Friday,
December 14, 2012
Now, to the main issues that I
consider as the real causes of the NPP’s defeat. The “Yen Akanfuo” label made
the NPP an anathema to those who felt slighted or endangered. It is one major
problem that the NPP failed to address, which was reflected in its winning again
only two of the regions as it did in the 2008 elections while President Mahama
was all over the regions, even garnering votes in the NPP’s strongholds. This
particular limited scope presented the NPP as a cabal for the Asante/Akyim
elements.
Although there is satisfaction
that the party increased its Parliamentary seats from four to 10 in the
Northern Region, it is no confirmation that the voters have ceased to regard
the NPP as “tribalistic” in scope, form, and function. No need to belabour this
point.
Another albatross which caused
Akufo-Addo’s defeat and will hang on the party for future elections is the failure
to use strategies other than personal attacks and vain promises. So satisfied
were the NPP organizers with that approach that when they added the fee-free
SHS promise to it, they thought they had sealed their success, especially in
the light of the so-called endorsement of that promise by diverse segments of
the society who created the misleading impression that the promise was the key
to unlock the floodgates to harvest votes for Akufo-Addo. Unwavering belief in
that tip took their attention away from the huge iceberg of mistrust, distrust,
and disdain lying beneath the surface.
As the situation would turn out
to be, though, everything that was coming from those purportedly supporting
that promise was a hoax. If it wasn’t, the votes would have flooded in from
parents and students. But they didn’t, apparently because the voters knew that
the demerits of that promise far outweighed any merit that might have prompted
Akufo-Addo to go on that wild goose chase.
Inability to assess issues beyond
their own self-serving perceptions was another factor. The NPP organizers
concentrated attention on inciting segments of the society against the NDC, as
was the case of Mensa Otabil and the Christian factor. The NPP organizer who
said he would be shocked if Christians voted for the NDC was just being petty,
and must have seen the harm only at the end of the elections. Recourse to
religious sentiments won’t win elections because the Ghanaian voters could sift
the chaff from the grain to know better than the NPP organizers did.
Many other factors could be cited
to account for the NPP’s fate, but I won’t bore anybody with them because the negative
backlash of the party’s own self-fulfilled prophecy has already taken the
center-stage in the aftermath of the elections. The ongoing protests and
threats to go to court to seek redress clearly explain the extent to which the
reality has sunk in. And it is a painful reminder not to count one’s chickens
before they are hatched.
As Akufo-Addo digs in and refuses
to concede defeat—while the international community continues to commend Ghana
for holding free, fair, and transparent general elections and to congratulate
President Mahama for being victorious—the NPP’s intransigence is leading it to
only one end, which is a gloomy future.
So far as the impact of this
agitation on the party is concerned, I am in no way deceived that not only will
the events characterizing the elections be difficult for the NPP to tackle, but
the post-election conduct of its leaders and followers will be difficult to
gloss over by the electorate in future elections. It is just like how people
easily recall the heady days of the “Mate Meho” debacle to make their political
decisions.
For the NPP to rebuild public
trust and claw back the goodwill that it is fast losing, it has only one course
of action: to go to the Supreme Court as it has threatened to do to seek
redress. Even then, if the decision goes against it—which I foresee already—it
will harm it all the more.
The repercussions may not be
tolerable. The NPP followers are likely to turn the dagger on their leaders for
hyping their expectations only to be faced with the difficult situation of
remaining in the opposition. They will call for the heads of their leaders,
especially that of Akufo-Addo.
For the sake of rebranding and
repositioning the party, immediate steps will need to be taken to inject new
blood into the party’s leadership. Akufo-Addo has reached a disastrous end of
his political career and must be relegated to the background. So also must Jake
Obetsebi-Lamptey and all those youthful elements more invested in causing
trouble than working for the good of the party.
The Anthony Karbos, Sammy Awukus,
John Jinapors, Kennedy Agyapongs, Lord Commeys, and many others whose
counter-productive manner of politicking has led the elephant further into the
thickest thickets of national politics should be set aside if the NPP wants to
make a good name for the future.
Even former President Kufuor shouldn’t
be spared. Had the NPP won the elections, he would have been proud and resolute
to declare himself a lucky man. Probably, the victory would have been dedicated
to him because December 8 was his birthday. But because the NPP lost the
elections, that day passed off without notice as such.
Kufuor expended energy but hurt
Akufo-Addo more than contributing anything meaningful to his worth. All the
unguarded utterances he made in the vain attempt to denigrate President Mahama
boomeranged because Ghanaians were quick to judge his own performance in power
to conclude that he was more corrupt and incompetent than those he was
accusing.
Ghanaians read deeper meanings to
his utterances and judged rightly who should be their leader. Kufuor might have
been stepping up his game to discount allegations of not helping Akufo-Addo’s
campaign efforts in 2008; but all that he did amounted to nothing productive.
He was a huge liability and will be again if used.
As to how they manage to come out
with a Presidential Candidate who is already not tainted with the “Yen Akanfuo”
stigma to make the difference in 2016, I have no idea. One thing I know for sure
is that the NPP has a Herculean task to reposition itself for its own good in
the future. If it wants to regain power, it will do more than what it did for
the 2012 elections. Who wants it back in power, though?
As its current leaders should
have known by now, the Ghanaian electorate are far wiser and more intelligent
than constructed and perceived by them. The fate suffered by them at the polls
could have been averted had they known how to use modern-day tactics to do
politics instead of relying on the anachronistic ones that won’t cut butter. I
hope they are now wise after the fact. This is where I pause with this
wisecrack: Counsel them; if they don’t take it, let experience teach them the
bitter lesson.
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