Oh NPP! Why thou not see the light?

(We reproduce an article authored by a member of the NPP and got published on 24 and 25 Jan., 2010 in a number of media outlets, complaining about the inability of the NPP to see the light, while preparing for the 2012 elections. Because the party never saw the light, it lost the 2012 elections. Surprisingly, current development in the party shows it has still not seen the light.)

By: Kwabena Amankwah

It is almost a certainty that the current President of God's nation, Ghana, His Excellency Professor John Evans Fiifi "Atta" Mills (sorry for using a name he has abandoned to please his master-cum-mentor) is set to make history as a first one-term President in the Fourth Republic. This is a prophecy that has been revealed to the man who "forced" him into the fold of the National Democratic Congress and subsequently made him the Presidential Candidate, against the will of the key stakeholders of the party.

Wait a minute! The former military dictator who ended his political career (hei! Has he indeed ended it?) a democrat (debatable, indeed!) took that action because he had seen the 'Asomdweehene' would be the man to send the elephant back into the bush. You may hate the man Rawlings, but you can’t take it away from him: he has the ability to see into the future; if he had not envisaged Prof Mills could lead his party to power he would not have moved heaven and earth to ensure his selection as the Presidential Candidate for three consecutive times.

Maybe, one needs a third eye to understand the talk about Atta, the mortuary man, and what Mr Rawlings is doing to his own political student. The signs are clear on the wall: the man can simply not retain power for the NDC in the 2012 elections, and that is why his master-cum-mentor is worried and spitting fire on his head.

But, isn’t it sad that the largest opposition party that freely gave away power to the NDC that was not ready for the power does not see what its greatest political opponent( well, we pardon him when he sees NPP members as enemies) sees? The reality on the ground is that the grounds are being prepared gradually by President Mills and his team for NPP’s return to power. One does not need to hold a P.hD in Political Science to appreciate this.

Oh NPP! Why Thou Not See the Light? Are we politically blind? Our greatest political opponent has seen the light, and that is why he cannot sleep comfortably. But it appears we have not seen the light that will herald our victory in 2012. Yes! Would we talk about Alan and Nana Addo at this time if we saw the brightest opportunity we are presented with to stage a successful comeback to the corridors of political power? Certainly no!

Why should a seasoned politician like Hon Maxwell Kofi Jumah and his ilk begin to press the trigger that partly led to the party’s defeat in the 2008 elections? Is he not aware that it was because of the antagonism that characterized the 2007 flagbearership contest that lowered the votes of the NPP in its stronghold of the Ashanti Region? Is he not aware that if the votes the party recorded in his backyard had not dropped his party would not have been in opposition? I hope he has taken the good counsel of the youngest constituency chairman of his party, Kingsley Kofi Karikari, in good faith and that he will go and sin no more.

Ghanaians are indeed yearning for the return of the NPP to lead them to the political Promised Land because they are convinced the Prof Mills-led NDC government does not have what it takes to deliver the so-called BETTER GHANA promise. It is clear from his selection of mediocre ministers (apologies to his political mentor) who belong to the team B (regards to Uncle Spio), and the lack of clear direction and focus that the man simply does not have the vision, the acumen and tenacity to deliver.

And that is why I expect members of the NPP fraternity to see the light and work towards unity to ensure a return to power. It is only a political toddler and of course someone who does not have the interest of the NPP at heart who will not work towards unity in the party. That is a sine qua non for the party’s victory in the 2012 elections.

Let Alan struggle to win the flagbearership slot or let us give it Nana Addo out of goodwill and fail to unite and see what the end results will be. Each of them will need the other to win the general election which is the ultimate and of course the heart desire of every genuine NPP member. After all, won’t the interest of these party gurus be better promoted if they were messengers in a ruling party than being General Secretaries in an opposition party? (Regards to the Gentle Giant in African politics).

Does the NPP need a fierce contest in the selection of the next flag bearer? Are we not aware of the person the electorate wants to take over from President Mills? Don’t we have researchers in the party who can ascertain and communicate the desires of the voters to the party to inform our decisions? Are some of the voters not saying they will not vote if (Fill the gap in a sincere manner and call to tell me your answer)? What does that teach us? Oh NPP! Why thou not see the light? Well, maybe, the contest will be meant to satisfy the party’s credentials as liberal democrats who believe in equality of opportunities for all.

Have my sympathy, Uncle Stephen Ntim. I felt sorry for you the other day when I heard you on radio pouring out the frustrations you are going through in your campaign for the Chairmanship. You say they say you are good but what? I thought you could go for the 1st Vice, for they would surely consider you because they see you as a Field Marshall while they see your main contender as a Strategist. Don’t you think effective implementation of clever strategies on the field is what the NPP needs to win back power? I am convinced everybody in the party knows this.

What then is the problem preventing such strategic partnership? I humbly submit the problem is that many members of the NPP fraternity don’t seem prepared to subsume our individual and sectional interest under the broad and collective interest of the party.

Former President John Agyekum Kufour, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen and other top echelons of the NPP are all aware of what the NPP should do to recapture power in the 2012 elections. They are seasoned and acute politicians. I pray the good Lord speaks to them and touches their hearts individually to do the right thing. Within their hearts of heart, the three party kingpins and their followers are aware of who could lead the party to victory in the elections. Please, my elders, work towards that and God will bless you individually and collectively.

Even though every political observer, including Nana Addo and Alan, as well as members in their camps, can predict who will lead the NPP as the next flag bearer, there is going to be a contest. The contest has even started, and it is clear who is winning. But that is not important.

What is important is party unity, and how to build effective bridges after the contest; how to successfully extent the acceptable olive branch to the vanquished and his followers after the contest. That is why there is the urgent need for all true and genuine NPP members to allow civility and decorum to prevail in their campaign for any position in the party. It is also equally important for the party gurus whose interest others purport to be serving to call their hawks to order when they are leading the party on the path of destruction with their unguarded utterances and politically indecorous actions.

My fellow Kukurudites, President Mills has failed to deliver; he does not have what it takes to deliver; his master-cum-member will continue to campaign for us; the campaign will be supported by the glaring failures of the government. Let us not derail the campaign with internal wrangling. We need unity to come back to power. Let’s refrain from all activities and utterances that promote antagonism so that we could build a formidable front to win the 2012 general elections, to halt the maladministration the nation is experiencing under the NDC. Ghanaians cannot forgive us if we allow disunity to keep the NDC in power after Mills first term.

I pray God opens our eyes to see the light that is radiating the victory that beckons our party in the 2012 general elections.

By: KWABENA AMANKWAH, Former TESCON-UCC Secretary, Mob: 0244-217504

The author is now the Editor of the New Statesman.