Ade please don't take offense but the CPP started to disintegrate in 1963 and the trend has been slow but sure ever since. After 1962 the CPP congress, whenever it was held, did nothing but sing praises about the leader - Kwa ... read full comment
Ade please don't take offense but the CPP started to disintegrate in 1963 and the trend has been slow but sure ever since. After 1962 the CPP congress, whenever it was held, did nothing but sing praises about the leader - Kwame Nkrumah. No real party structures existed; membership of the core committees was largely non-existent as Nkrumah rotated them at will; you never had primaries for flag bearer or MP; and even when the CPP Constitution was re-written the debate (if it can be called that) lasted 30 minutes or so since as Nkrumah had drafted it, there could not be anything wrong!
Nkrumah was the fount of knowledge, the master brain etc. Nkrumah does no wrong - why then debate the major reforms that he himself had written.
By 1962 the opposition UP was finished - destroyed through the use of strong arm tactics especially the PDA which saw all of its members in jail or in exile. Even MPs were not safe after speaking in parliament and by 1962 12 UP MPs were in jail for criticizing the CPP in the House. Of course the CPP activists saw nothing wrong with this until national security operatives burst into the House and arrested PKK Quaidoo for singing a song about how times in Ghana were hard
The arrest of Quaidoo was a landmark development because henceforth any sincere criticism of Nkrumah within the CPP was certainly going to be met with an arrest. No place was safe, not even Parliament house. Prior to Quaidoo some CPP members were in jail all right but it was those accused of plotting to kill Nkrumah who were being held without trial. Then KA Gbedemah was also on Nkrumah's hit list but thanks to Krobo Edusei he had managed to flee
Nevertheless the above is a picture of how Nkrumah himself destroyed the party he had created. He got rid of those who started the struggle with him - Gbedemah and co. Those who knew that a political party should never revolve around the mystique of one man.
Perhaps Gbedemah had been speaking to Kofi Busia who time and again said the UP tradition will outlast the CPP tradition because it is not owned by anyone!
With the overthrow of Nkrumah the decline set in. Not even the coup by Kutu which saw Nkrumahists flock to his banner (even though Kutu had a Progress party membership card!) could save the situation. Your roots are in the hero worship of one man. The rump CPP has become a permanent history seminar group to meet and extol Nkrumah's achievements. it is also a band o professional mourners wailing about the events of February 24th 1966.
As you said, and rightly so, the voters are sophisticated! How many people in Kade will vote CPP because Ocran and Anthony Deku? The voters of today want instant gratification; they have no time for nostalgia for if they did then George Aggudey would have been President in 2004 (he who actually called for people to vote for him because he looks like Nkrumah!)
The more strategic Nkrumahists have joined the NDC and they have done what the CPP guys should have done as Quaidoo and Gbedemah insisted - they have made the NDC into a political party having rid if of the burden of Jerry Rawlings. (Interestingly the UP tradition does seem to be going the way of the CPP with what seems to be the hero worship of Nana Addo. One hopes this will not come to pass but the NPP had better watch out!)
With the passing of the last of those who knew Nkrumah (most in their late 60s and early 70s)there will be zero currency in his already devalued name - no one in the conservative party uses Maggie Thatcher or Winston Churchill as campaign ammunition today
My bet is that after 3 (at most 4) more defeats at the election, even calling a CPP meeting will be difficult and,like the Nationalist Party of South Africa which ruled in the Apartheid era, like the Nazi party of Hitler's Germany and like the Communist party of the Soviet Union, the CPP will vanish - reduced to irrelevance by the forces of progress and the power of the electorate
Ade Sawyerr 8 years ago
Sendero, thanks for your very considered response. there are several point so correction though one is very important. the CPP was banned, an unnecessary act if your analysis would hold true and in 1979 a CPP government won ... read full comment
Sendero, thanks for your very considered response. there are several point so correction though one is very important. the CPP was banned, an unnecessary act if your analysis would hold true and in 1979 a CPP government won power. Mypoint of departure with you is that there are several people who have gone into the NDC because they are socialist not because they are CPP. the CPP is as a party came out of a nationalist independence movement. Nkrumahs attempt to turn it into a panafricanist movement was what was resisted by the old guard. To say that the CPP exists in name only is untrue, to suggest that it cannot regroup is just your wish. I knew too many people who were just waiting for a Samia victory but who have been so wrongfooted by the choice of Greenstreet. But why will a party that was once banned vanish if there are valiant people to keep it going aespecially if it is a progressive party that is in tune with the masses of people.
