Thursday,
April 11, 2013
Election
2012 has indeed exposed the underbelly of the NPP. A careful analysis of the
situation reveals why the party’s leaders are so traumatized by their defeat
and are expending energy hyping the sentiments of their followers, all in a
vain attempt at forcing a river to flow upstream. I mock them.
They
may not be shouting their odious “All-die-be-die” mantra anymore but they are
finding it difficult to control the spirit behind that vain slogan. Hiding
behind a so-called legal smokescreen, they are doing things and making
inflammatory statements in pursuit of that agenda to make the country
ungovernable. Behind the mask is the man, not so?
As
part of their grand agenda, they have resorted to many rhetorical antics and theatricals
that are better appreciated for their comic relief than any meaningful impact that
they are meant to have on the political dynamics shaping our national life in
this post-Election 2012 season.
For
the records, let it be known that the rhetorical antics are manifesting at
several levels: “great expectations” and high
hopes for the outcome of the Supreme Court’s determination of their petition; recourse
to scare-mongering (hammering on coups d’état); and exploiting the strike actions by public sector
workers to sustain their anti-Mahama orchestrations.
To their dismay, though, the impending
“Thriller in Manila” legal bout between Justice Kpegah and Akufo-Addo is
threatening the stability of their own house of cards even as they dig in.
We
isolate some of their orchestrations issues for analysis to suggest that the
situation in the country isn’t novel or insurmountable, which is why their kind
of politics is anachronistic. Anybody seeking to take undue advantage of the
situation in the country for political leverage will be woefully disappointed
and punished if need be.
Scare-mongering tactics
To
ratchet up hope in their crestfallen followers, they have begun introducing new
angles, the most ridiculous one being the claim that a coup d’état is imminent.
When retired Captain Budu Koomson first made that pronouncement, we took him on
to discredit his claim.
Now,
Hayford Atta-Krufi, the Chairman of the UK/Ireland branch of the NPP, has reinforced
that scare-mongering. To him, “a coup d’état could be imminent in Ghana, if the
John Mahama-led NDC government does not take steps to reverse the harsh
conditions Ghanaians are going through.” (See http://politics.myjoyonline.com/pages/news/201304/104282.php)
Why is it that it is only these
NPP people who can see signs of an imminent coup d’état?
The desperation with which Atta-Krufi made this claim is
obviously pronounced, but he needn’t go far to know the history behind coups d’état
in Ghana. For his information, the cheapest coup was the one committed against
the Progress Party government by General Acheampong whom Busia had put in
charge of the military detachment at the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation because
of the paranoia that had gripped that government.
Under Kufuor, that coup mentality
resurfaced but he was wise enough to rein in his own paranoia, which might have
saved him from needless sleeplessness.
Let it be made known to Atta-Krufi
and all others in the NPP thinking like him and Captain Koomson that it will be
far easier for a military coup to be staged against an NPP government than it
would be against an NDC administration. Don’t ask me why.
That is why this recourse to
scare-mongering will not serve the NPP’s cause. They had better look for other
issues with which to do politics. I have said it already that the challenges
brought about by our democracy need to be tackled with democratic measures, not
a military coup.
If a military coup is the NPP’s
solution to these challenges, it will continue to deepen its woes. I am shocked
that those who claim to be adherents of liberal democracy can’t see anything
beyond their noses to know that a military coup is an anathema in a democracy.
Do these NPP people really know the ebb and flow of contemporary politics?
I pity them for still clinging on
to their time-worn “book politics”, which is why they will find it difficult to
understand why they lost Election 2012 and will lose the next one for as long
as they continue to live in a time warp.
Street Demonstrations
Their
strategy of going on street demonstrations in the country and outside aims at
painting the government black and creating the impression that Ghana is on a
slippery path of doom.
The pace-setting
one they held in Washington DC passed off as a mere irritant for all that it
turned out to be. No impact anywhere. So also are the rallies by the “Let My
Vote Count Alliance.”
Not
satisfied, they have moved their notoriety to London, where they intend to hold
a demonstration of so-called “Ghanaians in the Diaspora” in the Belgravia
Square in central London this Friday. These so-called “Ghanaians in the
Diaspora” are nothing but NPP elements who are the public face of the notoriety
that motivates their kind of politicking.
Their main reasons for the street
demonstration, as explained by Hayford Atta-Krufi, the Chairman of the
UK/Ireland branch of the NPP, are the “the unwarranted abuse of power and the
massive corruption involving government officials”. Are these so-called events
anything new in Ghanaian politics? Or are they occurring in Ghana only under
the reign of President Mahama?
On
the local scene, the NPP-oriented Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG) is
also desperately bulldozing its way through to confront the police for being
prevented from taking to the streets.
Obviously,
harping on the claim that “Ghanaians are going through too much hardship,”
these NPP elements see these street demonstrations as a weapon to use in their
anti-Mahama manouevres. No doubt, they want to create an atmosphere of tension
in the hope that they can cash in to implement the next phase of their agenda.
