Honorable Kennedy Agyapong: The NPP communicator-in-chief!

Honestly, unlike some of the top operators of the NPP, on personal level I don’t know or have never met Mr. Kennedy Agyapong before. Nonetheless, like a typical American fan that has come in contact with his/her adoring celebrity the first time would say: “When I grow up I wanna be like you!” As someone who has lived in the U.S. before, probably Mr. Agyapong is more familiar with that flattering phrase because it is one of the popular compliments often expressed by average Americans meant for their role models or used to compliment accomplished people. This means Mr. Agyapong understands where this conversation is heading as far as my personal admiration for his methods of politics are concerned.

Fact is, as humans we all have our individual weaknesses; so, let anyone says whatever unpleasant comments he or she may have about the darling boy of Assin Dompim and the current Member of Parliament for Assin Central Constituency Honorable Kennedy Agyapong’s often unorthodox ways of stating facts. Yet one thing that will be very difficult to undertake is for any fair-minded Ghanaian to dispute the reality that the maverick MP from Assin Central electoral district is an unabashed truth-teller and a hard-hitting communicator-in-chief of the party in power today.

Doubtlessly, Mr. Kennedy Agyapong is the “crown prince” of the ruling NPP rapid-response communication architecture. Needless to say, he is the firewall against ex-President Mahama’s NDC lies and constant propaganda about President Akufo-Addo administration’s efforts. Think about the disinformation universe of Mahama-dominated NDC without the fearless, quick-witted, countervailing communicator like the current MP from Assin Central? Say what you want about his nonconformist attitude to the nation's mainstream politics, it is obvious Mr. Ohene Kennedy serves as the NPP’s neutralizing force vis-a-vis the poisonous concoctions of the propaganda soup prepared by the NDC-orchestrated opposition.

Clearly, the Assin Dompim strongman doesn’t bite his tongue; neither does he speak from both sides of his mouth. He means what he says, and says what he means; and this explains why a sizable pack of Ghanaians tries to demonize him and usually describe him misleadingly as controversial or radical. Well, for a good number of us, one of the best tributes anyone can pay to another person is to label someone “radical.” Keep in mind all great societal transformations have been inspired or carried out by the so-called radicals. In fact, radicals are the world changers and social innovators.

Even Jesus was seen as “radical” by his own people during his short time on earth according to the biblical records. Coming down to earth, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, Nkrumah, and even Rawlings, and many others who want to change the status quo dramatically are all viewed as radicals. In other words, calling someone “radical” does not necessarily equate to anything negative, especially looking at the social context in which that person is operating in.

The funny thing about a lot of Ghanaians is some act as if they know everything about English as a language and so they have this tendency where they throw words around without realizing that English words, in particular, have complex contextual underpinnings. Mr. Agyapong may be controversial and radical to some people because unlike many of them, the Assin Central MP never struggles with truth telling and he strongly shares the view that Ghanaians need to change their unpatriotic mind sets if the country is make any serious and impactful socioeconomic advancement.

It seems this sustained campaign from the iconoclastic lawmaker is too controversial or radical in that many Ghanaians are used to lying and have specialized in sucking the blood out of the nation’s meager resources for personal gains. This means anyone who comes in and genuinely pushes for phenomenal change to the existing state of affairs has to be “radical.” In that context, radical label is not bad; so, it is safe to assert that none of the derisive comments actually reflect the true nature and patriotic impulses of MP Ken Agyapong.

Over the years Ohene Kennedy has established a peerless reputation as one the fewest Ghanaian politicians with mortal hatred for lies and crusader against state corruption. It is clear Mr. Agyapong's good understanding of using modern communication as a channel for strategic control, including his unaffected eloquence regarding national issues, mistakenly leads some people to conspire on the wrong notion that the NPP legislator from Assin Central talks too much and often ends up criticizing the party he helped to bankroll to power.

Somewhere last year in March 2017, I wrote an article that was featured in Myjoyonline and Modernghana website in which l suggested, among others, that if human cloning is lawful and ethical proposition, then “a country like Ghana notorious for systemic public corruption and has weak civil institutions will definitely need to clone Ghanaians with super patriotic right frame of mind like the Kennedy Agyapongs.” The point is with these breeds of public officials, the country will have zero tolerance for corruption and less appetite for environmental degradation.

Again, call him all kinds of disdainful names you are familiar with in an effort to dismiss Honorable Kennedy Agyapong’s corruption fight overtures, the preeminent fact that can’t be dismissed easily is that he is a straight shooter of truth and averse to injustice and state lootings. Not only is he a loyal and “vicious attack dog” of the ruling NPP but also he is the communicator-in-chief whose communication exploits are the main reason ex-president Mahama and his stooges’ “kitchen sink” politics is struggling to gain traction in Ghana as we write.