SENDERO 8 years ago
Ade I hope you were in Ghana when the CPP of 1979 campaigned because I distinctly recall them stressing that their re-incarnation was a break with their past! Of course this was a sensible move since in 1979 most voters recal ... read full comment
Ade I hope you were in Ghana when the CPP of 1979 campaigned because I distinctly recall them stressing that their re-incarnation was a break with their past! Of course this was a sensible move since in 1979 most voters recalled clearly the trauma of the latter part of the 1st CPP. It underscores the point that in January 1979 Dr Hilla Liman had gone up against Salifu Dy-Yakah for the PFP primaries in the upper region and had lost. 6 months later he leads the CPP! This reinforces the decay of the CPP. Note that you won just 36% of the vote in 1979 despite the advantage of UNIGOV which saw the CPP raise that flag at the tail end of their tenure under Kutu
Organizations tend to decay slowly. The CPP was at the peak of its glory in the early 1960s. Gradually after the coup it has fragmented into a dozen pieces and cant reunite because every ex-Young pioneer lays claim to Nkrumahj's name. On the other hand the schism in Danquah-Busia was heal;ed rather quickly with the formation in 1981 of the All Peoples Party bringing UNC and PFP together (the coup prevented it contesting elections) because Busia, Danquah etc never owned the party and thus no need to say I shined Danquah's shoes so I should lead the tradition or I ironed Kofi Busia's clothes so this makes me important
I stand by my prediction - no more CPP after 3 maybe 4 elections.
Ade Sawyerr 8 years ago
Sendero, Again you do fail to miss the important points. I was in Ghana in 1979 and followed the campaign. To suggest that Imoru Egala and others campsigned for UNIGOV and then got disqualified is very strange indeed. At n ... read full comment
Sendero, Again you do fail to miss the important points. I was in Ghana in 1979 and followed the campaign. To suggest that Imoru Egala and others campsigned for UNIGOV and then got disqualified is very strange indeed. At no point was the PP banned and yet they who had been in power prior to the coup could not win the election. I know a lot of people talk about the UNC but a majority who emerged in the UNC were NAL members. In this piece, i tried not to talk about the coniniung tensions in the NPP mainly because it was the CPP that was the focus of my attention. what you fail to realise that during the rawlings regime a lot of the NAL and UNC followers ended up in the NDC - there is a lot that you miss in your analysis
KING LOMOTEY 8 years ago
We live in a rapidly changing times & we have to change with the time, just as Maoist China changed with the new reality..
SENDERO & Ade we have to consider the period of acceleration in which the whole world now live.
We live in a rapidly changing times & we have to change with the time, just as Maoist China changed with the new reality..
SENDERO & Ade we have to consider the period of acceleration in which the whole world now live.
Osei kofi 8 years ago
Sendoro is failing to see the bigger picture in that Nkrumah's CPP was just a platform to lay the foundation of an idea and ideals which will live for ever and become like a school of thought in African and black philosophy. ... read full comment
Sendoro is failing to see the bigger picture in that Nkrumah's CPP was just a platform to lay the foundation of an idea and ideals which will live for ever and become like a school of thought in African and black philosophy.His party the cpp is still the most formidable party in Ghana.
Remember that there are two political traditions in Ghana,the UP and the CPP.The ndc is only in power because of the cpp who had no choice as a banned party to rally behind the ndc to thwart the UP tradition from Coming to power.Even Kuffour had to virtually bribe the CPP and give them positions in the name of national unity just in order to win his elections.
The ndc is virtually cpp just because of the same reason of holding the UP at bay and at any time that it is convenient and practical, the ndc will metamorphosed into cpp.Already the founder of the NDC recognize that the cpp had taken over the ndc and that is why it is now called the new ndc and so it is just a matter of time before the two parties become one.
After Rawlings all the ndc leadership are avowed cpp from Mills to Mahama whose vice is also a known cpp.Like the founder of cpp,the cpp will never die so far the name Nkrumah leaves on in Africa and world politics.My American friends study his ideas for their PHD.
MARCUS AMPADU 8 years ago
NPP is still "matemeho" - Akanfuo party struggling to become a truly Ghanaian party, while the remnant of the CPP still has a national orientation. The question is can IKG make CPP regain its former prestige & vigor now or l ... read full comment
NPP is still "matemeho" - Akanfuo party struggling to become a truly Ghanaian party, while the remnant of the CPP still has a national orientation. The question is can IKG make CPP regain its former prestige & vigor now or later?
