Ex-President Kufuor foretold
Akufo Addo’s election defeats
NPP Defied
My Advice
-In Electing a Winnable
&Worthy Candidate
Seven years after the New Patriotic Party lost power to the National Democratic Congress in the 2008 elections, it has now emerged that ‘kingmakers’ of the NPP ignored admonitions and sound advice from the then out-going President, Mr. Kufuor, on how to win and maintain power.
Intelligence report gathered by The aL-hAJJ indicates that the former President has been complaining to close associates about how NPP kingpins ignored his sound advice ahead of the party’s 2007 primaries on the choice of flag bearer for the 2008 elections.
Mr Kufuor is said to be brooding over the political fortunes of the NPP after the 2008 elections as a result of which he recently confided in a top official of his administration that when he admonished his party folks on the choice of his successor, most of them took it as a subtle campaign for Alan Kyerematen.
“If the party had paid heed to the wisdom underpinning my admonition, NPP would have remained in power since 2008,” Kufuor recently told a confident (name withheld).
To confirm what the former President has been telling closed associates, a four minute, 49 seconds of an over an hour video tape obtained by The aL-hAJJ captured former President Kufuor warning NPP chieftains to elect a flag bearer who is not just popular and liked by NPP party members, but a person who appeals to the generality of Ghanaians.
Like a Prophet, the only successful leader of the Danquah-Busia-Dombo tradition warned that the NPP risk losing the 2008 if they elect a violent and divisive person who would not be adored by all Ghanaians.
Former president Kufuor, speaking to party folks ahead of the NPP primaries to elect his successor for the 2008 elections, charged them “…we are going to challenge our opponents for the next 50 (percent) but what we have to be careful about is that even as we search for a successor, we must look for somebody who will continue to hold the party together. We mustn’t go in for somebody who will divide us because we by ourselves alone cannot get the votes we need. All the true NPP people will vote for us but then I don’t think we will make 50 percent plus one vote to win at one touch. This is why we need to stay together so that we will be attractive to draw other people to join us to go beyond the absolute majority. So anybody who is always full of tension and fighting and that sought of thing we have to be careful about him. The party must stay together.”
In the face of the then President’s wise counseling, delegates of the NPP went on to elect then Foreign Affairs Minister and MP for Abuakwa South, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo ahead of 15 other candidates as its 2008 flag bearer, but eventually lost to his schoolmate, the late Prof John Evans Atta Mills, in the national elections.
After losing the 2008 elections, the NPP again shrugged off Mr Kufuor’s advice and gave Nana Akufo-Addo (who, many Ghanaians see as a warmonger) another opportunity to lead the party into the 2012 elections, which he again lost to President John Dramani Mahama.
He has since been given a third and probably, his last to lead the NPP’s battle against a relatively young President Mahama in the 2016 elections at which time Akufo Addo would be near his 73rd birthday.
Allies of Nana Akufo-Addo like his nephew, Gabby Asare Otchere Darko and Spokesperson, Mustapha Hamid, have blamed the former Abuakwa South legislator’s twice defeat on former President Kufuor, KwdwoMpiani, Alan Kyeremanten and other NPP kingpins regarded as anti-Akufo-Addo elements.
However, political analyst including pollster Ben Ephson, have confirmed Mr Kufuor’s verdict on the choice of flag bearer for the NPP, by saying Nana Akufo-Addo is only popular and liked my majority of NPP folks but not generality of Ghanaians.
Nana Akufo-Addo has not only succeeded in keeping the NPP in opposition after two presidential elections, the party is divided under his stewardship, a development Mr Kufuor warned his party folks against.
Mr Kufour added “…Then when we’ve seen such a person we must also look and see when we present this person to the rest of the country, all of Ghana, he must be the type most people will look and say this man when we sleep on him, we will sleep; he is a good person, we will work with him.”
On how to assess possible candidates for flag bearer, the former President advised “…listen, ask questions, see how their minds work, look at their nature and see whether the party, he will lead us to all together like one family and then after the party, the nation…the majority of the nation will accept this person for leader. The third thing, you must again look for whether when the power is given to this person to lead us, he is the type with the experience, and with all due respect, wisdom to be able to keep the country united to secure the nation to gain the respect of the forces, the military, the police, the chiefs, look out for that because we know the history.”
Read below Transcript of former President Kufuor’s statement
“…As I said, the national constitution provides for just two terms, you win one term like we won 2000, you stay in power for four years then you have to go back to the people if the people give chance as president, you come in for another four years; 2008 you are finish…the state will thank you and say sit aside, just go off the field and allow for another person to come in. So the party along this year will have to find a successor to Kufuor to use as candidate but I’m telling you already…because of the good works and good will we have built, we have already about 50 percent of the vote we need to go back to power. We’ve put it aside. We are going to challenge ouropponents for the next 50 but what we have to be careful about is that even as we search for a successor, we must look for somebody who will continue to hold the party together. We mustn’t go in for somebody who will divide us because we by ourselves alone cannot get the votes we need. All the true NPP people will vote for us but then I don’t think we will make 50 percent plus one vote to win at onetouch. This is why we need to stay together so that we will be attractive to draw other people to join us to go beyond the absolute majority. So anybody whois always full of tension and fighting and that sought of thing we have to be careful about him. The party must stay together. Then when we’ve seen such a person we must also look and see when we present this person to the rest of the country, all of Ghana, he must be the type most people will look and say this man when we sleep on him, we will sleep; he is a good person, we will work with him. That is how to secure the majority. So among the candidates or aspirants coming, listen to everybody, please it is not the money they will bring around, if they call you and give you ten million and you think because of that you’re going…and when you want to catch a chicken, what do you do? You give it a corn but then that corn might lead to its death so it is not about the money, listen, ask questions, see how their minds work, look at their nature and see whether the party, he will lead us to all together like one family and then after the party, thenation…the majority of the nation will accept this person for leader. The third thing, you must again look for whether when the power is given to this person to lead us, he is the type with the experience, and with all due respect, wisdom to be able to keep the country united to secure the nation to gain the respect of the forces, the military, the police, the chiefs, look out for that because we know the history. Some people have been given power only to lose it just like that. We don’t want that. With us, when the power is given to us, we must hold it and continue it till the last day and then as the people to continue to continue to vote us to stay in power. So when you are given…check this person that is asking; he may be a nice person, we may like him even perhaps most of the people may like him but is he the type that can hold the power when it comes to us? That is another question. It is a difficult test but then governing is difficult but fortunately for us now the party has the tradition; we know opposition and we know government, we are matured, our men and women I believe are wise and Ghanaians trust us so we must go the hard way to say this because I too I have interest in who will succeed me. I want a man who will take the power so I can go into retirement, resting in dignity, I can sleep and enjoy. So when I talk like this some people say aaaah you want to impose, it’s not that. I’m entitled to want a good person to succeed me”.
