Mahamudu Bawumia (left) and Kennedy Agyapong (right)
Before I proceed into the substantive issues I want to discuss in this second part article, let me dedicate a few paragraphs to Alan Kyerematen’s decision to “step down” in contrast to Kennedy Agyapong’s “showdown”.
Because of this, Ken has to win a landslide and dedicate it to Alan.
As Ghana’s former Chief of Staff, Kojo Mpiani, agrees there are bound to be issues when you have officials mandated to ensure fairness in the electoral process seen openly endorsing, campaigning, and supporting one candidate.
For me, I see attempts to Nkrumahnize and NDCize the party through the imposition of Bawumia. Such Nkrumahnization and NDCization of NPP in the name of statesmanship must be rejected by the true followers of the Danquah-Busia-Kwesi Ansu tradition a.k.a. the UP tradition.
UP which was a merger of regional and tribal parties was formed with the introduction of the idea by my maternal grandfather Kwesi Ansu in 1957 after Nkrumah’s attempt at abolishing NLM through the passage of the Avoidance of Discrimination Act. They are desperately looking for a stooge and someone to protect their parochial interest in Bawumia. Bawumia will fail as the leader of this country.
I want pollster Ben Epson to know that we are not talking about the mere fact that if the government supports a candidate then automatically that candidate wins. We mean a level playing field. If Kufuor’s government applied the same strategy as Nana Addo’s government, then Alan would have emerged 2007 flag bearer for NPP but no the party delegates were allowed to freely exercise their democratic franchise leading to the eventual emergence of Nana Addo. There was an equal level playing field leading to an equal chance for everyone to emerge the winner. These current trends of “Showdown and Stepdown” were non-existent.
This unfortunate happenings in the party of manipulating the system to suit one candidate gives the false impression that NPP internal democracy is only limited to “everyone can contest as flagbearer” and “everyone can vote as party member” kind of thing.
A huge democratic deficit within NPP is being reflected in all these current happenings. I believe certain imported “violent mobs” of external interest to that of the party have hijacked the party and as such practiced their skills. Recent comments by some NPP gurus after the Super Delegates' “Oligarchic Establishment” Conference such as they are going to use all tactics both fair and foul, to ensure Bawumia is voted to become NPP flagbearer further attest to this democratic deficit. This is purely internal party dictatorship?
Now with this sort of statement from Bawumia’s Ghana government officials and supporters, any other flagbearer hopeful on the shortlist would be scared but except my man anyway, Hon. Kennedy Agyapong. That man is not to be counted among the ordinary human beings who such bullying tactics affect. No way! Well, if I were Bawumia, I would hold a press conference and distance myself from such unfortunate comments coming from his camp. But no, he is rather enjoying it. He does not know it will come back to hurt him. How? It gives the impression that without the use of all fair and foul tactics to impose Bawumia on NPP delegates, there is NO WAY he can become the flagbearer of the party on his merit. That makes him absent in the internal NPP system of MERITOCRACY.
Notwithstanding all the topical areas I have expatiated concerning Alan, I enthusiastically believe he should not have stepped down. HE MUST REVOKE THIS DECISION. I believe he should not have thrown in the towel as it emphatically confirmed a recent primacy news report that NPP gurus see Alan as someone unstable and who easily gives up the challenge citing his throwing in the towel during the 2007 run-off. Some of them believed he had a chance of defeating Nana Addo. The party gurus now decided to punish him for letting them down by voting for Bawumia instead (to me this appears these people always support who the government supports for flagbearship).
Another way I see this is also a TEST for Alan by these party gurus to see if he has changed or is still the same and will give up after they “strategically and tactically skewed” their votes in favor of Bawumia. They perhaps wanted to say, let's test him with the super delegate conference and vote for Bawumia instead to see if he has changed and if he does not give up then we know he has turned on a new leaf and we can vote for him in the real primaries in November. And oo CHRIST JESUS, he did it again! Well, we in Hon. Ken’s camp are resolute and solid to show what persistence, endurance, and diligence can produce.
As a product of the prestigious Legon Psychology Department, let me furnish a brief psychological perspective on Alan. I see him as someone who cannot stand the pressure, intimidation, harassment, and unfair treatment, and all its neighboring territories. He thinks Ghana is a Garden of Eden country (he should not worry for when Hon. Ken comes he will achieve that for us). He lacks the endurance, political courage, and psychological resilience needed to triumph over violent political mobs who in the name of Kwame Nkrumah have hijacked this country and are now on the verge OF COMPLETING the ACQUISITION AND OWNERSHIP OF NPP VIA THE FLAGBEARSHIP OF BAWUMIA (hence the well-orchestrated state-managed craft to see him emerge the flagbearer against the sovereign will of the party’s rank and file).
