John Dramani Mahama is the immediate past president of Ghana
Use of hyperboles, euphemisms,chiasmus, assonance,puns,personifications,oxymorons etc isn't a new phenomenon in political speeches,great leaders past and present use them to convey their message to suit the occasion the find themselves.The former President recently met his appointees and addressing them,he figuratively used " lame horse " to represent the NDC in its current situation and this simple statement which ironically received the loudest of applauses has been given different interpretations by people outside and inside his party.
I am not interested in the usual propaganda twist put on the statement by people outside his party but the deliberate attempts by some of his own party members to dance around this obvious truth all because of the soon to come internal contests.I have made my position clear on the party's internal competition going forward and will never shift from that position.
The party must offer same space and opportunity to all who will come out to contest for the position ( flagbearer) any attempt to impose a candidate on the party will only create unnecessary problems for whoever they impose on the party.
That notwithstanding, if after the Botchway committee's work,the party arrives on any well accepted decision, we shall all adhere to that wholeheartedly. In a formidable political organisation as the NDC, these intraparty competitions and subtle attacks must be expected how to handle such developments to avoid infliction of bruises must be the concern of all.
But internal competition shouldn't be seen as our cocoa season where miscreants will take advantage of the environment to make millions of cedis to the detriment of the party and it is the critical angle we must watch especially, those yearning genuinely to have their party back to power.The horse is really sick and his sickness was caused by actions and in actions of all that is how we must take it.
The former President courageously carried the cross on his shoulders to help end the mudslinging and perpetual blame game and the new fashion of sitting on Radio and on Television to say things which only demoralise the rank and file.What we must know is that a jockey may win races with a sick horse unknown to him.The sickness may not be that serious so will run with it till it breaks down finally. Who said the Npp is sitting on a sickness free horse,the horse will soon be diagnosed that is when we shall see the strength of their horse and it so with all organisations political and non political.
The first and major factor which confirms a leader's position is the force of party loyalty. The ruling party want their leader to be successful.If he does well,if his methods and policies are acclaimed ,they also share in the benefit.
The assurance we give to the public is that our party will govern well and meet the public's desire and the more this happens,the better the people are pleased.I don't think our desires and crave for our preferred choices to lead the NDC must suddenly blind us from seeing what we were able to bequeathed to Ghanaians the last four years neither must it blind us from seeing the sacrifices made by the person whose leadership skills ensured what we all courageously trumpeted in our constituencies, districts,work places etc.
The infrastructure the last administration implemented are all around,Ghanaians see them everyday and sophisticated as they've become, will soon make their informed decisions based on their inward calculations and assessments. We all played our part to ensure victory, I saw many of the names coming up as potential aspirants during the campaign and saw how they also contributed their quota in various forms.I saw unity and team work wherever we went though usual with all human institutions you can't have all thinking same line always.
The President played his part as the leader,I saw his almost falling eyes in the mornings because of lack of enough sleep,I saw him tilt left,right,back and front by charged supporters,I saw him looking very tired,at Wenchi I almost wept when I saw him struggle to escape serious suffocation as a result of mobbing,he almost fell flat at Axim when his fans defied security checks to pull his hand to their direction.
I saw him speak as late as 5:30 am and the strength he displayed.I saw his humility wherever he went and his down to earth posturing,I saw him constantly admonishing some MPs never to abandon their constituencies and how calmly furious he becomes whenever comrades narrated their ordeal to him about how they've been abandoned by some of our bigwigs.
I saw how he accommodated party faithfuls at his official residence after campaign and interestingly, at times we move back to the next campaign spot without laying our heads for a second rest.I saw how committed some of our regional, constituency and district leaders were, the selflessness they exhibited,I saw how our friends on social media and our voluntary groups worked.Based on what I have enumerated, I don't think we will be treating ourselves fairly if we rubbish our own efforts because of our internal competition or because we lost an election to a party that presented wicked lies to the electorates. We must rather walk chest high on the streets of Ghana for being vindicated few months in opposition
WHY WE MUST BE CAREFUL
In considering the nature of party loyalty, it is important to set aside that it depends in any significant way on coercion or rewards or that it is the product of the alleged spineless of executives or bigwigs.The lame horse will break down again in the middle of the race if after it is healed, you feed it with food the medical officer had warned you never to feed it with.If apathy contributed to the party's defeat, then we must be careful we don't create another form of apathy through our actions and pronouncements.
The NDC is a Congress we have no core pillar apart from our common virtues to revolve around,we come from different stables and this situation makes our situation unique.Nothing stops people from projecting their preferred candidates but let us avoid this primitive politicking of churning out lies about others just to paint them black.
The Npp still hang around the achievements of Kufour and whoever emerges the NDC'S flagbearer can never win power without hanging around the achievements of the exited administration and to a large extent, the achievements of Jerry Rawlings and Mills.What is happening in the country today, statements coming from the clergy, the United Nations, citizens, CSOs, vindicate the exited administration something all supporters of the NDC must be proud of.The immediate comparison the ordinary Ghanaian will make in the circumstances he finds himself, will be comparing what he saw few months ago under Mahama vis-à-vis what he is witnessing under this administration.
Losing an election to a party that won power through lies and fabrications doesn't make the NDC a non performer.
The young comrades must calmly read between the lines and make well tailored decisions. Experimentation is a common practice among the youth but you need the vehicle to travel on.Never allow people who see this unfortunate situation as pay back time to confuse you with mischievous and unscientific analogies.
