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Opinions of Friday, 20 September 2013

Columnist: Appiah-Osei, Lawrence

NPP Continues To Make The Same Argument.

Hon. Kennedy Agyapong, MP for Assin Central is reported to have said on OKAY FM that the NPP is sick. I agree 100% with him on this statement because I know that to be true. I am not in the mind of Ken. Agyapong but I can say for a fact that there are basically two things that prompted him to make that statement. The first is that the NPP members and communicators continue to make the same argument about the election petition even though the final verdict is out. The NPP continue to speak with the same mentality as that of December 10, 2012. They still talk as if August 29th has not come and only God knows why they are doing that. The second reason is the rush by some current Executive members to push Nana Akuffo Addo to be the sole candidate for the 2016 Presidential elections. This is even against their constitution.
Sometime last week, I heard Hopeson Adorye, a member of the NPP communication team, on PeaceFM arguing without fear that the NPP won the Supreme Court case by a 5-4 majority. He quoted the reasoning of one of the judges and concluded that 4 other judges sided with him. The host asked him whether all the 4 judges agreed with the said judge on the same issue. Adorye answered that, it really did not matter because the other judges agreed with him on different issues. I sat back and wondered whether Hopeson Adorye is an illiterate. Adorye should be reminded again that he is still under bond to be of good behavior. My problem with NPP is that their Lawyers are not explaining their lost to their illiterate members but have left that job to their communicators. The communicators are also not different from the other members. The only difference is that the communicators have access to the radio and TV. Nana Akuffo Addo himself has accepted the SC verdict but his communicators have not. That is dangerous to Ghana and our democracy and I will urge the NPP to work on that.
There are some in the current Executive Committee who are pushing for Nana to go unopposed as the NPP Presidential candidate in 2016. It is a calculated attempt by Nana Addo and the Executives to push this agenda, and Nana initiated the move in his concession speech. In the said speech, Nana said “I will take some time out and reflect before announcing a decision concerning my future in Ghana politics.” Nana by his speech, left a big vacuum in the future leadership of the NPP and Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, “Sir John” decided to fill it. As soon as Sir John filled the vacuum, it opened all the worms in the NPP. So Kennedy Agyapong was right to say that the NPP is sick.
Personally, I think Nana should not have made the statement I quoted above. It was a wrong statement at the wrong time. Ghana does not currently need politicians who after losing elections and court case, take some time out and come back later to take advantage of an opportunity. Ghana is moving forward and all hands must be on deck. Nana should have stated emphatically that he was again running for 2016 or he was retiring from active politics. That would have brought the long dream of the NDC to reality. That is the party that retired William Nana Akuffo Addo Danquah from active politics in Ghana.
If Nana had made the said statement in 2008, there would not have been any problem, but currently there are about 30 people who want to market themselves for the 2020 and 2024 Presidential elections. When the nomination for the Presidential candidacy opens, you will see about 30 people contesting for the nomination. All of them know that they can’t and wouldn’t win in 2016 but the idea is to market themselves for 2020 and 2024. Unfortunately, those years will also not be good for the NPP.
There are those who are proposing that they will present Nana’s name to the United Nations for the Noble Peace Price. Their argument is that Nana is the only person in the world who had lost elections to someone who campaigned for 40 out of 1,460 days. (4 years) He also lost election petition in court and conceded 8 months after he had lost the elections. Also Nana, after losing the elections, did not tell his supporters to take to the streets or fight as other leaders did. If you are not sick, would such a proposal come into your mind on the basis of the above argument? Do such people know what goes into submitting a name for the Noble Peace Price? Please after the Electoral Commission and the Supreme Court, don’t take your frustration to the United Nations so that if Nana looses there too, you will curse them and say the Peace Committee at the United Nations were also bribed.
“In December 2013, when the NDC will be having their Congress and planning how to again win the elections in 2016, the NPP will still be struggling to figure out what went wrong at the Supreme Court and who will lead them to another defeat in 2016”

Lawrence Appiah
Public Relations Officer (PRO)
NDC Washington Metro Branch
Appiah65@Hotmail.com