Moreover, Alan lacks self-motivation and the right advice. He should remember that it was not only him who suffered intimidation, harassment, and unfair treatment. The others as well especially Hon. Ken which we all know led to a “showdown” compared to his “stepdown”. Alan does not know how to STAND AGAINST ALL ODDS! He needs to learn from Hon Ken and myself. I am ready to offer him free tutorials in any way to empower his political journey.
With this kind of trend, I believe even if Alan someday becomes Ghana’s President, within days of his swearing-in and he faces any discomfort coming from the “demonic hotspot” of Ghanaians which I mentioned earlier, he will resign leaving the country an orphan. Surely this is not a good sign and remember in politics whether national or international, SYMBOLISM MATTERS!
In any case, according to one of the framers of the NPP electoral laws, the Super Delegates Conference was never to produce a winner but simply shortlisted candidates. But with what happened with claims Bawumia won will amount to few party gurus a.k.a. “establishment” imposing a candidate on the party. You see this thing has a political psychological effect on the general party delegates. Some will say Bawumia is not who we want, but if he wins the Super Delegates Conference and if he is the choice of our superiors, knowing very well the power distance problem in Africa especially Ghana, many will then perform a cognitive consonance by changing their mind to vote for Bawumia in sustaining his so-called win. This is a big error as it was never so intended by that Super Delegate arrangement.
Is akin to HR Managers shortlisting five candidates for an interview to take a new job. Where have we heard that they say someone was first to be shortlisted, the other second, and stuff? Then the first shortlisted goes around saying since he was first shortlisted he has been given the job and that the remaining for the interview should give up and go home like the Bawumia campaign team is parading. WHAT AN ABSURDITY AND INFANTILE THINKING!
It is a big error that has occurred and everyone is following it. Even according to such party guru, the NPP is going to amend that law to ensure this error never occurs again. It was never intended to arrange the five shortlisted in a hierarchical or positional order. The short-five listed candidates were not to be ordered. It was simply to be the presentation of five to the party’s electorate in no positional order. There was to be no jubilation of a winner but simply jubilation of being among the five shortlisted like being shortlisted for a job interview. The process can be compromised with this anomaly that occurred. We know people always want to move with the flow and conform.
Besides the psychological advantage to that one candidate and tilting delegates' minds to follow the crowd, it tends to breach the ultimate verdict or will of the party delegates as they will not vote for the one they really would have voted for. This thereby amounted to a soft use of force and imposition of candidate Bawumia on the party rank and file.
Having reached this point, let me now delve into the substance of this second part of the politically progressive article on Hon. Kennedy Agyapong. As I mentioned in Part 1 of this article, Ghana is sick and tired of managers. We need something DIFFERENT and that X-FACTOR is Hon. Kennedy Agyapong. Bawumia is not what this epoch of 21st-century Ghana needs. He is too diplomatic, protocol, status quo type, and highly manipulatable in terms of someone who will represent the interest of certain egocentric groups. Ghana’s democratic governance deficits need more than this to be resolved. Come to think of it, I recall even President Kufuor in seeking the mandate of Ghanaians in 2000 said the only problem of Ghana is mismanagement. Could you imagine? This confirms that what all these Presidents have been doing all along is simply managing the country and not leading it. Away with this managers!
Besides Hon. Kennedy Agyapong’s capacity regarding all that he can do for this country, is in the arena of his very personal characteristics. He does not come across as someone who can be bullied and kowtow to the so-called Nkrumahs demigods in this country who have hijacked the state machinery behind the scenes. He is not someone who can become anyone’s stooge or sycophant, a behavioral weakness that NPP bigwigs and Nkrumah's fraternity have seen in Bawumia.
Unlike Hon. Ken, Bawumia can NEVER be his own man and stand up against any dictate of any party guru. He dare not! They will USE him very well to satisfy their whims and caprices. This opportunity seen by NPP gurus in Bawumia is another key factor for their strong opposition to Hon Ken’s candidature and desperate efforts to disable him aiming at attacking his financial infrastructure like the Nkrumahs have succeeded in doing to my life this past 12 years.
Hon. Ken cannot be repressed by anyone irrespective of who that person is. We are all operating under the rule of law ambiance. Another point is Hon. Ken is not corruptible. He has his own money and like President Nana Addo used to say he did not enter politics to enrich himself so Hon. Ken too. Ghana’s limited resources are in the same custody with Hon Ken in charge of this country. Again, Hon. Ken can make bold and necessary decisions for this country without having to please any quarters, party gurus, or parochial interests like the advancement of Nkrumah's national agenda.
