The Re-Emergence of the Convention Peoples Party

Jojo Grant

The CPP is a major historical and political organization that is steeped in rich and unassailable political traditions from the independence era of Africa and the on-going struggle for the redemption of the Black race from the crass insinuations of inferiority and backwardness. The Party was founded by the Greatest African that ever lived and aside of perhaps the ANC of South Africa, it is arguably the only internationally recognizable African or Black national political institution in the world.

Not only did the CPP win political independence for Ghana but it also opened the flood-gates and gave impetus to the Liberation, Civil Rights, Human and Democratic Rights and Independence movements’ in Africa and of all oppressed peoples right across the globe - including North America, the Caribbeans, Europe, Asia, Oceania and South America.

The CPP is also the only ‘African’ political organization with the enviable distinction of having created its own home-grown political ideology to suit the specific developmental needs of Ghana, Africa and the Black Diaspora. In effect, the true essence of the CPP, unlike the still subservient and inconsequential posture of other Ghanaian and African political entities, does not give assurance and comfort to global imperialism - our historical oppressors, by scrounging on their toxic ideologies – those ‘Trojan Horse’ doctrines that have been insidiously employed to infiltrate, subjugate, enslave, colonize and exploit Africa for over five hundred painful years.

Our (CPP) posture is incontrovertibly Nkrumaist and anti-imperialist. This essentially, is the indivisible spirit of the CPP. This core value cannot be vulgarized or traded-off under any circumstances for the spurious wishes of the few against the interest of the vast majority; for the interests of imperialism against self-determination and for neo-colonialism as against a decidedly independent Pan-Africanist posture.

When their interests were threatened by the Osagyefo’s far-reaching economic policies, our historical oppressors and their local collaborators went to great lengths to demoralize him at every step of his endeavors until they finally managed - in 1966, to criminally overthrow the most significant African endeavor in human history – the task to resuscitate from total subjectivity and despair, the lamentable socio-economic circumstances of the black man. Since then, they have, in every subtle manner, not spared any effort to make sure that the fortunes of the CPP, or for that matter, the sentiments of progressive organizations and personalities do not resurface to assume positions of prominence and power anywhere in Ghana, Africa and the Diaspora. This is the true scope of the task we face. It is not a minor task. It is a task that confronts the need to re-engineer the democratic layout of world society so as to give the Blackman his due and it is a task that demands ‘men’ of honor, ‘men’ of valor and ‘men’ of substance.

The powerbrokers of Global Imperialism are well aware – even more than ourselves, of the potential and menacing threat to their interests by the possible resurgence of Nkrumaism which for them, implies the threat of a more meaningful nationalist posture by Africans – and therefore, the just reclamation of the true value of our resources for ourselves. They will therefore employ every con-trick in the book - including the manipulation of our pathetic lack of knowledge and understanding, our dearth of information, our stunted confidence, our prone susceptibility to their whims and the poor appreciation of our own potential, for their benefit.

Let us understand and keep in mind that imperialism has thus far succeeded in Africa on account of its unhindered ability to infiltrate our ranks and then, divide and rule us. It also has in its arsenal, the inherent far-reaching capacity to keep us - its long-suffering victims ignorant, obtuse, misinformed, disoriented and subservient to their advantage. The incessant bickering, lack of vision and the evident allergy to progressive alternative options for development, as exhibited by the NPP and the NDC, plays favorably into the imperialist game. Global imperialism will therefore bolster and encourage them (NDC/NPP) to keep on playing that game only so as to keep the CPP out. To keep this worrying circus going, they employ the services of a weak and a politically disorientated media to egg-on the on-going tragi-comedy.

Of course they will not give room to the CPP to barge in and spoil ‘their party’. Their game is to divide, rule, exploit and impoverish ‘stupid Black people who don’t know any better and who don’t deserve any better’, to keep us in our proper place. The CPP’s game, on the other hand, is to salvage what’s left after the free-for-all disembowelling of our resources and the multiple acts of genocide committed against the Black race during many centuries. The CPP’s game is to resuscitate our racial dignity, pride and wealth for a brighter future. Under the present circumstances, the CPP will have to devise and initiate its own novel means of effectively reaching out to the badly disfigured conscience of the misinformed and destitute African for us all to understand that we are still being led astray. However the attempt to compete in the on-going din of diversionary and divisive petty squabbles, within the parameters of the neo-colonial media apparatus, will only ultimately lead us into a ditch and worsen our plight.

