Wednesday,
August 20, 2014
Folks, in any human situation
where bad blood reigns, it takes only one word from a peace-maker to calm
nerves and build productive relationships. Such a peacemaker may be old or
young, well-endowed intellectually to dissect causes of the problems and find
solutions to them or be or naturally gifted with leadership skills to bring
heads together and not knock them against each other for personal advantage.
The NPP is at the moment in dire need of a unifier to prevent it from crossing
the Rubicon.
And none other than Akufo-Addo,
who is acclaimed by those endorsing him all over the place as their preferred
Presidential Candidate for Election 2016, comes to mind. What is he doing to
put his own house in order? Don’t tell me that unlike other political parties,
the NPP doesn’t have a founder or leader and that Akufo-Addo shouldn’t be the
one to tackle the challenges posed by the ongoing rumpus in the party.
He has issued a statement that
some have been quick to dismiss as either belated or ineffectual. (See: http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=322012&comment=0#com)
Others have read a deeper meaning into that statement to suggest that he is
being mischievous, accusing him as the force behind all that is happening. So,
is he really doing anything to improve matters?
No one needs any supernatural
instincts to know that from the way he is being uplifted all over the place by
the party’s functionaries, he is the de facto leader and is expected to know
how to calm nerves so his own party can provide the platform on which he will stand
in confidence to contest Election 2016. If he thinks otherwise, he will come
out none the wiser when the dust settles. Is he really aware that his own house
is burning and cannot stand to help him achieve his ambitions? What is he doing
about it apart from tele-guiding the campaign of calumny against those
challenging him for the flagbearer position?
He says he is looking up to the
Super Delegates’ Congress on August 31, which is itself endangered by the suits
being filed by aggrieved party members? What sort of leadership is he providing
to persuade Ghanaians that he can manage national affairs (given what is
happening in the NPP camp)?
The persistent rumpus in the party
seems to be worsening day-by-day, and it raises serious issues that must not be
glossed over. The hat occurred at the party’s headquarters on Tuesday is a
manifestation of the creepy internal politics going on. It will heighten the
tension and detract heavily from the party’s worth unless something happens to
calm nerves and restore sanity. This dog-eat-dog situation clearly works
against the party and challenges those who matter in it to use their natural
peace-building skills to advantage. Does the NPP have such people? I wonder.
Blaming the actions or utterances
of Kwabena Agyepong (General Secretary) and Paul
Afoko (National Chairman) as the immediate cause for the mayhem rocking
the party won’t solve any problem. It will rather expose the insidiousness that
characterizes the NPP’s brand of politics. That is why it is ridiculous for someone
like Dr. Richard Amoako Baah, a political science
lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology to question
the competence of Agyepong as if that is the main problem facing the NPP. Dr.
Baah’s charge is that Agyepong is "inexperienced" and does not appear
to "understand his job." Or that Agyepong has failed in his core duty
of uniting his own party. All too soon at post?
Accusing Agyepong and
Afoko of being supporters of Alan Kyerematen who are doing things to the
disadvantage of Akufo-Addo and seeking to turn them into the bull’s eye to be
targeted by the archers in the party will worsen the situation. Obviously, the
NPP is wobbling and needs more than a show of force to be restored to
stability. There is too much undercutting going on, too much head-butting going
on, which explains the scope of the current deplorable situation.
On that score, I side
with Nana Ohene Ntow, a former General Secretary of the NPP and now a
spokesperson for Alan Kyeremanten, who is said to feel very sad for NPP. “I do not see how if there are issues and the party
chairman or general secretary decide to address a press conference then that
press conference would be disrupted by armed gangsters and hoodlums. I think it
is a very shameful day for our party," he added.
He is convinced that the mayhem was premeditated and suspects that
some people might have been hired by some party leaders to cause confusion. He alleged that the perpetrators were influenced by
very well-known people in the party and called for through investigation into
the mishap and charged the party leadership to investigate the matter
and get to the bottom of the issue.
On
his part, Kofi Adams, a Deputy General Secretary of the NDC, has described the
NPP as a totally confused party, which does not know what it is about, more so
for alleging that the mayhem was caused by hirelings of the NDC.
Although
the immediate cause of the mayhem can be traced to the directive by Agyepong
for Perry Okudzeto, the Acting Director of Communications, to proceed on leave,
there is more to the matter. The same approach was used against Opare
Hammond (former Director of Finance and Administration)
who has now strongly come out to describe the party Chairman and General
Secretary as “empty barrels” for alleging that he misappropriated funds while
in office.
Indeed,
Agyepong and Afoko are on a mission to rebuild the operational base of the NPP
but are hitting the brick-wall all too soon because they seem not to be on the
same wavelength with the “forces beyond their control” in the party; hence
their being bad-mouthed left and right. But what we see today is nothing new in
the NPP cabal. There is much to prove that the NPP has been a divided house
over the years that none in positions of trust could put together. No unifier
to do the job!!
That
is why I consider it a clear instance of plain dishonesty for someone like
Prof. Mike Ocquaye to say that the NPP isn’t facing any turmoil and remains
united. What is unfolding indicates otherwise. Why is it difficult for
politicians of his sort to tell the truth? Instead of evading the facts of
reality, I expect people like him to say it as it is and seek ways to solve the
problems that are gradually and steadily pushing the party to the edge of the
precipice. It faces an imminent implosion, especially if the opponents of
Agyepong and Afoko take matters into their hands to frustrate them or even
attempt removing them from office per force. Are these the liberal democrats
justifying their property-owning democracy with acts and not mere
self-gratifying boasts?
Threats
to remove Agyepong and Afoko from office speak volumes. Were they not voted for
at the appropriate forum convened by the party? Did they not contest their
positions with others? What qualities did the NPP delegates see in them to
warrant their being voted for overwhelmingly to remove the “old” executive
officers from office? And to cap it all, was Agyepong not one of the aspirants
for the flagbearer position for the 2008 elections? Is it now that those
undermining him know of his inadequacies as an administrator?
The
future of the NPP lies in the hands of those in charge of its affairs at the
various levels. Now that the cracks are emerging, it will take someone with
good leadership skills to prevent an implosion.
From
the widespread endorsement that those who matter in the party (MPs, regional
and constituency executive officers, especially) are giving Akufo-Addo to
create the impression that his choice to lead the party again is a
Non-negotiable fait accompli, one expects that he will rise to the occasion to
calm nerves and prove that he can unify the party. But nothing has come from
him to that effect.
Instead,
he is gallivanting about and relishing the show of support being given him
wherever he goes. Incidentally, this open show of support is a major cause of
the friction in the party, apparently because the 6 other contestants feel
aggrieved that although that open declaration of support for Akufo-Addo
breaches the party’s constitution, nothing is being done by the National
Executive Committee to punish the violators.
Apparently,
some members of the National Executive Committee have themselves shown open
bias against these 6 contestants and declared their unflinching backing for
Akufo-Addo. This house is divided against itself and cannot be expected to
stand. How long it will take to crumble remains a matter of conjecture. Is this
what Akufo-Addo needs to achieve his childhood ambition of becoming Ghana’s
President, even when he can’t build his own party?
I shall return…
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