Does IKG have the dynamism, the oratory cum writing abilities of Nkrumah, the ever readiness of Kofi Baako, & the humor of Krobo Edusei to make a difference ?
METCHEEEEEW 8 years ago
Who are you? How did you get the royal name Ampadu with an Akan hate. You see these are some of the things that are making you people not getting the blessings from God. How can you use something you hate and think of being s ... read full comment
Who are you? How did you get the royal name Ampadu with an Akan hate. You see these are some of the things that are making you people not getting the blessings from God. How can you use something you hate and think of being successful? Lie, lie. But don't you know NPP is an authentic Ghanaian party? Dr JB Dankwah was born by two royals of Ghana, Kofi Abrefa Busia was a true and authentic Ghanaian with both parents from Ghana, SD Dombo is a true Royal of Ghana with both parents being royals from the north so what do you mean by what you wrote? JJ Rawlings is 50-50 his father was or is not a Ghanaian so ndc is foreign Period.
CYBERGHANA 8 years ago
IVOR KOBINA GREENFIELD (IKG) is likely to create an upset in the November elections, with a new vision of hope that combines Nkrumahism & SDGS and a vigorous ground game that is completely digital & cultural.
IVOR KOBINA GREENFIELD (IKG) is likely to create an upset in the November elections, with a new vision of hope that combines Nkrumahism & SDGS and a vigorous ground game that is completely digital & cultural.
KING LOMOTEY 8 years ago
Will require complete overhaul of our educational system - emphasizing science, critical thinking, ICT & Innovation.
Will require complete overhaul of our educational system - emphasizing science, critical thinking, ICT & Innovation.
LetsBeTolerant 8 years ago
Nonsense, sorry for the harsh language but this is the kind of trash talk I hate. not realistic. do you understand what's really wrong with our educational system? what do you mean by a complete overhaul. what is to suggest t ... read full comment
Nonsense, sorry for the harsh language but this is the kind of trash talk I hate. not realistic. do you understand what's really wrong with our educational system? what do you mean by a complete overhaul. what is to suggest that a new system will be better? have you considered the cost? vague talk again. complete nonsense.
KING LOMOTEY 8 years ago
What is not realistic about teaching science, critical thinking, ICT, & Innovation? Give me ur guesstimate of the cost. Not transforming our educational system will cost us more down the line in the future.
What is not realistic about teaching science, critical thinking, ICT, & Innovation? Give me ur guesstimate of the cost. Not transforming our educational system will cost us more down the line in the future.
LetsBeTolerant 8 years ago
often we forget to do a character disection of the opposition leader, Greenstreet is divisive, and vulgar, ask Nana Addo, he won't be able to hold his own party together. and I doubt his capacity to lead this nation, aside fr ... read full comment
often we forget to do a character disection of the opposition leader, Greenstreet is divisive, and vulgar, ask Nana Addo, he won't be able to hold his own party together. and I doubt his capacity to lead this nation, aside from vague talking, he does not have any meaningful contribution to national development. I don't see him getting half of a percent of the total valid votes. not to mention copy is not a party, it's a fun club.
dhiii 8 years ago
maybe in the movies
maybe in the movies
P Djamgbe. 8 years ago
With the NDC and NPP almost identical, I really would have loved to see the CPP or any other different party win the elections in Ghana for a real change, but I have to agree with SENDERO to some extent - that seems almost i ... read full comment
With the NDC and NPP almost identical, I really would have loved to see the CPP or any other different party win the elections in Ghana for a real change, but I have to agree with SENDERO to some extent - that seems almost impossible. The CPP is a party in the past (I'm very sorry to say that, I wish that wasn't the case).
Ade Sawyerr 8 years ago
P. thanks for your honest opinion. i am sure that we will be put to the test yet again. i think that the terrain in 2016 is not that different from 1996. If you think that a party cannot reorganise to present crefible alte ... read full comment
P. thanks for your honest opinion. i am sure that we will be put to the test yet again. i think that the terrain in 2016 is not that different from 1996. If you think that a party cannot reorganise to present crefible alternatives then yes. but we say the conservative party win power after almost 13 ywars in the wilderness
Gordon 8 years ago
Right now, the best Greenstreet's CPP can hope for is to gain enough votes to deny the two major parties an outright victory. To do this, the nkrumaist elements must come together. If they do, they can get some 10 parliamenta ... read full comment
Right now, the best Greenstreet's CPP can hope for is to gain enough votes to deny the two major parties an outright victory. To do this, the nkrumaist elements must come together. If they do, they can get some 10 parliamentary seats and position themselves as a force to be reckoned with in future elections. The fear is that they may not be able to come together.
