Dear Nana,
Since we are in the yuletide, permit me to use this opportunity to wish you Merry Christmas and of course a prosperous New Year in my capacity as the Coordinator of the Diasporan Foot Soldiers (DFS)-The Netherlands Branch. You recently celebrated your birthday, and so we would like to add a happy birthday wish to you though belated. We are Foot Soldiers as well as a think tank of the great National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Diaspora. I therefore write to you in my capacity as the Coordinator and on behalf of the group-DFS.
On a more serious note, kindly allow us to register our profound gratitude to you as well as your dearest husband, and former President of the Republic of Ghana, H. E. Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings. If there is any couple in the nation today that deserves to be honored for service to mother Ghana, then you are second to none. In your individual capacities, the nation even owes you more. Incidentally, all manner of persons have been recognized for supposedly contributing to the development of mother Ghana, including buffoons, all under the auspices of H.E. John Agyekum Kuffuor. That is Ghana for you.
Nana the National Democratic Congress (NDC) which is the brain child of your ever charming husband, charismatic and undisputedly a born leader of our century, (needless to say he is a mentor to many and a focal point in Ghana’s history) does not deserve its current state of affairs. Well, those who want to debate who founded the party (NDC) can go on. But having founded the party of which you prominently played a key role with the 31st December Women’s Movement, including your determination to advocate for the rightful place of women in our nation, H. E. Jerry John Rawlings also won for the party two successive elections. What a combination of efforts from you both! William Arthur Ward once said, “The mediocre teacher tells, the good teacher explains, the superior teacher demonstrates, but the great teacher inspires”. It was this inspiration of the Founder that saw us back to office in 2008 coupled with his quest for the truth and justice in all facets of our society, which others cannot contest.
Surprisingly, after winning the 2008 elections, the Law Professor, H. E. John Evans Atta Mills and his government seemed to have either decided to chart a new course from what we all know as per our manifesto, the values and principles of our party as well as our history, or we got it all wrong from the beginning but pretended, with the hope that things will change for the better sooner than later. As Ronald Reagan once said, “Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don’t interfere as long as the policy you have decided upon is being carried out”. But can we say this is the case in the party? Can we say the NDC party is in office when someone in government is on record as having said to the effect that others can only be appointed after he is dead?
Are some too drunk with power that they have lost that simplicity and moderation in the use of power as was exhibited under H. E. Jerry John Rawlings.? Have we sold the party to some people already? Did I hear some even suggest that there are no Foot Soldiers in the National Democratic Congress? Finally is President Mills for or against the party?
Nana, this current ugly state of things in the party that unarguably gave birth to the government, smacks of betrayal and at best amounts to a coup and should be viewed as a message by a group currently in the Castle with some hidden motives. It is for this reason that we the DFS of the party NDC saw it necessary to petition H. E. President Mills about half a year ago through the Ambassador in The Netherlands, H. E. Mrs. Aanaa Anin. In our petition, we simply requested the President to ensure Unity in the party since the centre could not hold and is not holding anytime soon. Our observations as well as suggestions in ending the intra-party wrangling were all contained in the said petition and may have either been shelved far away from the President since some persons at the Castle are the ones seemingly calling the shots, or the President is bent on doing it his own way. We are yet to be told something concerning that petition anyway. Whichever way, we the Foot Soldiers of the party (especially we in the Diaspora ) think enough is enough and have therefore resolved to support you (Dr Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings) to contest the flagbearership of the party when the time comes, as stated in the party constitution. You cannot decide not to contest unless you don’t want the current quagmire in the party to change for the better.
Arnold Glasow says “one of the true tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency”. This we (DFS) find lacking in this government. Rather, what we see in abundance is the readiness of some overzealous appointees to shower insults and insinuate the Rawlings’ and also rubbish everything H. E. Jerry John Rawlings says only to go back and do exactly what he prescribes as solutions to problems and challenges in the system as a result of the kind of jaundiced politics the New Patriotic Party (NPP) took us through in the eight years of what can now be referred to the ‘era of property sharing democracy’.
You are more than qualified as per our national constitution and no one can dispute that. The several years of your gender activism in and out of the country, coupled with your experience as a former first lady makes it easier for you to take the party NDC and the country as a whole to another level in our political dispensation. If other women can head their respective countries even without the experiences you have been privileged to have, then it is only fair and proper that you go a step more to serve your people in that capacity as President. We believe you can, and you would be able to consolidate the gains we have made as a party and as a nation. We the Foot Soldiers would support your bid in rebuilding the party since everyone counts in the party should you decide to contest at the congress.
Nana, we have also observed with great interest the machinations by some persons in the Castle in favor of Professor Mills contrary to the tenets of our party constitution. Paradoxically, you are constantly asked to publicly comment on your intentions to run for the presidency come 2012. Why are you asked to comment when they should as well tell those scheming for the Professor that their actions contradict the very tenets of our constitution as far as the timing is concerned ? But if you may care to know, the several overt and covert calls by various groupings, opinion leaders as well as we the neglected foot soldiers, for you to lead the party in the next general elections points to the fact that the current leadership has failed to address some of the pertinent issues that Ghanaians (including the foot soldiers) considered before voting us back to power. In other words, the current situation where some government appointees are tight-lipped on very serious developments in the government is not for nothing. In private they will lament over the issues we all know about yet for fear that they could be fired, most of them have adopted the ‘wait and see’ strategy, whilst a few of them, have strategically turned their fire on you because you are the only force to reckon with under the circumstance. A cabinet reshuffle is even long overdue. The ‘Castle’ seems paranoid at this point and that even convinces most of us that you are the undisputed choice by all who perform the all important but routine function of campaigning at the grassroots (the Foot Soldiers). All we ask of you is to answer this call to lead the party come the 2012 elections and we will do our part as usual.
Nana, as we wait for you to decide, we wish to assure you of our unflinching support should you decide. “Great necessities call forth great leaders” says Abigail Adams. It is for this reason that we look forward to your acceptance to contesting the flagbearership of the party, and we hope you would consider the times we are in now as a party as well as the job ahead of us as a people. Once more Merry Christmas and a very prosperous New Year to you and your family. Long live NDC and long live the nation Ghana.
Sincerely yours,
JOHN VIANNEY
(Coordinator)
DFS-The Netherlands
jmvkuubaea@gmail.com 0031 (0) 68 50 30 20 4