We must remember that the most effective tools of global imperialism has been to employ the devious mechanism to ‘keep the niggers’ ignorant and to subsequently divide, cause disaffection within our ranks and then to dominate and exploit us. This explains why in applying imperialist philosophies to rule us, the two neo-colonial local parties seem to be more preoccupied with randomly accusing, vilifying and incriminating each other and in the process, causing further social, ethnic, political and religious divisions - and even in state institutions of our once solidly united and disciplined country. Instead of targeting and dealing with our historical enemy, this is the preoccupation of the NDC/NPP oligarchy. Meanwhile that enemy irreverently continues to callously dominate, oppress and voraciously loot our resources in a heedless devil-may-care manner.

They (the imperialists) will exploit for their exclusive interests, the pervading poverty, the shameless greed, the inordinate ambition, delinquent and eccentric elements, the weak and outright lack of commitment and the dishonesty of fellow ‘comrades’ as well as the endemic ignorance of the core values of Nkrumaism within the Party. We should not under-estimate them, they will do this to exacerbate divisions, problems and confusion in our ranks just to obstruct our forward movement with the hope of delaying the imminent collapse of the global imperialist hegemony. Their very survival depends on the rabid addiction to and the exploitation of African resources and they cannot easily be healed of this craving. The recent crises in Libya and La Cote d’Ivoire should serve as a lesson and a reminder to us all that imperialism - even though the Osagyefo forecast its imminent doom, is still very much alive but like a mortally wounded and desperate vampire, it is sniffing around for the blood of resource-rich victim-nations to suck, only so that it may revitalize its sagging energy. The task we have consciously chosen to undertake - of our own very free will, is not a mean task. Let us constantly remind ourselves that, in this pursuit, many have failed in the past because they did not have a sufficiently broad and scientific understanding of the core mission of the CPP nor perhaps, did they envisage the depth and the sheer size of the assignment entrusted unto them as leading members of the CPP.

As it is not apparent, it may not have dawned on some of us that in regard to our mission, we, as encapsulated in the philosophy of the Party, carry the weight of the expectations and the aspirations of the entire African continent and her people on our shoulders. For the lack of ability, they desperately look up to us to keep the fire burning. We cannot let them down. We cannot abandon Africa in these compelling moments of history.

Many Africans, denied of, or bereft of that extraordinary sense of exhilaration of living the thrilling experience of amending the historical destiny of Africans - the first human beings (Australopithecus Africanus) to inhabit this earth 7 million years ago, for the better, may perhaps suffer from an outstanding deficit of comprehension of the dire complexities that continue to weigh us down as a people. It is our onerous duty to reverse this adverse condition for our mutual benefit.

We must therefore consider that, by our implied and advised membership of the CPP, we are ‘chosen’ and ‘elect’ to carry on with this righteous mission to its logical and political conclusion – a conclusion where the world will finally witness an Africa that has regained her dignity, an Africa that has retaken possession of her resources, and an Africa that has assumed its proper personality as a primus inter pares in the affairs of the world. We must note that it is then – and only then, that the good people of the world can justifiably qualify humanity in its heterogeneous entirety as having gained the distinction and attributes of a civilized species.

To achieve what we have ourselves willingly set out to do, we must begin, in our own small ways to set the pace - anytime the opportunity arises, to personally evangelize, preach and sermonize endlessly - to our friends, to our close relations, to our colleagues at work, to our business clients, to the cashier at our bank, to our children, to the tro-tro driver and mate, to the taxi driver, to the local kelewele seller, to our tailor, our hairdresser, our barber, to the kenkey and fish seller, to fellow passengers on public transport, to the sales person at our favorite supermarket, to our doctor, to our garbage collector, to members of the congregation at our churches, at our social events, on any possible occasion and in everyday practical terms to the whole world about the proud history and philosophy of Nkrumaism - the only dedicated and existing philosophy that has the potential to set the African free from the chains of backwardness …. and the only philosophy with the capacity to move Africa forward ever towards the compelling and dynamic future that it holds for mankind. Any cause worth fighting for, is worth the struggle. Freedom!