Rejoinder: Statement by the Anlo NDC Executives

May I serve a rejoinder to the above-titled articled which appeared on your forum on August 21, 2011. I am again challenged by what I read from the President of the Anlo Youth Council, Mayor Agbleze, to issue this rejoinder posing further questions to the Member of Parliament for the Anlo constituency and the constituency executives.

Going by both rejoinders – the rejoinder by the Anlo constituency executives and that of Mr. Mayor Agbleze – I am tutored to believe that a cabal has for a long time hijacked the political leadership of Anlo and have exploited that to their own advantage to the neglect of the welfare of the people.

First and foremost, what became very clear from reading Mr. Agbleze’s rejoinder is that, those who wrote the rejoinder to the press statement issued by Anlo Youth Council (AYC) would rather attack the President of the Council than to address the issues raised by the Council. This is a miscalculation of the highest order and only goes to underscore the point that these so-called constituency executives are aware of their own ineptitudes and the diabolic plans they have hatched in the past against individuals who dared to contest their chosen King for any political position within the Anlo area and this includes Mr. Agbleze.

I have always been wondering, if per delegated representation, as it is understood in a more functional democracies, there are minutes at branch and ward level meetings of all the branches and wards of the NDC in the Anlo constituency, giving a chronicle of discussions at those level at which decisions were made by the branches that they will support a particular candidate? Or it is just a matter of going round to influence the delegates who are executives of the branches to win the votes as the case has largely been not only in Anlo but across the country. To this end, whether the delegates carry out the wishes of their communities or not, that doesn’t matter – it is just a ritual which should produce a candidate for which the Kingmakers are to make a few Cedis and so on?

I am completely surprised by the revelations of Mr. Agbleze. What I could deduce from the rejoinder is that Mr. Clement Kofi Humado (I hate that title “Hon” that confers ineptitude on our lawmakers to the hilt), prior to contesting the Anlo parliamentary seat and winning it to become a member of parliament, was not a member of the party. After reading this article, Itook the trouble to make a few calls to my contacts at Tegbi, Anloga, and Kodzi, to delve further into this suggestive allegation to ascertain its veracity. What became clearer was that Mr. Humado was led by hand to the NDC by one Dedzo. He was never a member of the party, his card was backdated by the chairman of the Anlo constituency and his secretary under the influence of some party leaders in Accra. Dedzo then hard the onerous task of washing the man to look at an angel at functions across the constituency. “Truth be told, Mr. Clement Kofi Humado was not a member of any of the NDC branches until 2003 when his card was backdated to satisfy that membership requirement,” one of the branch executives imputed.

This is similar to a case I have heard about recently concerning the MP for Elembelle, Mr. Kofi Buah. I was told that the young man was a post boy at Gurtisburg post office in Maryland and an ardent member of the CPP. He approached executives of the NDC in the Washington Metro Area in the US who backdated a new card and sponsored him financially to contest the then MP for Ellembelle, and warn him never to mention that he was a CPP member. These are very serious criminal offences that cast a huge slur on the integrity of the people who lead these constituencies and may even lead to court actions against these individuals. If press by any further unreasoned rejoinders from these corrupt and inept constituency NDC executives of Anlo, I will spill the names of the individuals behind these acts.

No wonder the man Mr. Clement Kofi Humado simply could not grasp his duties as a parliamentarian throughout his first 4 years. I used to be wondering how he was retained as a candidate and returned to the august house. Unbeknownst to me, there are stories behind the man. Mr. MP, would you open your defense now in the court of public opinion or you would hold your peace and remain silent forever?

In my phone interviews with my informants, there seems to be a general consensus among the people that Mr. Humado has reaped enough from where he did not sow and his time is up to go before his deeds catch up with him and the powerbrokers behind him. They should go down to the communities and test the temperament of the youth across the constituency and better find something else for themselves. Their games are over!

However, the question of who succeeds Mr. Humado is not an easy one to answer. Obviously, people do not want a situation where they would jump from a frying pan into the fire. Meaning replacing Humado with another incompetent block will cause Anlo dearly. So far, these are the names that are making the rounds: Mr. Ghandi Mawuenyegah, formerly of Ghana Immigration Service; Mr. Prosper Yao Tsikata, a lecturer and a PhD candidate; Mr. Alex Doe, a teacher; Mr. Gideon Osabutey, a teacher who unfortunately perished in a car accident recently; Mr. Seth Zewu, whose designation is yet unknown; and Mr. John Ahiataku, an engineer.

What is clear is that none of these individuals are seen as an establishment candidate. The old folks will still prefer to adopt their manipulative processes to choose a “King” for Anlo in the person of Mr. Clement Kofi Humado, while they have barely been successful in choosing a true Awoamefia for the people in over a decade.

Sadly, in Mr. Agbleze’s statement, I can deduce that he has given up at this juncture; probably afraid of what awaits those who would dare face Mr. Humado this time around. But based on all the things I have heard so far about the commitment and dedication to the development of Anlo by those intending to step into the contest, he towers over all the alternatives. I will encourage him not to give up the fight. We are all watching and would encourage all of them including those whose names haven’t come up yet to do their motherland proud by providing what it needs at this juncture – a responsive, responsible, and a true representative leadership (the 3 Rs).

I was totally amazed to watch some of these so-called Anlo leaders who were too sick and weak to speak when their homeland was on fire in 2007. But when it comes to the NDC, their milking cow, they found their walking sticks and pampers and made it to Sunyani. I was surprised that a discerning media could not even question the membership eligibility of one of them who claims never to have been a member of the NDC but was allowed to vote because bread and butter was at stake.

I understand these same people are going round trying to set up Anlo Council of Elders after failed attempts to revive their moribund group of useless oldmen who have only aided in retarding their homeland. We are watching them closely and will give it to them in a plain language when the time comes.

My true Anlo heroes are the tens of thousands of unemployed Anlo youth and many others in other parts of the region and the country who have not caused any riots yet. More to come…

Ben Akpalu,

L.A., California