It was Chinua Achebe who said in "The Arrow of God" that a man who visits a craftsman at work finds a sullen host. A craftsman dedicated to his trade does not entertain distractions, so it's not unusual to find him drained of all warmth while on duty.

If I hadn't known Dr Callistus Mahama outside of President John Mahama's circles, I would have concluded that he's unfriendly and cold towards others, a sullen host by all accounts.

For those who may not be aware, Dr. Callistus Mahama serves as the Secretary to the President. 

Long before I encountered him on Wednesday, I had met him at the residence of Mr. John Mahama.

(President John Mahama and I have been friends since his first term. But party foot soldiers will not understand why a journalist can be so critical of his friend's leadership and why a president should be so tolerant and accommodating of a journalist bitingly critical of him.)

I had visited Mr. John Mahama's residence to invite him to my book launch. It had been a long time since we last met, so we struck up a hearty conversation. 

Then appeared Dr. Callistus. 

The former President was scheduled for a programme in the Central Region. And the convoy must leave in the next ten minutes. That meant our meeting had to be cut short, according to Dr. Callistus' command.

He had his way.

Then, on Wednesday, while the president and I were enjoying our conversation, he appeared again and announced, "My time is getting up."

In five minutes, he returned with the stride and posture of a stern military commander to announce that his time--not ours-- was up. His face registered neither a frown nor a smile.

The president and I, again, obeyed.

I'm not sure many visitors to President Mahama will be enthused about the work of Dr. Callistus. I won't be surprised to hear that he's cold and commanding and too difficult. As the administration ages, he is sure to accumulate many more unpalatable adjectives that are hurled at the few people in our land who insist on doing their work well. But as I walked out of the Jubilee House, I was full of admiration for him. 

Here's why.

When I had the 11:30 a.m. appointment to meet the President, I cancelled all other appointments for the day afterward. "You could spend the whole day there," I had told my wife of how it was normal to be told of the unpredictability of the President's schedules or how an important guest overstayed his or her time.

But in about 40 minutes since I entered, I had finished my meeting and was on my way out of the presidency, thinking about what to do next.

That morning, I arrived at the inner reception of the Jubilee House at about 11:25 am. A woman looked through the visitors' list for the day and announced that my name wasn't part of it. While one hand held the phone to her ear, trying to call for confirmation, the other turned to another page, and she cut the call and apologised. She hadn't looked at the second page, which contained my name.

While she apologised a staffer was waiting to usher me in. At the President's holding area, I was surprised to find that not a single guest was waiting.

"Sit here and let me usher you in properly so that you don't go out to complain that we did not treat you well," Peter Wisdom Awuku, the presidential staffer who welcomed me, said. We both laughed as he beckoned me into a chair at the entrance to the office.

That light remark from my friend and former classmate brought back an incident that nearly marred our relationship. That memory also deepened my appreciation for Dr. Callistus' regimental approach to his work all the more.

In November 2012, I was detailed by Joy FM to cover President Mahama's visit to the Melcom disaster site at Achimota. The President had cut his campaign tour in the Northern Region and returned to Accra because of the disaster. The presidential reporter of Joy FM waited in the Northern Region for Mr. Mahama's return to the campaign trail. That was why I covered the president.

The treatment the journalists were subjected to at the president's residence was disrespectful and inhumane. We were not given a place to sit, though we waited for more than three hours before we finally moved.  We had been told to hang around, and the other journalists familiar with the treatment thought it was normal. Some complained but would not dare confront the presidential staffers responsible for them. But I would not have any of that.

I deserved to be treated with dignity as a journalist, and I would not accept any ill-treatment from anyone I was covering, not even from the Office of the President. That was why I fought with Mr. Awuku and his team.

On Wednesday, however, I had a different story to tell, even if I did not like the fact that Dr. Callistus cut my meeting short, despite the President not showing any sign that he wanted our conversation to end. I saw orderliness and discipline around the President.

When I was leaving, a minister of state was waiting to be ushered in. An NDC MP was also there to see the President. In the President's holding area, no one else was waiting. 

You may not be happy that your moment with the most important man on the land is cut short. But if you're not selfish, you will realise that millions of people would want to share the President's time, and he needs that time to work. 

If you think more deeply, you will realise that in the absence of an uncompromising Callistus, the visitors before you could have taken more time with the President you are meeting. That would mean a longer waiting time before you take your turn. Or that your turn may never come as a result of the delays.

That is why every Mahama needs a Callistus. 

 Twice a victim of Dr. Callistus Mahama's regimental adherence to schedule, I was not enthused that my time with my important friend was cut short again. Deep down in my heart, however, I respect craftsmen who do not mix work with pleasure and congeniality.

Credits to Manasseh Azure Awuni ,a Journalist