All
these intrigues are emerging just before April 16 when the Supreme Court begins
hearing their petition.
The Supreme Court’s Role
We
can tell from the NPP leaders’ publicizing the contents of their affidavits a
strong desire to create the impression that they are well poised to win the
case. This self-fulfilling prophecy is rooted in their selfsame mentality of
winning the elections “at all cost.” They approached Election 2012 with that
mentality and lost but won’t accept defeat.
Now
that the Supreme Court is set to begin hearing their petition, they have
resorted to making public utterances to the effect that theirs is a win-win
situation. It is a way to position themselves to confront the Supreme Court
when their balloons of self-confidence and misplaced optimism burst again into
smithereens of sharp disappointment.
That
is why they have already revved up their engines and are attacking the
Electoral Commission and its Chairman, Dr. Kwadwo Afari Gyan, declaring him as
having lost credibility and that Ghanaians don’t respect them anymore. Who told
them so?
Justice V.M.K. Dotse’s Mischief
To
worsen the matter, comments by Justice Dotse to create the impression that
Afari Gyan had something to hide, hence, his not showing up at the sittings of
the Supreme Court are feeding into the NPP’s politics of mischief. Justice
Dotse’s flippant statement in court, asking why Dr. Afari Gyan was not
appearing in court is politically tainted, and he is warned to keep his
political sentiments under wraps.
As
would be expected, Afari-Gyan stood his grounds to make it clear that he will
honour any invitation by the Justices of the Supreme Court if invited, describing
as frivolous claims that he has gone into hiding to avoid any humiliation in
court.
Indeed,
I was really thrilled by Afari Gyan’s repartee, telling Justice Dotse what he
needed to hear, which is that the Supreme Court chamber is not a cinema theatre
for him to be at to watch any show. He has better official assignments to do
than to idle about in the court room, watching the circus performance going on
there.
And
this retort hasn’t sat well with the NPP elements. In truth, Justice Dotse’s
comment was uncalled-for and a clear betrayal of his sense of judgement. No wonder,
he is still perceived as an NPP judge.
A
reasonable politically neutral judge won’t stoop so low as to make such a
pronouncement, especially when he knows that the EC’s lawyers are always in
court to represent the Commission and that the substantive case haven’t even
begun being heard to warrant the mandatory presence of Afari Gyan.
Why
didn’t he ask President Mahama why he hasn’t’ been attending the court proceedings?
I
salute Afari Gyan for telling Justice Dotse what he needed to hear and be
advised to behave professionally.
A
side issue that seems to be overshadowing this Supreme Court case comes up next
for attention.
Justice Kpegah versus Akufo-Addo
Meantime,
the suit filed by Justice Kpegah against Akufo-Addo has its own implications
for the legal and political dynamics involving the NPP.
To
the uninformed followers of Akufo-Addo, the under-currents may be too profound
for comprehension. But those who comprehend issues properly know why Akufo-Addo
himself has not been bold enough to react in any way.
In
his suit, Justice Kpegah has asked Akufo-Addo to do two things:
i.
To admit the fact that he is W.A.D Akufo-Addo—which
Akufo-Addo admitted in his response. We are yet to know where Justice Kpegah
wants to push him on that score; but quick inferences have it that there is
something afoot to pin Akufo-Addo down on his use of different names. That is
what we will wait for.
ii.
To admit the fact that his junior partner in the
Akufo-Addo-Prempeh law firm is not on the roll of lawyers in Ghana—which
Akufo-Addo didn’t respond to in his motion. None of the 23 points constituting his
defence mentions anything about that junior partner. We don’t know what Justice
Kpegah intends to do about this silence, but the fact is that Edmund Osei Tutu Prempeh
is not on the roll of lawyers (in good standing) of the Ghana Bar Association
and the General Legal Council.
Bearing
these facts in mind, we can tell that when the case begins being heard,
Akufo-Addo will be further pushed to the wall. His motion for the case to be
struck out is a clear attempt to run away from the reality that has so far
unsettled him, especially within the context of the affidavits in support from
the General Legal Council, signed by E. Bart-Plange Brew, to show that he had
lost his qualifying and enrolment certificates but couldn’t approach the
awarding institutions for a replacement. Why?
As
the different fronts open up, we can begin to see why the NPP followers will be
more desperate in their public posturing and pronouncements. So far, we have
heard some shifting perspectives to suggest that the Supreme Court will call
for a re-run of the Presidential elections and that considering the current
unfavourable labour front and grumblings in the country, they are optimistic
that the tide will favour Akufo-Addo.
Apparently,
they have forgotten that a re-run of the elections wasn’t one of the reliefs
sought by the NPP petitioners. So, will the Supreme Court take it upon itself to
give them what they haven’t asked for, assuming at all that the case is
determined in their favour?
I shall return…
·
E-mail:
mjbokor@yahoo.com
·
Join
me on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/mjkbokor
No comments:
Post a Comment