Thursday,
March 13, 2014
Folks, over the years, I have
been insistent that the NPP cannot do without the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi. I
did say in many opinion pieces that the NPP
is so grafted to Manhyia that it cannot claim to be itself, meaning that
the real forces behind it can be traced to Manhyia.
I have also made it clear that
the NPP was incubated in the Danquah Busia Club (DBC) that the late
Attakora-Gyimah of Nkukuo-Buoho, near Offinso (and a veteran journalist
operating the Ashanti Pioneer newspaper in Kumasi) formed to bring together all
the adherents of the Danquah-Busia political tradition.
I knew them in all that they were
doing before the Rawlings PNDC government lifted the ban on partisan politics
on May 18, 1992, when the DBC metamorphosed into the NPP with a history closely
tied to Manhyia.
Friends, there is a lot that we
don't talk about; but when push comes to shove, we will.
I haven't been bothered by vain
threats from those thinking that by making connections between the NPP and
Manhyia, I have sought to undermine the Asantehene.
I remember very well when I wrote
an article discussing why the NPP would demonstrate in Kumasi after rejecting
the outcome of Election 2012 and want to deliver its petition to the
Asantehene.
In that opinion piece, I
rightfully traced the political dynamics influencing the NPP’s manouevres to
the Manhyia connection and concluded that the NPP couldn't do without the
nourishment given it by Manhyia.
Many pro-NPP elements all over
the world took me to task, some condemning me for associating Manhyia with the
NPP, and others threatening to "assassinate" me for undermining
Manhyia.
A group of Asante intellectuals
even threatened to make representations to my employers to dismiss me for
fanning anti-Asantehene sentiments. Many other threats were issued.
Some of those elements even wrote
articles to deny that Manhyia had anything to do with the political tradition
of the NPP, calling me all sorts of names. I laughed them to scorn because I
knew the solid ground of truth on which I stood.
Lo and behold!! The truth that I
have stood on all along in examining the kind of politics that the NPP does has
just been told and confirmed by none other than the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei
Tutu II, himself:
“The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei
Tutu II, has admonished supporters of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP)
to make integrity and truth the guiding principles in the conduct of party
activities.
Asantehene’s call came after he
had established the historical background of the formation of the National
Liberation Party (NLP), from whose tradition and principles the NPP finds its
roots.
According to him, the NLP, which
later became the United Party and now the NPP, was formed in the palace of the
then Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu I, to fight for the right of cocoa farmers
against the unfair treatment by Ghana’s first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.
In a speech broadcast live on
NEAT 100.9, the Asantehene said the largest opposition party has its umbilical
cord at the Manhyia Palace, which stands for truth; so, therefore, the NPP must
endeavor to be truthful at all times.
He was speaking through the
Offinsohene, Nana Wiafe Akenten III.
He made this appeal after Nana
Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo, flagbearer of the NPP in the 2012 general elections,
paid a courtesy call on the Asantehene at Manhyia.”
And interestingly, the thrust of
the Otumfuo’s message is truth telling. As he admonished the NPP members,
telling the truth would gel with what Manhyia stands for and why it nurtured
the precursor of the NPP.
I am not sure whether the Otumfuo
intended to say that that precursor was the National Liberation Movement (NLM)
and not the National Liberation Party (NLP) that the Offinsohene mentioned. My
study of Ghanaian history hasn’t reve3aled to me that there was an NLP among
the political forces operating in pre-independence or post-independence Ghana.
I know of the NLM, ably led by
the Asantehene’s Chief Linguist (Baffour Akoto), and the so-called “Action
Troopers” whose notoriety for mayhem and deadly intents, purposes, and acts
against pro-Nkrumahists have outlived them.
That the NPP reflects such
characteristic determination in contemporary Ghanaian politics is not strange.
Folks, I take this opportunity to
re-assure all those misreading my opinion pieces and targeting me for nothing
but their misplaced venom that I don't write out of spite. I do so, based on my
assessment of issues, rooted in history, and justified by the current dynamics
of our Ghanaian politics.
If I don't have facts readily
available, I make educated guesses to support my claims. I will continue to do
so, unfazed by empty threats and useless aggression.
At least, at this stage, I feel
really happy that Otumfuo has vindicated me that the Manhyia Palace is the
livewire, the epicentre, the lifeblood, and the real birthplace of all that
constitutes the NPP in our time. Thank you, Otumfuo for saying it as it should
be said.
Now, to those unenlightened
aggressive NPP elements who refuse to be told the truth about their own
political origin and inclination and the history behind the cabal that they
support, here is an opportunity to re-educate yourselves.
Learn from the Otumfuo and let
the truth he tells you set you free!!
I shall return…
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E-mail:
mjbokor@yahoo.com
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me on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/mjkbokor to continue the conversation.
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