Wednesday,
August 15, 2012
As the electioneering campaigns for
Election 2012 heat up, we don’t expect to see anything remarkably different
from the strategies used by the functionaries of the various parties,
especially the NPP that is hell-bent on undercutting the NDC as a means to
regain political power.
Press conferences will continue
to be the most appealing mechanism, especially to those I characterize as
arm-chair critics of the incumbent administration. The NPP held one yesterday
at which its Chairman, Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, set the tone on personal attacks.
His dismissal of President Mahama
and his Vice (K.B. Amissah-Arthur) as “spare tyres” that needed to be changed more
than gave me a sneak peek into what the NPP has up its sleeves. Of course, that
strategy of name-calling is in consonance with the NPP’s agenda of painting the
new leadership of the NDC government black. But these pronouncements seem to be
made without any reality check being done first to ascertain their value.
Added to that is the fundamental
motivation for choosing that line of politicking. In Obetsebi-Lamptey’s words, “John Mahama led the Economic Management
Team with now Vice President, Amissah-Arthur in charge of monetary policy as
governor of the Bank of Ghana; the same team that failed to deliver on the most
important thing in our lives, the economy, is the same team that is in charge
now” (Myjoyonline, 8/15/2012).
The
NPP Chairman said President Mahama and Vice-President Amissah-Arthur are
responsible for the economic hardship that Ghanaians are suffering.
In
effect, they are the self-same government functionaries who shouldn’t be
retained in office at Election 2012. The clear impression, then, is that both Mahama
and Amissah-Arthur are not “new faces” and have nothing new to offer Ghanaians.
Definitely,
this is the pivot for the NPP’s campaigns. But it is a pivot without a firm
foundation in reality. It is a political campaign strategy that is nothing but demonstrable
nonsense. I take up these issues for further explication.
Talk
about “old faces” and skepticism or cynicism against their ability to deliver
the goods and you will flinch at the reality in the NPP’s own camp. Let’s face
that reality.
For
how long has the NPP’s Akufo-Addo not been parading the political landscape,
participating in governance, yet finding it difficult to win the hearts of the
Ghanaian electorate?
Yet
another issue. What did Akufo-Addo do after leaving the Kufuor government to suggest
that he has added value to himself and is worth regarding as an efficient
administrator? Has he learnt any useful lesson to put him ahead of the curb?
Not at all. So, what is new about him to warrant his quest to be invested as
Ghana’s President?
Worse
still, the Northern Ghana card being played in the choice of Bawumia as
Akufo-Addo’s running mate has already lost its value. Any hint that he is a
future President of Northern Ghana extraction won’t wash with anybody from that
part of Ghana (or voters, generally). The truth is that the Northerners already
have one of their own (John Dramani Mahama) as the substantive President to be
proud of.
Should
they throw him away in anticipation of a Bawumia Presidency in a future that
nobody knows? A bird in hand will always be worth more than the millions flying
about in the bush. Our Northern Ghana compatriots won’t allow themselves to be
deceived, tricked into an illusion (as happened in the case of the former Vice
President, Aliu Mahama) now that they can identify with John Mahama.
The
NPP’s strategies are out of gear, thanks to the absence of President Mills. A
careful scrutiny of Akufo-Addo’s campaign efforts reveals nothing significantly
new that we didn’t see in 2008. Probably, the only new aspects are the two
versions of the erratic regional tours dubbed as “Listening Tour” and “Restoring
Hope” (or is it DOPE?). These two campaign stunts are nothing but an
adulterated version of the efficacious door-to-door approach used by
ex-President Mills for Election 2008, which the NPP derided but is now using as
its main clout. Talk about political dogs returning to their own vomit!
The
only noticeable difference between what is happening at hustings for Election
2012 and what made him flop in 2008 is the absence of the circus element in the
form of carnivals and the kangaroo dance. But wait a minute.
The
real moment to usher in the polls is still a few months off. Who knows what
will happen before then to make his efforts a direct replica of the 2008 one?
Maybe, on this occasion, he will push the circus a notch higher to introduce a “camel
dance” as the attraction. And we know how a camel behaves, especially after a
good meal. What a sight that will be for sore eyes!
