Is There Any Hope For Nkrumahist Parties?

Part one

All my life, I have unconditionally prided myself as an impenitent Nkrumaist whose main aim is to boldly represent and fight for what Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah stood for. I know for sure that I am not the only one who is an Nkrumaist; I know people from various parts of the world who also call themselves Nkrumaist or in other words’ Socialist even though they are not members of the political party I belong to. Unequally amongst them are the celebrated faces in the NPP and NDC. Also, somewhere in Africa, we have people like President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and the late Muamar Gadhafi of the dissipated Lybia, who all call themselves Nkrumaists. This also demonstrates the point that Nkrumaism is not the prerogative of only the CPP / PNC but a universal principle.

But one thing that projects some of us above our fellow so-called Nkrumaist until recent times is the fact that they have never being members CPP or PNC, neither have they on any occasion discounted the basic things that have always worked against the interest of the masses of the people or dogma of Nkrumaism. Such are the people who are always shouting snake oil slogans and hide behind the barricade of Nkrumaism to loot from the sweat of our small contributions. Not only that, they also pretentiously take snapshots of our images during meetings and send those pictures to unknown quarters for sponsorship which do not necessarily translate into its essence.

I am still contemplating whether to go left or right considering the recent upshots in my party – Convention People’s Party. It’s quite sad to note that even the unlikely mergence between PNC and the CPP that was going to console and bring hope to the dream of Nkrumaism is just a fiasco; it is not going to happen. I know you will be surprised but I do not want you to be agreeable, as it saves me the trouble of liking you. Trust me; a simple truth is better than a complex lie, because you will spend the rest of your lifetime defending it. The truth must stand.

It must be understood that our children are counting on us to provide three things: Truth, consistency and structure. Children need parents who say what they mean what they say, and do what they say they are going to do. That is exactly what I am going to exhibit here. I am going to use this concourse to expose every hip-and-tip, whether Son or daughter of founder, cobbler to the First President, Uncle, Grandson or Sibling. All upstarts in our party must be shown the red card or exit route, like they have done to even good ones. We shall fight until the last blood drops.

The chairperson of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Ms. Samia Nkrumah, who recently fired salvos at the 2008 presidential candidate of the party, Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom, which eventually led to his exit from the party, said that Dr. Nduom’s departure from the CPP will not affect the party in anyway, but will rather “open the floodgates for millions of supporters” to join. Now the question I am asking is our members is, ‘where are the people our chairperson assured were going to join after Nduom’s departure’? Or was she referring to the few elitist NDC caucuses she has surrounded herself with because of the CPP sale parley she has entered with the NDC? The truth must be told to all that people are not joining. The party has become more and more unattractive than what our chairperson came to meet. We have lost most of our executives and members to the PPP.

The funny and saddest thing happening to the CPP right now is that, the leadership prefer to tickle themselves and laugh at the side of their wrong mouths. This also does not bring about any excitement. I sometimes find it difficult to understand why the few unproductive executives at the upper echelon of the party prefer to pretentiously give the wrong impression to Ghanaians that the party has become more formidable than it used to be, citing the fact that more people are coming to join. Meanwhile, we all know that the party’s kismet keeps dwindling day after day. Nobody is interested in the affairs of our party again, except those who have become so much intoxicated with the mere reading of Nkrumah’s books without practicing them. They forget that Nkrumah himself was a practical man and as such believed in matter-of-factness. Dr Nkrumah himself admonished us to be always mindful of the fact that organization decides everything. Why have we not been able to organize this great party? There are several constituencies in Ghana that still do not have executives in place because they have all deserted their positions and have joined the Progressive People’s Party. How do we expect Ghanaians to take us serious in any election when we have simply failed to even put in place constituency and regional executives.

At the moment, my mind has become so much unstable to the extent that I am still considering whether to contest on the ticket of CPP as a parliamentary candidate or otherwise. It looks like all hope is shuttered since the PNC/CPP merger is not going to happen. There are talks about the fact that our Chairman and Leader has sold the party to the National Democratic Congress. I hope it is not true but actions seek to suggest that there is an iota of truth in what I am hearing. Perceptions are as real as the facts themselves.

As for my fellow comrades in the People’s National Convention, the least said about them the better. I do not think they have anything better to bring to the table. A critical look at the motives of the Bernard Mornah, General Secretary of the PNC clearly tells it all. He is an unrepentant apologetic of the NDC. Everything he does is to choreograph to the pleasure of his sponsors in the NDC. The PNC today is printed in two stringent lines – NPP/NDC. Chairman and his cronies sit on one side whilst the General Secretary and his cohorts sit on the other side of the table. The class struggle the great founder of our party, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah talked about in one of his books has become so pertinent in these two parties.

The reason why I say the PNC will not bring anything to the table is the fact that PNC does not exist anywhere. It exists only in few constituencies in the three Northern Regions. A fact one cannot overlook is that it has become a Tribal Party, for which our constitution debars and Dr. Kwame Nkrumah spoke vehemently against it. There is no PNC down South of this country. I have personally taken the pains to go to every nook and cranny to look for my PNC comrades in the Central and Volta Regions as well as some selected constituencies in the Regions but I have not been able to identify one single person. So where are they? They only exist on paper.

Another question that swiftly comes to mind is, so when is my CPP and the PNC going to unite? Is it mere symbols, names or pro other party members? Something is wrong with the system, so we must probe it.

In my next article, I will digest, dissect and diagnose this canker extensively. Please stand by.

Dr. Appau Gyamera

Aspiring Parliamentary Candidate –Cape Coast

University of Botswana – Lecturer

bobcida@gmail.com