat on the ticket of the NPP. Prior to
that though, he, in 2004 contested and won the NPP's primaries to contest for
this Seat (Effutu Constituency) but was prevailed upon by some party elders
including former President Kufour to step down because he was "very
young" at the time.
He made a
comeback in the party's 2008 primaries but lost to the late Owusu Adjei by a
single vote. He was however successful in the party's 2011 primaries. So he
represented the NPP, for the first time, as the Parliamentary Candidate for the
the Effutu Seat in the 2012 general elections. He won the Seat, which until
that time, was a safe Seat for the NDC. But this man was able to win it on his
first attempt, beating competition from the then Minister for Transport, who
was the incumbent MP and an NDC colossus, Hon. Mike Hammah. He has since been
winning that Seat in subsequent general elections, virtually making it a safe
Seat for the NPP even though, that is not really the case.
Unfortunately
for him, in 2012 when he first snatched the Seat from the NDC, his political
party (NPP) lost the general elections. The NDC government felt that he has
given them a raw deal for snatching that important Seat away from them, so they
decided to witch-hunt him. They used some State Institutions and Agencies to
harass him and ensured that his business did not flourish. This was how the
ever captivating business mogul of our time lost his enviable pride of place in
the corporate World.
Fortunately
for him however, he happens to be a lawyer of great repute. Though he is less
than 10 years at the Ghanaian bar, his accomplishments in the legal profession
are unmatched. He stands tall among his compatriots. Perhaps he is the youngest
lawyer to have appeared before the nation's Supreme Court as a COUNSEL in
several high profile cases and secured far-reaching landmark judgements
(favourable). Mention can be made of landmark cases he won against the
Electoral Commission of Ghana, EOCO, the Financial Intelligent Centre (FIC) and
a number of State Institutions, which were acting with impunity. He is
essentially an authority in this field as his name is cited in several Case
Laws and for that matter Judicial Precedence in our Jurisprudence.
Also, in the
Parliament of Ghana, he is a great force to reckon with, in both caucuses. When
he gets up to speak on the floor of the House, everybody is eager to listen to
him because of the nuggets of wisdom and authority he exudes. You dare not put
him to order else, you would lose a lot. This man is always seen smartly
dressed in Parliament, cheerful looking and committed to duty without
complaints. I'm not surprised he once won the best overall performing MP by
the famous African Watch Magazine.
He also,
recently placed 5th in Odikros' assessment of the 6th Parliament out of the 275
MPs. Just go through the Parliamentary Hansards and you would be overwhelmed at
the rate at which his name is mentioned. Aside all of these, this man is also
an excellent communicator and an award winning orator. He speaks for the NPP on
every major media house almost on daily basis. His loyalty and commitment to
party work is unassailable.
With the
above narrative, you would think that the enviable gravitas of this man, should
fetch him a Ministerial appointment in the NPP government but that has not
happened as yet. Like they say, the President knows best. He was also penciled,
as widely publicized, for the vacant position of Deputy Majority Leader at some
time but that again, someway somehow, did not happen. This man was not and is
still not worried. He continues to serve his party and country to the fullest.
I wonder how many men in his shoes would be able to do that.
As if he
hasn't done enough for his party and country, he recently sacrificed his legitimate
membership of the coveted ECOWAS Parliament in order to save the image of the
Majority Caucus in Parliament and Ghana at large from an international
embarrassment. I'm sure you have followed this issue, so no need to
regurgitate. No wonder he wasn't only celebrated by the ECOWAS Parliament and
that of Ghana but also, by the BBCs, and the CNNs for being extraordinarily
gentlemanly and standing in for his country when it mattered most. What more
can one offer to his party and country!
As to
whether his decision to leave his hitherto, flourishing business to get into
politics in order to serve his people and country has paid off, is paying off
or will payoff anytime soon, I leave that to prosperity to judge. In the
meantime, what is yours, they say, will always find you. That is the end of HON. AFENYO MARKIN'S story, as told by
one of his ardent followers and a citizen
of Ghana NOT a spectator.
Long live
the Afenyos!
Long live my
Motherland!
Assalamu
alaikum
Iddi Muhayu-Deen
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