By Kofi Ata, Cambridge, UK
When Kennedy Agyapong declared war and made his incitement to ethnic hatred on radio on Friday April 13, 2012 for which he was subsequently arrested and charged for genocide, terrorism and treason, I posted four articles on Ghanaweb as follows: “Will Kennedy Agyapong’s Incitement to Ethnic Hatred Cost Nana Akufo-Addo the Presidency?” (on April 1), 2012); “Agyapong’s Genocide and Terrorism Charges: Bizarre or Ludicrous?” (on April 24, 2012); “Terrorism Charges Against Agyapong, Guilty or Not Guilty?” (on April 27, 2012) and “Agyapong’s Incitement to Ethnic Hatred, Guilty or Not Guilty” (on May 1, 2012). Following Kennedy Agyapong’s recent accusation that the NPP has abandoned him to his fate and that the party is not worth dying for, I will like to recall the first article on April 13, 2012 as part of this article, the objective of which is to analyse his betrayal claim against the NPP.
In my article of April 18, 2012, I posited that, NPP’s response to Agypong’s incitement to ethnic hatred could cause Nana Addo the Presidency in December 2012. I also provided the basis of my conclusion, though unscientific, that Greater Accra region is one of the must win regions for Nana Ado to lay claim to the Presidency in addition to Asante and Eastern regions. Since Agyapong ethnic incitement was against Gas and Ewes, NPP and Nana Addo were most likely to lose some votes from the region as a direct consequence of Agyapong’s obnoxious behaviour and the way the party handled or mishandled the matter. For example, NPP’s veiled statement disassociating the party from what they described as intemperate language and failure to condemn him, coupled with the massive support by party supporters and the hero’s welcome accorded him on his release.
Despite the massive support by the party die hard and fanatical supporters and the refusal of the party bigwigs to condemn his action, it is unbelievable that within two months, Kennedy Agyapong has gone full circled to accuse the party of betrayal. After all, what is required now is for Kennedy Agyapong to engage good Attorneys to defend him in court. He is a wealthy man, a dollar millionaire and therefore has the means to hire and engage the services of the best and most expensive Attorneys in Ghana. So what is he crying about and what for?
If I were a member of the NPP, I would consider Kennedy Agyapong to be the most ungrateful person who has turned round to stab the party in the back, after all what was done to secure his release from detention after his irresponsible and illegal actions. But I am not a member of any political party in Ghana and that is why I will not be fooled by Agyapong’s “crying wolf” or “crocodile tears”.
Both Kennedy Agyapong and the NPP should not think that they are too clever to fool Ghanaians. They can fool some of the people some of the time but not all the people, all the time. Having analysed the accusation against NPP by Kennedy Agaypong and the party’s response so far, I have concluded that, the whole crocodile tears is part of a grand scheme by NPP to persuade voters that NPP has disowned their prodigal son who called for attacks on Gas and Ewes. This is a scheme to throw dust into the eyes of the public, particularly Ga voters. To me, this 419 scam was staged managed by the party with the active connivance of certain individuals, including the party leadership. Just consider the mild responses from those who were mentioned by Kennedy Agyapong as being behind his neglect by the party. They did not hit back with counter accusations at Kennedy Agyapong and the matter did not last long on the air waves and the median in general. That is damage limitation also staged managed.
I am even tempted to suspect that the NPP might have carried out a straw poll that might have indicated that the party’s support to the Dis(honourable) MP could hurt them at the December polls and therefore the urgency to do the u-turn to show that they have thrown the black sheep in their midst out like fish thrown out of the pond onto dry land and he is gasping for air on its own. It is also a desperate attempt on the party of Agaypong and the party to seek public sympathy for his pending trial, though personally, my view is that the trial will be another gargantuan failure similar to the Amina Mohammed “no case trial” and a waste of state resources and judicial time.
To say that Nana Akufo Addo and NPP are desperate for power is an understatement and they are prepared to do and undo anything and everything to achieve that elusive victory, including betraying their political dogma to win the Presidency in December 2012. One needs not look far for examples like the socialist oriented election promises (the free secondary education by the free marketeers and property owning party). The NPP would have looked ridiculous, inconsistent and confused had it been known that the party had abandoned Kennedy Agyapong to his own devices, so they come out with this half baked ploy to distract attention from their earlier support and failure to condemn him.
On face value, Kennedy Agyapong appears to be aggrieved by the so-called betrayal of the party financier but in reality, he is not only crying wolf and shedding crocodile tears but also a futile attempt to attract public sympathy. Above all, it is part of a scheme, conspired and hatched in collaboration and partnership for the benefit of both party and the accused. As to whether the Ghanaian voter will buy this toxic product is yet to be seen. Perhaps, December 2012 will be the best time to determine if this 419 scam will have victims and if any, on whose side.
Kofi Ata, Cambridge, UK
