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Opinions of Friday, 29 August 2014

Columnist: Okofo-Dartey, Samuel

The comatose cockerel must crow now

The recent unrefined rumpus that bedevilled the NPP and the poor management of the economy under the current NDC administration should be an ample impetus for the CPP to redefine its political strategies in an attempt to capture political power or become relevant in Ghana’s politics.
Dr Kwame Nkrumaah’s CPP in its current shape and form is in complete tatters. And there seems to be marginal efforts on the part of the Ms Samia Nkrumah led administration to galvanise the fragmented fraternity of the CPP.
In fact, Dr Paa Kwesi Ndoom is stubbornly sticking to making his weightless PPP work; Mr Hassan Ayariga of the PNC has clearly been clueless in fashioning the party as a formidable force as he himself seems to be politically unattractive. As for the late Dan Lartey’s GCPP, one wonders whether his son is branding the party into obscurity.
The truth of the matter is that all these smaller parties (PPP, PNC, GCPP and others) claim to trace and identify with the ideologies of Dr Kwame Nkrumah. Their fanatics more often than not assert to be ‘Nkrumaist’or subscribe to ‘Nkrumaism’. So, the question is, why can’t these smaller parties and their mother party (CPP) join forces to take the pride of place in Ghana’s politics?
At the moment, certain respectable individuals in Ghana’s politics who identify themselves as ‘Nkrumaist’ without a second thought have openly abandoned the CPP. Mr Abdul Malik Kwaku Baako and Mr Kwasi Pratt readily come to mind. I wonder the sort of concrete contributions they have made to rebuild the crumbled wall of the CPP.
They command a lot of respect in terms of their political opinions and I am amazed the number of times they have utilised their media landscapes to propagate the ideals and unification of the Nkrumah family. They seem to be deeply involved in the promotion of other political interests other than that of ‘Nkrumaist’ family.
Interestingly, these two personalities separately operate daily newspapers that hardly promote the unification of the CPP. Their respective media empires increasingly have exhibited favourable affections for the NDC and the NPP in their publications as if they have paid to do so. If anyone is in doubt, one can the check their editorials for only the month of July this year to ascertain whether these newspapers have done so to champion the course of the CPP.
Beyond this, there are individuals in the NPP and NDC who cut their political teeth in the CPP and the ideals of Dr Kwame Nkrumah but abandoned the CPP when it most needed them. The politics of convenience other than the politics conviction have held sway over their minds and hearts. It is an open secret the following persons among others once upon Ghana’s political history were either ‘Nkrumaists’ or CPP fanatics: The Ahwoi brothers, Dr Obed Asamoah, the late Professor Atta Mills and even President John Mahama.
The NPP also have had a fair share of professed CPP elements that have crossed carpets to boost the chances of the NPP. Mr Frederick Armah Blay, a former CPP member of parliament for Ellembelle constituency, is currently the first Vice Chairman of the opposition NPP.
Even Dr Kwame Nkrumah’s son, Sekou Nkrumah, has no strong political ties with his father’s party. He patronises other political parties like a political prostitute. Toady you may find him at peace in the NDC and tomorrow he gets himself entangled in a fracas that only makes him a persona non grata in the NDC. He flirts with Nana Akufo Addo and for that matter the NPP which makes him politically unstable without political credibility.
I would have thought upon his (Mr Sekou Nkrumah) return to Ghana and dabbling in mainstream politics, he would channel his strength to fix the broken pieces of the CPP. He simply has become a traitor to himself and the party that his father formed. His unwillingness to team up with his sister, Ms Samiah Nkrumah to rekindle the fortunes of the CPP, largely demonstrates he is twice removed from the CPP.
All is not lost for the CPP. The CPP is not a spent force. It can still be an attractive political weight. The exploits of Dr Kwame Nkrumah in Ghana’s politics can be a trump card to convince the youth and other Ghanaians who have had enough of the NPP and the NDC politics to rally behind the mighty cockerel.
Yes, the dynamics of Ghana’s politics over the decades have largely changed. But it is equally critical to accept the fact that Dr Kwame Nkrumah and the CPP timeless nationalistic and political interventions in Ghana cannot also be eroded from Ghana’s political annals.
Therefore, it behoves the ‘Nkrumaist’ family to unite their fragmented fronts and forge in peace to resuscitate the comatose cockerel. Until this unity is achieved before the 2016 general elections, the NPP and NDC will continue to entice the remnants of the CPP loyalists into their folds.
In this regard, whatever compromises and mutually beneficial negotiations that must usher this long overdue unity must earnestly be put in place. After this is done, the party communicators must be unleashed to equally the share the media spaces the NPP and NDC have enjoyed all this while in order to propagate the policies Ghanaians stand to benefit in the event CPP is given the political nod to govern.
Admittedly, Ms Samia Nkrumah and her colleagues in the CPP leadership have a herculean task ahead. The NPP and NDC duopoly must be shattered for a third force to be grafted into the stem of Ghana’s politics.
With this, Ghanaians will have formidable tri- political forces to choose from as opposed to a bi-political force that seems to change the political power baton as a result of their uncontested dominance.
AUTHOR’S NAME: OKOFO-DARTEY SAMUEL
E-MAIL: sodesq2000@yahoo.com