The Yutong Driver Did Not Buy The Victory, He Sold It

Open Letter To Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings

The NDC congress that re-elected President Mills as the party’s presidential candidate is over and many have been and continue to be written on what happened prior and during the congress including the defeat of Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings. Nana Konadu and her supporters including former President Rawlings have accused President Mill of buying his victory with bribes. This is unfortunate and not surprising from somebody who has shown to be a sore loser. What is surprising is that Nana and her supporters refused to see her defeats coming despite all the signs that were on the wall. They run a very bad campaign.

During the campaign period, whilst Nana went round pointing out all that President Mills has failed to do within the two and half years he has been president, he went round inaugurating projects and showing people what he has done so far. President Mills did not buy the victory, he sold his achievement to the people and that won him the victory. You the Rawlingses could not convince the people to see the cup is half empty but he succeeded in convincing them that the cup is half full. So what reason do they have to change him so early in his term? No matter their grievances, the Rawlingses sounded like they wanted to get rid of the president because he did not do what they pleased. If they think the foot soldiers and mass of the party membership are dissatisfied, it did not show in the pools. I personally don’t believe that money alone could have convinced the 97% of the delegates to go against the Rawlingses. They sided with President Mills against the incessant complaining that were coming from the Rawlingses.

Mills behaved like a typical Yutong driver that he has been described as. Like the Yutong bus, his leadership is fused with the body of his government and party and by his humility, he goes at the pace of the people and when there is an issue the head and the body turn together.

The Rawlingses behave completely opposite to President Mills’ style. They behaved like an articulated truck driver. They have a big body of followers but just let there be an issue or problem to be carefully navigated, the head turns one way and the body points a different direction. It takes a lot of effort to align the head and body again.

As people who are used to run with the people on every issue, the Rawlingses should know how to handle themselves when the people slow down. No successful revolution has ever been effected for the people by the leadership. The leadership stays abreast with the people and mobilizes them to effect the changes the people themselves so desire. So, it is not the election loss that is going to determine the political future of Nana Konadu; it is how she reacts to the loss. It is the apparent sense of entitlement in the affairs of the NDC in total disregard for the opinion of the party members that will cause her downfall.

So Nana, the primary elections are over so be the democrat you are and congratulate President Mills the winner. The party constitution is still developing and until it becomes perfect, there will be some petty issues that will crop up here and there that may have to be dealt with. If the primary elections process is faulty, as Vice Chairperson of the party, come out with your observation and recommendation and let the party find a way to improve upon it. But you cannot retrospectively change the rules after you lost an election. Don’t be a Monday morning football coach after you lost a Sunday’s match. It is over, at least for now.

It should be noted that Ghanaians are not used to running with their affairs. They are tired of the many abrupt changes to their political system. They now abhor coups d’états and even abrupt changes in government unless they themselves come to find it absolutely essential. They love the progress the political stability is giving their country. You cannot be too revolutionary than the people and the process. As a leader if think you have the right idea or right way of doing things and you cannot sell that to your followers and convince them to go along with you, then you have failed.

Revolutionary process take place in stages and revolutionary leadership or cadres will have to change with the stages of the system or be sacrificed by the system. You Rawlingses are witnesses to a good number of cadres who dropped by the wayside because they either could not adjust to changing phases of the revolution or you personally did not like their way of doing things despite their usefulness. If you don’t learn from that, you may be casualties of the revolution you helped initiate. And that will be sad indeed.

For the first time in the party’s history, somebody won an NDC election without the support of President Rawlings. What is so significant even is that he took on the Rawlingses themselves and still won with 97% of the votes. The point is clear; the members of the party think it is pre-mature to change President Mills’ leadership now. We are in a constitutional democratic phase. We elect people into offices and vote people out. The revolution has moved from the stage where the chairman of PNDC could remove and appoint leadership when and how he wills. If you have not come to terms with this, then you are living in the past.

If you feel the party needs strong leadership, get strong candidates to contest elections in the party hierarchy including the Council of Elders and regional and district executives. The power of the NDC has never been with the leadership, it has always flowed from the grass root. At least that is what you want the world to believe. So why don’t you put on your organizational ability working gear and get the people to come with you to effect the change in direction you so desire. It is the power of the people that will ensure that those who need to be prosecuted for corruption and other crimes against the state don’t get away with it. It was the power of the people as manifested in demonstrations and civil disobedience and other grass root actions that won us independence; that brought June fourth; that sustained the 31st December revolution; that has and will sustain our party political democracy and that will ensure justice in the country. How do you think the NPP and its political traditions that have been in oppositions throughout Ghana’s independent life went back into opposition just after the single presidency of Kufour? The people’s power, this time manifested in their vote.

President Rawlings was right when he said the NDC government was not in control of the Judiciary and, therefore, the process to ensure justice in the country. This situation has existed for a long time in the country including the nineteen years when he was in power. What was the justification in establishing the People’s Tribunals? Have you forgotten or didn’t you know that the NDC is a class party engaged in class warfare? And didn’t you know that the judiciary is on the opposite side? What I don’t understand is why single out the judiciary? Is it because you want instant justice?

The judiciary is made up of judges most of whom were former members of the Ghana Bar Association. They consider themselves as part of the upper or upper middle class. Like the other members of this group such as doctors and university lecturers, this people have always had conservative ideas and have never sided with progressive parties. Not only do they support the NPP, they actually form the NPP. Unfortunately, in a constitutional rule, they have power and don’t like to be dictated to. So we have a problem dealing with them and need patience, discipline and good old intelligence to properly investigate cases to have the necessary facts to prosecute cases. We don’t win cases by sentiments but by arguments based on facts.

Note that revolutions are not tea parties even if they are taking place in party political democracy. The foot soldiers and the mass of the people with grievances should be made to know that we cannot share what we don’t have. We cannot share nothing. We have to create a property before we can share it. Unless the system is develop to create jobs, nobody can find them jobs. In the same way, we all cannot occupy leadership positions at the same time. Unless we allow this leadership to work, the system will not allow your leadership to work.

You should remember that you the Rawlingses have a stake in the NDC and any attempt to break away from the party to form another one or to run independent as independent candidate as is being rumored will be disastrous to you. In fact it is in the interest of the Rawlingses to remain and strengthen the NDC. As a political party, many leaders will emerge with different leadership styles. There is only one Jerry John Rawlings so we cannot have all people who become leaders of the NDC behaving exactly like him. President Mills is not supposed to be like J.J Rawlings; he is supposed to be the best of himself. J. J. Rawlings founded the NDC but the party has made him what he is now. It is not everybody in the country who is fond of the Rawlingses. As one writer said some time ago, the Rawlings phenomenon rest on the support and good will of Ghanaians mostly the NDC supporters. With the massive vote against Nana Konadu in the primary, the party is rightly out growing your influence and it will be very unwise to toy with this sympathy and good will of the membership.

So let me repeat my appeal to you. The elections are over. Accept the defeat and as a democrat that you are, go ahead and congratulate President Mills the winner and endeavor to take back your Vice President position. The party needs you particularly now that the general election is around the corner. You are lose if President Mills is defeated or NDC loses the majority in parliament. So be the grown up that you are and stop crying over spilt milk. You don’t run away from home just because your brother ate your food.

Democracy can be frustrating when you lose an election, but it the best system for the NDC and the country, so get use to it.

Take care.

Kwame Yeboah

Harding University College of Pharmacy,

Searcy, Arkansas. USA

gyeboah@harding.edu