The battle of Talensi

Revelations from Talensi by-election and the conduct of the main opposition party in Ghana portray the unreadiness of Ghana's most vociferous political party to capture political power anytime soon.

How on earth will a political party go to the polls with it national general secretary and chairman missing from the grounds where the election is being held?

In the face of the recent internal war which broke between the supposed Akuffo Addo loyalists and Agyapong, Afoko faction, the resentment appear unresolved and may have contributed to the abysmal electoral performance of the party at Telensi.

The utter failure of Akuffo Addo, the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to integrate and incorporate the two into the party's electoral activities and harness their political relevance since their election possess a significant threat to the future of elephant's party.

The rumour mill consistently present the two as foes of Akuffo Addo though some party faithfuls have tried to basterdize such assertions as usual NDC's propagandist gimmickry but the unfolding development speaks clearly to justify these claims than the party’s rekindled efforts to extinguish such public impression.

My question is... Where were the two during the Telensi by-elections? Were they banned not be involved? Was the flagbearer satisfied to travel all the way to Telensi without his chairman and general secretary? They may have been occupied with equally relevant party matters but l think by-elections is something that cannot be traded for anything.

Losing the Talensi seat to the NDC is a big blow to the NPP because it compliments the former's Parliamentary supremacy interms of numbers and reflect the willingness of the people to usher the President into his second term in office.

Despite the mad rush to kill and defray these impressions of emity among the leadership of the party, the happenings give credence which justifies the deep-seated rancour and the bad blood among the leadership and utter failure on the part of Akuffo Addo to work with party members to promote unity.

He had had enough space and time to have resolved what seemed to be a blood feud between himself and Agyapong Afoko and some party executives, a development which is tearing the electoral fortunes of Ghana's largest opposition party apart but that seemed not to be the priority of the twice defeated opposition leader.

Talensi by-election provided a fine opportunity of reunion and a reference point for repairing fractured relationship among various factions within the party but this precious opportunity was missed.

Now isn't it obvious that the Akuffo Addo, Afoko, Agyapong disunity transcends beyond the mark of partisan propaganda? The evidence are incontrovertible irrespective of how much the damage control machinery of the NPP try to deny it.

What actually makes it difficult for Nana Addo to replicate the all-inclusive attitude of former Prez Kuffour and eschew all personal differences between himself and the others within the NPP.

Unless that is done then he should be considering 2016 general elections as an embarrassing retirement package waiting for him.

President Kufour who happened to be the only person from the Danquah Busiah Dommo tradition to have won elections twice since our transition to multi- party democracy went beyond the core members of NPP and won the hearts of other opposition parties to secure his victory in 2000 general election. But in the case of Akuffo Addo even core members of the party are rather being blown away due to what l described as "character incompatibility."

The elders in the NPP, a party which happens to be the obvious choice of my father no matter how irresponsible they conduct themselves must try and forge unity among the two factions and present the party as a credible alternative ready to rule.

Akuffo Addo must be told if necessary to repackage himself as a unifier and a type that that integrates not disintegrate. The earlier he realised partisan politics is all about numbers not academic qualifications of individuals or their social status the better, so at least we may be spared of the usual mantra of stolen verdict, a desperate attempt to remain significant in the minds of voters by presenting the NPP as usual victim of electoral robbery.

How do you expect a decerning Ghanaian voter to vote for a party that lack the requisite leadership capacity to do internal organisation? Building militia such as the invincible forces, the Kandaha and the Bolga Bull Dogs often seen wielding "all die, be die" brand cutlasses, clubs etc to unleash terror on it's members perceived to be anti Akuffo Addo does the make the npp a choice for the peace loving Ghanaian. Worse of it all is invectives ( insults) which has become a hallmark and ethnocentrism.

Akuffo Addo must reform the NPP. Fortunately, there is still time to make amends. The NPP's leadership must do intellectual reflection to be able to ascertain fairly what actually went wrong and begin to build bridges for victory instead of propagating a rather low intellectual notion that the current economic challenges which the President is trying his best to fix is a sure recipe for victory come 2016 for the NPP.

The NPP must wake up from sleep and join the bus of reality for the sake of our democracy and our development as a nation. Ghana deserve a responsible opposition party to keep government on it toes to influence development. The Bible continues to be my witness.

From Ivan Kyei Innocent/0206262717 /nanakyei81@gmail.com