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Opinions of Wednesday, 9 March 2011

Columnist: Berko, George

NPP and NDC Must Quit This Makola-Kejetia Market Polygamous Rivalry

Both NPP and NDC Must Quit This Makola-Kejetia Market Polygamous Rivalry.

This Makola-Kejetia Markets Polygamous rivalry must stop! The behavior of both the NDC and NPP to 'dis' each other has reached a new low. The two Parties are behaving like married women in Polygamous marriage, constantly taunting each other in a very bitter connubial rivalry. The mischievous ensnaring, fault-finding and frequent whining must be discontinued for serious, sensible constructive debates and brainstorming to move the Nation forward.

This current trend of each Party trying to find cause to blame the other for one incident or another is most disgraceful and speaks volumes of the type of pseudo-enlightened Politicians we still have in Ghana to rule us. The endless, needless, puerile Political bickering takes away from any serious discourse to resolve important issues, keeping us behind the rest of the World, despite our enormous Repository of Resources. The latest rumpus over the NDC Administration's failure to invite the NPP in time for the year's Independence Anniversary is the trigger for this piece. The NPP leadership is said to have refused to attend this year's Independence Anniversary Ceremonies because it received its invitation from the NDC 3 days before the occasion.

It was most inexcusably stupid for NDC not to send the invitations out to NPP much earlier, if indeed, 3 days were not enough to allow NPP send an Official delegation to the Ceremonies. But the NPP, too could have still attended the Ceremonies in one form or another, to prove their relative maturity and greater Civility and use the occasion to embarrass the NDC. By refusing to attend, the NPP played into the NDC’s possible trap that gave the latter some wiggle room, to claim some ‘genuine’ mistake, again, and possibly, apologize later to feign regret, while trying to portray that the NPP never cares about our Independence.

Questions, however, could be genuinely raised as to how much time a Party really needs to organize itself for such an occasion, which is known to be an annual National event that occurs on a particular date. Questions could also be asked as to why the NDC could not send the invitation earlier. Was it yet another NDC’s vicious trickery of entrapping the NPP to attract more Public discontent? Or, another episode of NDC’s continued incompetence--another inadvertent breach of simple protocol? Between the presumed oversight of President Mills’ in acknowledging the presence of his immediate predecessor, our former NPP-derived President, Mr. Kufour and others, during the State of the Nation Address and the vindictive refusal of the NPP minority Parliamentary leader to follow protocol to escort the President out after the occasion, so much is missing as to what was done intentionally and unintentionally by either Party to disrespect the other.

Looking at things more critically, however, even if the invitation was delivered a day before the occasion, the NPP could have sent a low-ranked team to represent it and have the team expose to the whole World, not just the Nation, how divisive the NDC could be.

It is a universal principle that if an adult notices some younger or rather foolish individual acting stupid, the presumed wiser adult is supposed to ignore whatever intention the younger person had in acting thus, and do what is right to show the younger or foolish person the way. If the first adult reacts with some equally unwise intent to avenge the other individual, it is the first adult that is usually cited for a sharper blame, for not caring enough to show the younger folk the right, better way to behave, or seen as wicked or more foolish for exacerbating the situation. It seems the winner-takes-all ‘Politricking’ to assume a total control of our National assets is being played by both Parties, with no regard to any fairness in the game or who gets hurt the most.. None of them seems to have any intention for consensus building on even the most fundamental mutually beneficial National Agenda. The two Parties now seem to set no limits on how far they could go to destroy the other.

All we keep seeing is one Party trying to portray the other as a group of criminals, hooligans, nincompoops, dimwit inept Officials, etc. Yet, we are always been preached to by either side of how they have the best interest of the Nation at heart.

These insensitive leaders don't seem to get it that we have limited lifespan and our strenuous efforts to keep the Nation alive and operational cannot be sustained for any meaningful progress with such unproductive mutual undercutting. Enough is enough!!!

Our leaders must stop this quixotic trickery and get to work in producing positive results for advancing our Nation. The Wealth and dignity of Ghana deserve saving for our Posterity.

As it is, both Parties keep squandering opportunities to put our Nation's best interest ahead of their narrow egoistic interests. That is a shame to both Parties. It seems none of these Parties is ready to change behavior.

So, we need a new set of leadership for both Parties who understand the essence of decorum and what our Nation's real and best interests are, and would act, not to undermine the various personalities in either Party, but to pursue our National goals with some inputs from all sides.

The inter-personal animosities and pointless, contemptible, mutual disrespect for each Party is stifling progress in Ghana and pushing us closer and closer to the brink of National chaos.

The old unforgiving hags and the bratty, hooliganistic Political poodle-toddlers of these two Parties must cease embarrassing the Nation with their wasteful and dangerous power-play. We are getting too tired of them!!! Maybe, it is time to revamp both Parties by cutting out from their leadership these chronic maladroit Officials. I seriously doubt if the likes of Alan Kyeremateng and Dr. Frimpong would have towed the same lines, thus far, as the current Flagbearer of NPP and his cohort, Jake Otanka Obitsebe Lamptey, and a more vibrant NDC-derived President than President Arthur Mills would have allowed grossly inexperienced and unlearning spoilt lads to handle the direction of our National issues. We need a new paradigm to run our Political Parties on. We need a new way of thinking that truly concentrates on issues, not personalities. God help us!!!

Long Live Ghana!!!!