Hon Ken is among those one-in-a-million humans that every human life matters. Whether you believe in him or not, whether you follow his campaign or not, whether you belong to NPP or not, it does not matter to him for as long as you are a Ghanaian and facing injustice from Ghana’s mini gods, he will fight for you using his resources so imagine what he can do if he gets control of the state resources. He will certainly make sure for the first time in Ghana since independence, we Ghanaians value each other and end this pull-him-down syndrome that has been a major sociological problem destroying the key human resource base of this country needed for development under a national psychological re-orientation. A kind of the PEOPLES ADVOCATE. A free lawyer for all Ghanaians, anytime, any day.
Hon. Kennedy Agyapong is a man who constantly generates productive ideas like my grandfather Kwesi Ansu and myself (as I am my grandfather’s true carbon copy and representative sample). And we all know it is ideas that rule the world. And not just ideas but the timely occurrence of the idea in solving a problem. A man with ideas is the one we need. Ideas are the most powerful instruments of development in the world.
Take note it is typical of Nkrumahs and their state or corporate intelligence/espionage organizations, charlatan militant journalists, and media houses to use military-developed psychology AI technology weapon gadgets to steal or extract ideas from people’s heads, access their memories in the sub-conscious and implant their ideas inside their head to change their mind or decision on something and change their behavior, impersonate them or destroy their identity like they are doing to me as they use me for their national atonement.
That is why I do not want to know certain things because if I know them these Nkrumahs terrorists controlling this country will equally know and use it to deceptively cause harm. A kind of war against my mind's privacy. But as GOD and not by training, has my mind militarized in the form of private army security defenses, my form of psychological resilience, they can never succeed with what they intend to do to me.
The man Hon. Kennedy Ohene Agyapong as I know him right from when he started making presentations on Peace FM Morning Show with Kwame Sefa Kay (who I know from my childhood days at Staff Village, Legon as he approached me) during President Rawlings’ regime up till he set up his own Kencity Media and began making regular presentations on the super-hot Thursday night Boiling Point hosted by Kwabena Kwakye (of which I never miss back in the days) is simply BORN TO LEAD. In addition to all these, there is much talk about Charisma.
A major problem if NPP presents Bawumia as an alternative to NDC’s Mahama is that both parents worked in Nkrumah’s government. This means the two major parties in Ghana, the main opposition party’s candidate and the ruling party’s candidate have the same biological family inclination to Nkrumah. This eradicates any real choice for the Ghanaian electorate as they lack any real alternative to make a choice.
The other parties out there also claim to be Nkrumahs. This will confirm the fears out there that every political and governance component in this country must be aligned with Nkrumah or they stand no chance of success. Please Ghana deserves more than this in its two decades of experimental democracy since 1992. Let NPP present a true Danquah-Busia-Kwesi Ansu or UP person so the people can have a choice and enjoy their sovereign will and not that they are limited and Presidents are forced indirectly on them.
In addition, with this scenario with NPP presenting Bawumia, Ghanaians will have no real choice to make between the two main political parties as they both will be presenting two NDC flagbearers. One is the direct NDC flagbearer i.e. Mahama while Bawumia is the indirect NDC flagbearer. The political psychological trick the NDC is using which I want to uncover to Ghanaians is to constantly lambast Bawumia which will give false indication to NPP supporters and Ghanaians that it is because they are scared of him that is why they are doing so. But in actual effect, the opposite is the truth. Is paradoxically designed so. It is actually because they see him as no force against them and simply their member whom they will walk over like a hot knife through butter. Their method is a form of negative publicity. Marketing him indirectly to get him elected by NPP through camouflage of negative criticism of him.
Bawumia no doubt was an NDC card-bearing member up until President Kufour used him to return and reconcile his family to the UP Political tradition of which once again formation was the idea of my maternal grandfather ex-Mansenhene and ex-Dormaa Krontihene Nana Kwesi Ansu, the political godfather of anti-Nkrumah politics in Ghana. Bawumia’s father as Chairman of Council of State during NDC’s 1992 to 2000 democratic rule under Rawlings was the de-facto ruler of Ghana during that time.
I recall from 1992 onwards when in my early teens, anytime I set to watch Ghana Television's 7 O’Clock news, the first item to always be presented to us viewers was a Council of State meeting Mumuni Bawumia held. Back then I assumed President Rawlings was his assistant as Rawlings’ activities were reported later. Unknown it was because Mumuni Bawumia was an ardent Nkrumah's patron who served in Nkrumah’s government. Ghana back then was been ruled by the Council of State of Mumuni Bawumia. So indirectly Bawumia’s father has ruled Ghana before under NDC.
Until President Kufuor brought him into NPP via his appointment as Deputy Bank of Ghana Governor to Paul Acquah in a symbolic return and reconciliation of the Bawumia to the UP or Danquah-Busia-Kwesi Ansu political tradition. I thought of this idea as a laudable development and being a progressive and peace lover I decided to consider it. That is why those concerned Ghanaians and journalists monitoring my social media daily like my notice board for updates on my situation realized I attempted to take that course of action. But upon deeper reflection, I realized Bawumia’s case is different from mine. The Bawumia's were never terrorized by the UP-Danquah-Busia Political Grouping as it is not in their nature to do so as such it was easy and welcoming for Bawumia to rejoin the tradition. In my situation, it is not so.
