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Opinions of Wednesday, 17 September 2014

Columnist: Baidoo, Philip Kobina

NPP, This Is The Real Road To Kigali

Quite recently, I wrote a piece entitled: Brace Up For The Worst; NPP Already Lost 2016. It was like stirring the hornet’s nest. I took a lot of flak for my trouble. They ranged from the ridiculous to absurdity, and some of them were outright hilarious. However, of all the insults that were heaped on me, what I really objected to was the accusation of being an NDC mole. Before I proceed, I have to clear the thoughts of my admirers. I don’t belong to any party; and if I should, NPP is the only party that gets a little close to my beliefs. As such, it will be a sacrilege to write anything that will harm their prospects. On the other hand, I don’t think that the blind spot I have for NPP should lead me to compromise my objectivity.

A couple of days after the declaration of President Mahama as the president elect, ghanaweb started publishing a thirty part series by one of their prolific writers. They were shameful and perhaps preposterous series of articles warning Ghanaians that we were on our way to Kigali. I wrote a rejoinder, which I kept my fingers crossed for a rebuttal that never came. If the writer of that sinister series cares to know the current state of affairs within the NPP camp, courtesy of Nana Addo, is what might lead us on the road to Kigali.

As far as I am concerned, Mahama and his school boys have their game plan well mapped out for 2016. As NPP continue their binge on Nana Addo’s hemlock, they are scheming very hard to retain power. Within six months the Atuabo gas plant will come on stream. The huge amount of dollars that goes to the importation of crude oil for VRA thermal plants will be available to stabilise the cedi. Besides the stabilisation of the cedi, huge revenue is going to come from the sale of the gas. The war chest of Mahama will swell to provide the resources to complete his pet projects like free sandal and free uniform, which are valued more than anything else in the deprived areas they have targeted.

You have to remember, majority of the Ghanaian population whose vote matters still live in the rural areas. The terror that most of the city dwellers are facing in terms of transportation, food prices and other skyrocketing cost of living is relatively a distant after thought. These are the people that matter in the political calculations of the ruling government. The sandals, sanitary pads, free SHS, etc. all translates into votes. My question is how does Nana plan to change things around this time when he has failed twice already, perhaps when he even had a better chance. In addition, they have now honed in on their propaganda skill to perfection with raft of ammunition from their opponents.

The hardcore NPP members are burnt on presenting Nana as their candidate. A candidate that couldn’t defeat a corrupt party, which swelled our political lexicon with SUBAH, ISOFOTON, Woyome, GYEEDA and many more, is still in vogue. Nana Addo is a poisoned chalice; nobody wants to drink from it except the NPP hardliners. Think again before the concrete sets, because defeat has opened wide its jaws to swallow Nana Addo and all the fortunes of NPP. When it happens, hell will break loose. They will repeat the same boring mantra ‘we was robbed’, the election was rigged by the EC and anything of fancy they come up with after 2016. Technically, they will be right, but the ballot box will prove otherwise. The hardcore NPP supporter will not accept it, because in their own fantasy world their professional loser is right before the Ghanaian electoral fruit machine. They have had two successive black balls; it definitely must be red this time. However, there is no scientific proof that it should be red because it is gambling. And this is the big mistake that will lead us on the road to Kigali.



Philip Kobina Baidoo Jnr.
London
baidoo_philip@yahoo.co.uk