Stop the messy factionalism to save the NDC – part 1

Between 1977 and 1979, the economic conditions in Ghana had created a huge imbalance in the Ghanaian society leading to serious corruption that was nick named “Kalabule” which virtually replaced National morality in this country.

Living conditions had become so unbearable that Ghanaians referred to their own country as “Ogyakrom” meaning fire town in the Akan language. To the populace, especially the Youth, who could no longer stand the humiliation of the rot and decay in society as well as sub human existence, deserted their own country in droves, akin to fleeing from a raging fire to other African countries to do menial jobs, and some young ladies also engaged in prostitution in those countries mainly Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Togo.

Ghanaian Doctors, Nurses, Teachers, Pharmacists, Artisans, business men including the un-employed urban and rural poor deserted their posts and left the shores of Ghana without passports – documents which had been classified as worthless and had become an object of mockery among nationals of other African countries, especially West Africans. It was very common for Nigerian Immigration Officers to destroy Ghanaian passports right in front of the holders, so in 1981 alone, 16,000 there until 1983 when the 31st December revolution was launched by the former PNDC chairman J.J. Rawlings who send ships to Nigeria and brought all those Ghanaians back at a time there was a severe drought as well as bush fires throughout the country and it led to famine in the country that year, what did Rawlings do that year? He led Ghanaians to farm.

The national team, the Black Stars could not even honour international football assignments because the country was totally broke. The Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC) was formed soon after on 31st December 1981 to inherit the worst economy ever in the political history of this country and commence the daunting task of resuscitating a severely flawed, ruined, limping and crippled nation.

It was at such a point of suffocation and stagnation that the people of Ghana, with no other peaceful option, yearned for a radical change through the 31st December revolution in 1981, it was dubbed a “Holy War” that was declared by Jerry Rawlings to clean up the country’s messy administration from the Top, the Castle down to the Districts and Villages nationwide. How the PNDC did it, will be the subject matter of the next article – keep your fingers crossed for now and watch out for it.

PNDC HANDS OVER TO ITSELF IN 1992

When Fit. Lt. J.J. Rawlings was preparing to return the country to civilian rule in 1992 from the PNDC military government and leave the political scene, he was provoked by the late professor Adu Boahen, the then presidential candidate of the violent prone NPP, who told Rawlings and his PNDC appointees as well as the revolutionary organs – the CDR’s that if he (Rawlings) was a man, he should contest the 1992 elections and see if Ghanaian would vote for him because he will never win. Rawlings and his cadres dared Adu Boahen and formed the National Democratic Congress NDC which replaced the revolutionary National Defense Committee (NDC) in 1992 and it was Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings who designed the Umbrella as the party symbol in 1992 with the Hawk on top signifying a vigilant pilot that can fly in the sky and observe danger since her husband Jerry Rawlings is an experienced pilot and we campaigned very hard and beat professor Adu Boahen during the general elections in 1992 – He led the NPP to boycott parliament and they came out with a criminal publication full of lies called “The Stolen Verdict” Now, since when did the Danquah-Busia-United Party (UP) tradition ever concede defeat to their opponents in this country? They never did it because they falsely believe that they could never be defeated in any election because Ghana belong to them. In 1951, 1954 and 1956 they lost all those elections to Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and his CPP and started throwing bombs throughout the country after rejecting the results. In 1992, they rejected the results once again and never congratulated the winner. In 2008, Nana All-die-be-die Addo Dankwa William Kwaku Akuffo Addo also lost to the late Prez. Mills and refused to concede defeat and to congratulate him. Finally, in 2012 Prez. John Mahama beat him again. He still refused to concede defeat and headed to the Supreme Court where he wasted every body’s time for eight good months and lost the case on top.

NOW, WHAT WENT WRONG?