SENDERO makes a good analysis but he failed to separate Nkrumah's ideas from the party the man formed. The CPP that Nkrumah formed is gone forever and may not come back. Those calling themselves CPP today are more inclined to Nkrumah as an idea than a return to Nkrumah as a personality. The loss of Samia is a testimony to that. If the CPP effectively renews itself, there's no reason why it should disappear as SENDERO predicts. Many of our youngsters are now looking favorably on the core ideas Nkrumah stood for. If the party bearing the name utilizes this force, why should it die?
Ade, your piece was a bit too long. You could have expressed the same ideas in fewer words.
Ade Sawyerr 8 years ago
Gordon,
Thanks for your comments about my style of writing. Working on it!
Gordon,
Thanks for your comments about my style of writing. Working on it!
Ade please don't take offense but the CPP started to disintegrate in 1963 and the trend has been slow but sure ever since. After 1962 the CPP congress, whenever it was held, did nothing but sing praises about the leader - Kwa ...
read full comment
Sendero, thanks for your very considered response. there are several point so correction though one is very important. the CPP was banned, an unnecessary act if your analysis would hold true and in 1979 a CPP government won ...
read full comment
Ade I hope you were in Ghana when the CPP of 1979 campaigned because I distinctly recall them stressing that their re-incarnation was a break with their past! Of course this was a sensible move since in 1979 most voters recal ...
read full comment
Sendero, Again you do fail to miss the important points. I was in Ghana in 1979 and followed the campaign. To suggest that Imoru Egala and others campsigned for UNIGOV and then got disqualified is very strange indeed. At n ...
read full comment
We live in a rapidly changing times & we have to change with the time, just as Maoist China changed with the new reality..
SENDERO & Ade we have to consider the period of acceleration in which the whole world now live.
Sendoro is failing to see the bigger picture in that Nkrumah's CPP was just a platform to lay the foundation of an idea and ideals which will live for ever and become like a school of thought in African and black philosophy. ...
read full comment
NPP is still "matemeho" - Akanfuo party struggling to become a truly Ghanaian party, while the remnant of the CPP still has a national orientation. The question is can IKG make CPP regain its former prestige & vigor now or l ...
read full comment
Who are you? How did you get the royal name Ampadu with an Akan hate. You see these are some of the things that are making you people not getting the blessings from God. How can you use something you hate and think of being s ...
read full comment
IVOR KOBINA GREENFIELD (IKG) is likely to create an upset in the November elections, with a new vision of hope that combines Nkrumahism & SDGS and a vigorous ground game that is completely digital & cultural.
Will require complete overhaul of our educational system - emphasizing science, critical thinking, ICT & Innovation.
Nonsense, sorry for the harsh language but this is the kind of trash talk I hate. not realistic. do you understand what's really wrong with our educational system? what do you mean by a complete overhaul. what is to suggest t ...
read full comment
What is not realistic about teaching science, critical thinking, ICT, & Innovation? Give me ur guesstimate of the cost. Not transforming our educational system will cost us more down the line in the future.
often we forget to do a character disection of the opposition leader, Greenstreet is divisive, and vulgar, ask Nana Addo, he won't be able to hold his own party together. and I doubt his capacity to lead this nation, aside fr ...
read full comment
maybe in the movies
With the NDC and NPP almost identical, I really would have loved to see the CPP or any other different party win the elections in Ghana for a real change, but I have to agree with SENDERO to some extent - that seems almost i ...
read full comment
P. thanks for your honest opinion. i am sure that we will be put to the test yet again. i think that the terrain in 2016 is not that different from 1996. If you think that a party cannot reorganise to present crefible alte ...
read full comment
Right now, the best Greenstreet's CPP can hope for is to gain enough votes to deny the two major parties an outright victory. To do this, the nkrumaist elements must come together. If they do, they can get some 10 parliamenta ...
read full comment
Gordon,
Thanks for your comments about my style of writing. Working on it!