Then
again, trust an NPP that is bereft of sound arguments for counteracting those
of its opponents to descend into the gutter all the more and indulge in
mud-slinging, which is exactly what Obetsebi-Lamptey’s pronouncements at the
press conference confirmed. Personalizing matters instead of conducting an
issues-based campaign is not only anachronistic but it is also the easiest way
to electoral humiliation again.
The
fact is that when it comes to personal character, Akufo-Addo has more troubling
questions to answer than President Mahama and his Vice who have now become the
bull’s eye for the NPP in lieu of ex-President Mills.
Without
seeking to re-open wounds that seem to be healing for Akufo-Addo, I submit that
those among the electorate who know him for who/what he is won’t be persuaded
by any publicity stunt that he is “cleaner” than Mahama or Amissah-Arthur.
Indeed,
citing the late Madam Hawa Yakubu Ogede’s own testimony about Mahama’s
character traits as an example, we can conclude that Mahama is poles away from
Akufo-Addo. Although an avowed opponent of the NDC prior to her death, Madam
Yakubu Ogede had stated clearly that she would vote for the NDC if Mahama were
chosen as the party’s flagbearer for the 2004 elections.
Generally
regarded as affable, Mahama hasn’t changed negatively ever since to repel
anybody nor does he have any cloud of suspicion hanging over his head. He has
no skeleton in his cupboard nor is he running away from anything out there in
the public domain.
Can
we say so about Akufo-Addo? Don’t go too far. Need I re-state some of the
issues that have made him unappealing? Nana Asante Bediatuo, where are you?
Damaging
perceptions of him as arrogant, immoral, self-conceited and—the most troubling
of all—narcotic drug use/abuse have combined to dent his public image. No
amount of threats of legal action or damage control in media publications have solved
the problem for him to date.
Has
Akufo-Addo done anything personally to clear his name as one would expect of a
politician who knows what awaits him should he be invested with the responsibility
as the country’s President? For him, it’s a matter of “ehuro a, ebe dwo” (the
steam will soon die down). It won’t.
Beyond
such concerns lies Akufo-Addo’s unimpressive performance as a Cabinet Minister
in the Kufuor government. But for his incompetence as the Minister of Justice
and Attorney-General, there wouldn’t have been the need for Kufuor to corrupt
the Judiciary by “packing” the Supreme Court in the matter concerning Tsatsu
Tsikata and the Fast Track Courts.
Then
again, his unimpressive performance at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs left
behind a sour and dour impression about his administrative acumen. We have
heard of diplomatic passports under lock and key in his office getting missing.
Furthermore, he couldn’t handle the case involving the sadistic murder of 44
Ghanaians by the Gambian authorities even though it fell within his purview.
Do
all these gargantuan failures redound to Akufo-Addo’s image for which he must
be preferred as a better administrator and solver of our national problems?
Where is the evidence that he has retooled himself to deserve what he is
petulantly criss-crossing the country for? Too many hot potatoes already!
He
may have some positive qualities, being portrayed as a human rights
activist—which itself is questionable, though. Glib of tongue he may be, but
who benefits from such a gift of the garb when all it leads to is the making of
weird promises (theories as against practical action to solve existential
problems)?
Another
element is the barrage of promises that he and his running mate are effusively
making wherever they go (free education up to the secondary level, a Zongo
development fund, etc.).
Take
away these vain promises and name calling tactics and the NPP’s political house
of cards collapses. So, what is the justification for Obetsebi-Lamptey’s
insinuations against President Mahama and his Vice as if the NPP has an
entirely new brand of “tyres” on which to drive Ghana out of the woods?
Added
to all these liabilities is the fact that those hanging around Akufo-Addo,
making ugly noises to catch his eyes as future appointees in a government under
him (May God forbid outright, though!) are the same worn-out braggarts who
haven’t given any convincing account of themselves as successful managers of
any enterprise. Those among them being deceived by their youthful exuberance
won’t turn anybody’s crank to Akufo-Addo’s advantage.
In fine, these NPP functionaries
are not helping their party’s cause by hiding behind the wall of facts, which
is their undoing, because the facts will continue to betray them. But then, if
they refuse to do otherwise and lose the elections, they shouldn’t attempt
ruffling feathers. Steel will cut steel, irrespective of their “all-die-be-die”
cowardly posturing.
The conclusion is
already clear: Ghanaians will certainly not want to jump from a manageable
frying pan into an uncontrollable fire at the prompting of a desperate NPP!!
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