The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, vindicates me, after all

By Dr. Michael J.K. Bokor

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Folks, over the years, I have been insistent that the NPP cannot do without the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi. I did say in many opinion pieces that the NPP is so grafted to Manhyia that it cannot claim to be itself, meaning that the real forces behind it can be traced to Manhyia.

I have also made it clear that the NPP was incubated in the Danquah Busia Club (DBC) that the late Attakora-Gyimah of Nkukuo-Buoho, near Offinso (and a veteran journalist operating the Ashanti Pioneer newspaper in Kumasi) formed to bring together all the adherents of the Danquah-Busia political tradition.

I knew them in all that they were doing before the Rawlings PNDC government lifted the ban on partisan politics on May 18, 1992, when the DBC metamorphosed into the NPP with a history closely tied to Manhyia.

Friends, there is a lot that we don't talk about; but when push comes to shove, we will.

I haven't been bothered by vain threats from those thinking that by making connections between the NPP and Manhyia, I have sought to undermine the Asantehene.

I remember very well when I wrote an article discussing why the NPP would demonstrate in Kumasi after rejecting the outcome of Election 2012 and want to deliver its petition to the Asantehene.

In that opinion piece, I rightfully traced the political dynamics influencing the NPP’s manouevres to the Manhyia connection and concluded that the NPP couldn't do without the nourishment given it by Manhyia.

Many pro-NPP elements all over the world took me to task, some condemning me for associating Manhyia with the NPP, and others threatening to "assassinate" me for undermining Manhyia.

A group of Asante intellectuals even threatened to make representations to my employers to dismiss me for fanning anti-Asantehene sentiments. Many other threats were issued.

Some of those elements even wrote articles to deny that Manhyia had anything to do with the political tradition of the NPP, calling me all sorts of names. I laughed them to scorn because I knew the solid ground of truth on which I stood.

Lo and behold!! The truth that I have stood on all along in examining the kind of politics that the NPP does has just been told and confirmed by none other than the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, himself:

“The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has admonished supporters of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) to make integrity and truth the guiding principles in the conduct of party activities.

Asantehene’s call came after he had established the historical background of the formation of the National Liberation Party (NLP), from whose tradition and principles the NPP finds its roots.

According to him, the NLP, which later became the United Party and now the NPP, was formed in the palace of the then Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu I, to fight for the right of cocoa farmers against the unfair treatment by Ghana’s first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.

In a speech broadcast live on NEAT 100.9, the Asantehene said the largest opposition party has its umbilical cord at the Manhyia Palace, which stands for truth; so, therefore, the NPP must endeavor to be truthful at all times.

He was speaking through the Offinsohene, Nana Wiafe Akenten III.

He made this appeal after Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo, flagbearer of the NPP in the 2012 general elections, paid a courtesy call on the Asantehene at Manhyia.”

(Source: http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=303254)

And interestingly, the thrust of the Otumfuo’s message is truth telling. As he admonished the NPP members, telling the truth would gel with what Manhyia stands for and why it nurtured the precursor of the NPP.

I am not sure whether the Otumfuo intended to say that that precursor was the National Liberation Movement (NLM) and not the National Liberation Party (NLP) that the Offinsohene mentioned. My study of Ghanaian history hasn’t reve3aled to me that there was an NLP among the political forces operating in pre-independence or post-independence Ghana.

I know of the NLM, ably led by the Asantehene’s Chief Linguist (Baffour Akoto), and the so-called “Action Troopers” whose notoriety for mayhem and deadly intents, purposes, and acts against pro-Nkrumahists have outlived them.

That the NPP reflects such characteristic determination in contemporary Ghanaian politics is not strange.

Folks, I take this opportunity to re-assure all those misreading my opinion pieces and targeting me for nothing but their misplaced venom that I don't write out of spite. I do so, based on my assessment of issues, rooted in history, and justified by the current dynamics of our Ghanaian politics.

If I don't have facts readily available, I make educated guesses to support my claims. I will continue to do so, unfazed by empty threats and useless aggression.

At least, at this stage, I feel really happy that Otumfuo has vindicated me that the Manhyia Palace is the livewire, the epicentre, the lifeblood, and the real birthplace of all that constitutes the NPP in our time. Thank you, Otumfuo for saying it as it should be said.

Now, to those unenlightened aggressive NPP elements who refuse to be told the truth about their own political origin and inclination and the history behind the cabal that they support, here is an opportunity to re-educate yourselves.

Learn from the Otumfuo and let the truth he tells you set you free!!

I shall return…

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