The unity walk that may keep NDC in opposition for Sixteen years

Ever since the NDC hierarchy decided to use a series of unity health walks with the view to diffusing the existential cleavage in their midst, every single unity health walk has rather meandered from one controversy to another.

The discerning Ghanaians who have been questioning the use of the unity health walk as a conflict resolution tool are absolutely right.

Some of us have been wondering how and why unity health walks can help bridge the deep cleavage which has unfortunately disintegrated the NDC Party.

Well, for the sake of balanced annotation, let us even agree that the unity health walk is novel, and not derivative. But the crucial question however is: how expedient and pragmatic is the supposedly novel idea?

Where is the evidence that the use of unity health walk, or assuming responsibility for inventing a supposedly bright idea from scratch, will be more pragmatic than ideas and data already developed by experts for resolving conflicts?

Obviously, we were deceived big time by the NDC faithful. This is because until their recent tug of war, we were made to believe that conflict is alien to the NDC Party.

Then the NDC leadership strangely turned around and informed discerning Ghanaians that they need a series of unity health walks to amend the deep seated conflict in their midst.

Bizarrely, they have been living in a denial all along. They concealed the pernicious conflict whilst in government.

Then the humiliating 2016 election defeat rekindled the deep seated conflict within their midst.

Even though the NDC stalwarts have decided to embark on a series of unity health walks with the view to bringing all the disengaged party members together, a few selfish individuals are rather marring the process by throwing their support behind one potential presidential candidate to the disgust of others.

Indeed, the infamous decision of a few Regional Chairman to declare their support for Ex-President Mahama cannot help to achieve the elusive unity.

The crucial question however is: is former President Mahama the only capable leader in the NDC Party?

I would, however, like to believe that the apparent idiosyncratic action taken by the ten Regional Chairmen will only deepen the existential cleavage in the party.

In fact, I will not be surprised a bit, if the teeming supporters of the other potential presidential aspirants revolt against their Regional Chairmen’s controversial Cantonments declaration.

To be quite honest, I am struggling to get my head around how and why any real patriot would seek the return of someone who disastrously collapsed the country’s economy to the detriment of the impoverished Ghanaians.

So the Mahama loyalists would want us to believe that every single Ghanaian was oblivious to the happenings in the country prior to the 2016 general elections?

The fact of the matter is that the diehard NDC supporters were living in a denial about the harsh economic conditions prior to the 2016 general elections.

Back then, the vast majority of Ghanaians struggled to make a living or eke an income. The dreadful errors in decision-making, the incompetence and the unbridled corruption culminated in untold economic hardships.

Given the massive economic meltdown under the erstwhile NDC administration, one cannot help, but to agree with those who insist that former President Mahama lacks effective leadership skills and cannot lead the nation again.

And given the circumstances, I would like to believe that it is going to be extremely difficult for the disengaged NDC Party supporters to forgive Ex-President Mahama over his catastrophic errors in judgement.

So it was somewhat out of order when the ten Regional NDC Chairmen recently convened at the Cantonments office of Ex-president Mahama and gleefully, albeit carelessly issued a statement which sought to beseech him (Mahama) to consider joining the flagbearership race for the 2020 election (See: NDC Regional Chairmen beg Mahama to lead the party in 2020 election; 3news.com/ghanaweb.com, 09/11/2017).

“[We have] called on HE John Dramani Mahama to consider the request of teeming supporters of the NDC and Ghanaians to lead the party to the 2020 General Elections”, the statement said.

To be quite honest, I do not want to accept that there are many Ghanaians who will jump up and down over the return of Ex-President Mahama, with the exception of a few NDC Party apparatchiks who probably benefited immensely from Mahama’s coarse administration.

Apparently, many NDC Party loyalists insist that Ex-President Mahama cannot win back the elusive power, and therefore must not bother to contest the flagbearership race for 2020 election.

The conflict will definitely deepen further if Mahama ignores the concerned brassbound party supporters and stages a comeback. Indeed, I could envision more voter apathy in 2020 should Mahama emerge as NDC’s next flagbearer.