The old Nkrumahs of CPP and neo-Nkrumahs of NDC whose umbilical code is cut in Russian Putin-trained terrorism have subjected me to state terrorism virtually all my life since their sponsored military revolution of 1979 when I was in my neonatal stage in national atonement to reward and show gratitude to Nkrumah and punish my grandfather for allegedly also aiding in Nkrumah’s overthrow. My maternal grandfather Nana Kwesi Ansu himself too was persecuted and tortured all through Nkrumah’s regime.
Go to Wamfie today the home of the Mansens of my grandfather Kwesi Ansu and see how the people are repressed and marginalized in terms of development and share of the national cake for turning from being the headquarters of Nkrumah politics into headquarters of anti-Nkrumah politics under the leadership of my grandfather. These Nkrumahs also tried and are still trying their Nkrumahnization agenda on me for me to appreciate what Nkrumah did for Ghana since my grandfather did not value his contribution to Ghana’s development.
Again, Ghanaians will not have any opportunity to pick a candidate who in reality is a true NPP man of the authentic and unblemished Danquah-Busia-Kwesi Kwesi tradition i.e. the UP tradition. Furthermore, with Mahama and Bawumia as candidates for the two main political parties in Ghana, it means both emanate from the Northern Nkrumahs category. There are many divergent Nkrumah categories out there. But we have only one unified UP political family and that one too the Nkrumahs want to annex and complete their total ownership of this country. NEVER!
Hon. Ken is not just needed by Ghana but the NPP as well as he is the only presidential hopeful who is a true follower of the Danquah-Busia-Kwesi Ansu-Dombo tradition like the types of Prof. Adu Boahene, Prof. Mike Ocquaye and others. I would have added Mumuni Bawumia, father of Ghana’s vice President Bawumia to the class of Danquah in UP tradition if not for the fact that he cross-carpeted to join Nkrumah and later NDC.
Another issue is that assuming without admitting that Bawumia gets to be NPP flagbearer then Ghanaians will be left with no real choice again. This is because they have tested Bawumia through being Vice to Nana Addo and have tested Mahama too. So is like old wine in new containers. What the people need is a new wine in a new container. Someone untested and in a pristine governance frame of mind. And that pendulum settles on Hon. Kenney Agyapong.
Others are saying comparatively Bawumia is very polished. If governance is about “Polishness”, then Atta Mills would have taken us to the promised land. We are talking about people who have the intrinsic drive to drastically transform this country and people are talking about one being Polish.
Ghana’s political history is repeating itself concerning how President Kufuor and his government were in support of their darling boy “Mr. Cash Man” Alan Kyeremanten against the party’s choice of Nana Akfo-Addo now President Akufo-Addo, we know certainly no governmental power can impose their elite power on the ordinary members and sympathizers of NPP.
Another area of history playing out is the issue of money. Alan then was seen as a man than Nana Addo with the nickname “ALAN CASH”. Just like today Bawumia for being able to secure some IMF billion dollar loan is also nicknamed “BAWUMIA CASH”. He is the man everyone wants to associate with and not Hon. Ken whose personal investment returns cannot equate to that IMF bailout. But just the way the “super” NPP delegates Kufuor government lost to the “masses” of NPP delegates who saw beyond money and realized it was a matter of having someone that GHANA NEEDs rather than what Ghana wants and settled for Nana Addo, this time too they will do more than same.
Back to my reflection on Ghana’s political history concerning NPP delegate's idiosyncratic behavior, I must say although in the case of Nana Addo, he was not able to win the general election as he lost to Atta Mills for reasons I am not ready to codify in words here, I know this time the Ghana government will switch and amply support Hon. Kennedy Agyapong to win and not repeat this ugly aspect of the history. This part of history must be suppressed at all costs to ensure it does not repeat itself because we all appreciate the harm it cost the country as Nana Addo did not win the 2008 general elections. I am one of those who believe the 2008 to 2016 presidential tenures were Nana Addo’s but was exchanged.
And by the way, Bawumia just joined the queue. In the queue, it is Hon. Ken’s time and no one can bypass him. In the same way, Alan could not bypass Nana Addo. Bawumia just joined NPP from NDC and is a mere latter-day saint. He should park and wait for his time. Thankfully he is very young. After Hon. Ken has his turn, then Alan and then possibly Bawumia depending on those he is competing with.
Just like I opposed President Kufuor sometime past for projecting his government choice of Alan over Nana, the party’s choice, so today too I oppose the similar move by President Akufo-Addo and his government to do the same for Bawumia over Kennedy Agyapong.