By 1981, the country’s defense institutions were in disgrace, the common soldiers lived as poorly as a peasant, oh! Yes, I saw them all with my naked eyes, Military and police uniforms were faded and patched up with no boots to match. Infact most policemen and soldiers wore canvass boots or rubber slippers for duty.

However, with the help of the Almighty, what the LOCUSTS have eaten from the wealth of the nation from 2001-2008 was restored again by the NDC administration led by the late president Millis of blessed memory, his victory became very easy because the Rawlingses never slept but made sure that Mills beat Nana Akuffo Addo in 2008. However, Ghanaians have made another sad mistake by voting massively for the same treacherous locusts once again on 7th December 2016 to mess up the country.

NANA KONADU AGYEMAN RAWLINGS ON TRIAL

The former first lady and five others namely, Emmanuel Amuzu Agbodo, the former executive secretary of the Divesture Implementation Committee (DIC), Thomas Benson Owusu, a former accountant of the DIC, Mr. Kwame Peprah, former finance minister in the Rawlings administration and Hon. Sherry Ayitteh, the managing director of Cariden Development Company Ltd. and Caridan as an entity. They were facing various charges of conspiracy, stealing, causing loss to public property, obtaining property by false statement, obtaining public property by false pretence and conspiracy to alter false documents and again accused of causing financial loss to the state to the tune of GH¢ 9.2 billion in respect of public property following the acquisition of GIHOC Cannery, a government cannery by Cariden Ltd. Which is owned by the 31st December Women’s Movement (DWM) in 1995 when the cannery was divested, and president J.A Kufuor was the brain behind all the above political motivated false charges in court by the Attorney General that would have led to Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings and the five others being imprisoned like common criminals had the NPP won the 2008 general elections. The prosecution falsely stated that Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings and Madam Sherry Ayittey forged the signature of Ms. Georgina Okaiteye a Director of Cariden and succeeded in altering the sales and purchase agreement, to the detriment of the state. This was false as Prez. Kufuor sought to destroy the entire 31st December Women’s Movement and ensure that Nana Konadu was jailed, he quickly withdrew Konadu’s prosecution immediately the NPP lost the 2008 elections, such a tall coward, why didn’t he continue with the trial if it were not a political trial?

It will be recalled that Tsatsu Tsikata pursued his case in which he was wrongfully imprisoned for political reasons by President Kufuor and he won that case too at the Supreme Court to the disgrace of Ex-Prez. Kufuor. Justice Aferi had to die for receiving instructions from Prez. Kufuor ordering him to jail Tsikata and he was actually ambushed and jailed without his lawyers notice.

I can tell you for sure that Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings is now 100% very comfortable to see the NDC in opposition and her own daughter being a minority member of parliament than to see her former party, the NDC in government – one may ask the vexed question. What went wrong between her and the NDC? Answer, she was treated as a social nobody in the NDC even though she was a National Vice Chairperson who contested and won an election to that position.

Matters became worse in 2011 when she contested the then sitting president Mills and lost. After that, Hell broke loose and cadres became endangered species as we were described as the Rawlings boys from an imaginary white house who will get nothing from the NDC party which “belonged to Mills and not the Rawlings any more, and true to their words” the cadres Actually Had Nothing and Nobody even want to make the experienced cadres an Integral Wing of the NDC up to date 2017, even though some leading members of the party are senior cadres including the former and present National Chairman – what actually went wrong and why is it so? Will some people or somebody speak out and explain the reasons if any. You see, we are our own enemies so, how do we train the so-called young cadres in the party if the senior cadres are not recognized in the NDC? Whom are we deceiving as the young cadres does not see any properties owned by their senior cadres and does not also see any improvement in their lives either? - QUO VADIS, NDC? Is Anybody listening? I beg to drop my Bic pen here. I shall return when the need arise. “jaanbie Iwaii”.

Aluta Continua.

………………………………… Clement Sangaparee United Cadres Front Obuasi

Distribution All Media House Accra/Ghana

E-mail:clementsang@yahoo.com