Showcasing Kwame Pianim, Nyaho Tamakloe and Wereko-Brobbey
In Ghana today Mr Kwame Pianim, Dr Nyaho Tamakloe and Dr Charles Wereko-Brobbey have something in common. They seem to have their fates and hard earned reputations tied together. But it does not hinge on the three individuals being founding and leading members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) or what they have done in terms of their public service to the country.
It’s all got to do with the three gentlemen exercising their democratic rights first as Ghanaians and secondly as individuals who sought to share the truth with Ghanaians by spilling the bean on what they know about the 2012 Elections.
So much has gone under the bridge ever since Ghanaians decided to go in a different direction by not hiring Nana Akufo-Addo, the NPP former flagbearer, as the Chief Executive Officer of our dear country Ghana during the 2012 Presidential Election.
After denouncing the presidential results and refusing to concede defeat to the eventually winner and sworn-in President John Mahama, Akufo-Addo rushed to the Supreme Court (SC) with a litany of allegations which is only backed by raw pink sheets, a subjective personal analysis and self-created CD-ROM with evasive and clueless Dr Mahamadu Bawumia sitting in the driver’s seat.
This was after some staunch but excellent NPP lawyers such as Messrs Charles Zwennes and Jay Menka Premo who were contacted by Nana Akufo-Addo to lead the petition case had examined the so-called evidence, but due to its hollowness had decided to stay away to avoid any disgrace and embarrassment in court.
There is something that Nana Akufo-Addo and the NPP did very well before and after they went to court to contest the results of the 2012 Presidential Election at the Supreme Court. They whipped all members and supporters of the NPP in line. Whether you believe their so-called allegations or not, the NPP under the direction of Akufo-Addo made sure that every NPP supporter or member see no evil or speak no evil of what they were doing. The belief of the NPP was that if the party swims in unison it will make their case believable and winnable hence their decision not to tolerate any dissenting views.
But Mr Kwame Pianim, Dr Nyaho Tamakloe and Dr Charles Wereko-Brobbey, three prominent NPP members who have made their marks as far as the party is concerned, found the eye of the needle and jumped out of the “NPP’s Burning Train” to tell Ghanaians about the true account of what they know about the 2012 Presidential Election.
Kwame Pianim was the first to go. This distinguished economist did not mince words in saying that the NPP is exhibiting intellectual and mental laziness following its decision to go to court to challenge the 2012 elections. He stated pointedly that the NPP needs to courageously confront its defeat because that would help deepen the nation’s democracy and development.
Mr Pianim, who was angry about the current state of affairs in the NPP, noted in the interview with the African Watch Magazine that the NPP is heading in the wrong direction with its court petition adding that “I think the national executives should reconsider doing the work we have voted them to do, or leave for others to take over, when the results of an election are announced, we should be ready to accept the results no matter how bitter...the interests of individual members and those of the party sometimes differ.”
Mr Kwame Pianim added other things: That Akufo-Addo technically ceased to be the leader of the NPP after the declaration of the results on December 9, that the pending case before the SC was the act of three individuals of the party and that until the case is determined by the justices of the SC, all Ghanaians including members of the NPP must fully recognize President John Mahama as legit Head of State of the Republic and Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces.
Perhaps the icing on Kwame Pianim’s lecture 101 was when he stated that. “The boycott of the President’s inauguration somehow portrayed the NPP executives as confused people. Some of these self-appointed spokespersons of the NPP seem to talk anyhow. Their demeanour and arrogant utterances tend to turn off people from the NPP. They are part of our problem and did not help us in the elections.”
These were harsh words which bit the NPP and got them ticked off. The response by the NPP was immediate, concerted, cruel and very damaging. Within 48 hours, the NPP effectively used the radio, television and the print media to tear Kwame Pianim into pieces. His crime was daring the NPP establishment by saying things that will torpedo Akufo-Addo’s chances in court.
Next in line was Dr Nyaho Tamakloe who needs no introduction because of his long association with football in the country and his strong passion as a leading and founding member of the NPP. The General Secretary of the NPP, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie usurped the powers of the Electoral Commission (EC) when he declared Nana Akufo-Addo the winner of the presidential election on Saturday December 8, 2012. Afriyie, also known as Sir John did not stop there. He asked all NPP supporters to be in white clothing and go to church the very next day.
This act by Sir John is so despicable that it has even emerged in court with Dr Bawumia, the star witness of the NPP denying ever hearing about this clarion call. Who authorized Sir John to usurp the constitutional mandate of the EC has remained under wraps until Dr Nyaho Tamakloe emerged from nowhere and revealed in his newly-released autobiography “Never Say Die”, that it was Nana Akufo-Addo and Jake Obetsebi Lamptey who personally asked Sir John to resort to that mischief.
Nyaho Tamakloe who expressed his shock in his book, stated that it was an irresponsible behaviour for Sir John to call the elections for the NPP under the direction of Nana Akufo-Addo and Jake when larger chunks of the results from the NDC strongholds were still outstanding. Prior to the launching of his book, Nyaho Tamakloe’s assessment of President Mahama’s first 100 days in office was seen as a stab in the back of the NPP. Without mincing words, Nyaho Tamakloe stated that the criticisms being levelled against President Mahama was unfair because he was still putting his team together. He queried, "How can you describe somebody who has just taken over power within three months as someone who cannot deliver; I don’t think that is fair".
Dr Nyaho Tamakloe boldly stated that, “If we [NPP] had been in power I wouldn’t even know how our performance would have been. Our government would have been descried the same way others are describing the present government".
The NPP have heard enough from this recalcitrant member who has gone overboard. They descended heavily on him with the view to flattering him beyond recognition. Dr Nyaho Tamakloe did not have any escape route since he broke the unwritten code of the NPP by taking on the party. The unpalatable adjectives with which Nyaho Tamakloe received his fire are still embedded under internet search engines.
Dr Wereko-Brobbey, the man known for his Tarzan like brashness also stepped up the plate last week when he released the bombshell by chastising the NPP for using clueless Dr Bawumia as their star witness. Poking his hands into the eyes of the NPP, Dr Wereko-Brobbey also known as Tarzan told the NPP that their failure to use a knowledgeable person with workings of the election procedures may go against them when the final ruling is pronounced by the judges.
Perhaps what sent the NPP packing was when after describing Dr Bawumia as a clueless witness, Tarzan went on to say that Bawumia is clinching on mere assertions, superstitions and personal interpretations of the law, whilst General Mosquito who represented President Mahama and the NDC was masterful during his evidence-in-chief at the court.
That made it three for the NPP. They have another talker on the loose. They have had enough of these so-called leading members who are making their case too tough to sell in the eyes of Ghanaians. Something other than mere condemnation has to be done. Yes, let’s have an emergency meeting and suspend Tarzan to serve as a deterrent to any other member groping in the darkness with the intension of following their trail.
Today, Tarzan remains suspended whilst the flattened fate of Kwame Pianim and Nyaho Tamakloe still remains unknown. The NPP have achieved their aim. They have succeeded in silencing any member who wants to exercise his/her democratic right as a paying member to express his/her feelings about the direction the party is heading to.
The NPP is the party that claims to be the champion of democracy in the country, but cannot tolerate or create room for any dissenting views. If you want to remain a member or supporter of the NPP all what you need to do is to watch, obey and follow. You have no right to question anything. That is what makes NPP what it is today.
nakuakoduah@yahoo.com
