Hon. Kennedy Ohene Agyapong; a great asset of the NPP, a formidable pillar behind government

The success and stability of every political party depends on its ability to win political power in order to form a government. A party may craft and espouse the best ideological blueprint that has the efficacy to bring progress to the masses, but without the relevant human and material resource that will make it attractive in order to secure the mandate of the people to govern, these ideological blueprints, no matter it's substance, weight and magnitude will remain a mirage.

The capacity of any political party to organise itself in all dimensions to secure political power also determines its relevance and capabilities to manage a country.

Ghana has come a long way as an emerging democracy, having gone through several periods of military dictatorship and unconstitutional governments. The memories of the dark days and the atrocities meted out to innocent citizens therein, still remain fresh in the minds of many Ghanaians despite almost three decades after transiting to civilian governance.

There is no gainsaying that, the dreaded period of Ghana's political history still remains the periods under the late former President Jerry John Rawlings. Even his military regimes of 1979 and 1981 have been described as the bloodiest in the annals of the country's political history, the period when he metamorphosed into a democratic leader, was equally dreadful.

The dictatorial tendencies which were transmogrified into democratic rule made it difficult for any other political party to wrestle power from the National Democratic Congress (NDC). Not even the New Patriotic Party (NPP) which was formed as an offshoot of the Danquah-Busia-Dombo Tradition and emerged as the main opposition party of the time could withstand governance style of the NDC and its operatives. For many, the fear of being antagonised and their businesses destroyed or confiscated made it difficult for them to openly declare their support for the NPP or even stand on its ticket during the first parliamentary elections of 1992.

This remained the phenomenon throughout the eight-year rule of the regime under the NDC between 1993 and 2001. The use of state apparatus and other machinery of state to intimidate supporters of the opposition especially the NPP to prevent the party from tasting political power was the order of the day.

This only buttressed the fact that a party cannot rely only on its ideological strength and good message to win elections. In many instances, a party requires strong men and women, who can defy all odds to mobilise in aspects to resist all forms of intimidation and oppression from opponents to secure victory.

One of the strong men of the great Danquah-Busia-Dombo tradition, who for many years and in recent times, has sacrificed financial, material and human resources to help make the NPP and its governments more effective to stand the test of time, is Hon. Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, the Member of Parliament for Assin Central and a leading member of the party.

A passage in the Analects identifies three primary good in government and these were, stockpile of weapons, stores of food and the confidence of the people. When asked about which of these goods to surrender if a ruler cannot have them all, Confucius one of the sages of old said, "give up arms, since food is a higher priority." But even food he said "is less important than confidence of the people which is the only true foundation of good government."

Perhaps, if there is anything that sets Kennedy Agyepong apart from his peers, it his ability to inspire confidence in his numerous followers including the rank and file of his party supporters.

His truthfulness and frankness know no bounds and his contribution towards the NPP's success story either in opposition or in power are unmatched. He continues to empower party supporters, sympathisers, the downtrodden, unemployed and many other vulnerable groups within the party in particular and the country at large, all with the view to providing them with the confidence to soldier on.

Kennedy Agyepong’s penchant to fish out for intelligence and relevant information and relaying same to party and government, continue to be a myth the NDC is unable to come to terms with.

He doesn't sleep because the NDC and some of its people continue to plot chaos in the country. For example, prior to the 2020 elections, one Kwabena Owusu Agyei, a self-acclaimed prophet threatened to eliminate President Akufo-Addo and the EC Chairperson.

For days, the man was going scot-free for making those criminal threats without even invitation from any security agency. It has to take Kennedy Agyapong to draw attention of the security agencies for an arrest to be made.

He continues to wage wars against ills in society, and recently fake and false prophets were not spared his venom. One Prophet Badu Kobi who have been churning out false prophecies with sole aim of tarnishing the name of the President came under his radar and was not spared.

He was exposed as using dubious means to enrich himself- i.e importing cars into the country, without paying the required duties.

The bravery and confidence of Kennedy Agyepong once again has been called into action following the refusal of former president Mahama and his NDC to accept defeat and resulting to clandestine acts with the intention to disturb the peace of the country.

The contributions of Kennedy Agyapong to the development of the NPP and the success of the President Akufo-Addo's government is very immense. He is not only a gem but also the rejected stone that has become the corner stone.

He remains a huge asset to the NPP and love him or loathe him, he remains a treasured asset which cannot be discarded. Despite his occasional slips, he remains an important figure in the political landscape. His understanding of the nuances and dynamics of the Ghanaian voter and opposition parties makes him an invaluable asset to the npp and all efforts must be made to protect his legacies and virtues.