Age and leadership

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Kofi 10 years ago

This Scum of the Human Race think he's destined to be president of Ghana and will put his pathetic ambition above both his party and country. I guess that's the meaning of his "all die be die" mantra. I'm a dwarf and will run ...
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This Scum of the Human Race think he's destined to be president of Ghana and will put his pathetic ambition above both his party and country. I guess that's the meaning of his "all die be die" mantra. I'm a dwarf and will run till I die. If that offspring of prostitution have any self respect, he'll step aside for the next generation.
Kwame 10 years ago

Akufo-Addo is very electable only to a section of the electorate. Can he convince those who don't like him to vote for him? That's the big question.

But first he must win his party's primaries which should be tough if the ...
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Akufo-Addo is very electable only to a section of the electorate. Can he convince those who don't like him to vote for him? That's the big question.

But first he must win his party's primaries which should be tough if the NPP is truly democratic.
Kay 10 years ago

Both NDC & NPP have failed Ghana,internally they failed to groom leaders to take over the mantle anytime it becomes vacant.NDC struggled to get Mahama to replace Mills,the same will happen to NPP if Nana refuses to go.

Both NDC & NPP have failed Ghana,internally they failed to groom leaders to take over the mantle anytime it becomes vacant.NDC struggled to get Mahama to replace Mills,the same will happen to NPP if Nana refuses to go.
Yaw Ohemeng 10 years ago

Arthur K, you have attempted here to write an objective article, but from your widely reported past pronouncements, the ploy has fallen through. Why don’t you then go straight to the point and avoid these coded messages?

...
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Arthur K, you have attempted here to write an objective article, but from your widely reported past pronouncements, the ploy has fallen through. Why don’t you then go straight to the point and avoid these coded messages?

What can be inferred from this article is that first of all, you have conceded that Nana Addo will prevail in the flagbearer contest. You are therefore looking at the aftermath.

Secondly, your problem with a Nana Addo candidacy is not that he is not competent – in fact you accept that he is the one most likely to offer strong leadership and fight corruption irrespective of party affiliation. You also accept that he has the gravitas to rub shoulders with other world leaders.

Your problem rather is that he is not being truthful about his state of health and physical fitness. Your fear is that this might be exposed by the rigours of electioneering exacerbated by bad roads and poor accommodation. Finally you think that he is not electable.

On the question of health, if you know this to be true, you owe it to the aspiring candidate to advise him of what lies ahead if you have not already done so. You also owe it to the NPP by approaching the party elders with this information. Staying in the tent and pissing outside is not helpful to the NPP. My hunch, though, is that you do not have any such information and that you are only just trying to throw a spanner into the works.

On the question of electability, it is a function of party, candidate, message and mode of delivering the message. How you can only isolate the candidate and ignore the other factors is baffling. The ‘candidate theory’ if accurate would have reflected in the 2008 and 2012 election figures. This is easy to prove because they would have shown that the party has been polling more parliamentary votes than presidential votes. In fact the reverse is rather true disproving this theory.

Our electoral records show that, since 2008, the NDC and NPP have about equal percentage of core supporters. The difference between winning and losing depends on which party is able to attract more presidential votes from the minority parties. This is a strategy that ought to engage the entire party rather than the candidate alone.

When President Kufuor won in 2000, he formed an alliance with the minority parties. This is what should be resurrected rather than focusing on the electability of a candidate, which is not borne out by electoral performance.

Another reason why the NPP appears to have peaked is that there are too many chiefs and few Indians in the party. A lot of you feel that you have to be appointed to positions in a campaign before you get involved. But if you believe in our country, and want to see a transformation and you believe your party is the only one that can do this, you have to campaign for it to come to power based on your love for country. You do not have to be invited; you do not need to be appointed to a position; but rather you just take to it naturally like fish to water.
Kofi Ata, Cambridge, UK 10 years ago

Good morning Yaw. You make some interesting observations but do not be too hard on the Arthur Kennedy. I think he is raising some issues that should be of interest to NPP if they are serious about recapturing the presidency i ...
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Good morning Yaw. You make some interesting observations but do not be too hard on the Arthur Kennedy. I think he is raising some issues that should be of interest to NPP if they are serious about recapturing the presidency in 2016, especially, the electability and health issues. Personally, I agree that age should not be a factor but fitness/health should be. I saw Nana Akufo-Addo briefly on March 3, 2014 at SOAS and he appears to be in excellent health but I admit that appearance alone is not a good measure of clear bill of health. However, the fact is that should Nana Akufo-Addo appear tired and worn out during a long presidential campaign, NDC would make his health an issue. Form what came out after the demise of Prof Mills, he should not have been allowed yards near the presidency but NDC deceived Ghanaians even when he was appeared very pale and dying.

The electability issue also needs to be diagnosed by NPP as a party to find out whether it is the candidate or the party that is not attracted to independent voters and minority parties. Could it be the message or the delivery of the message, etc? As at now I am not convinced that NPP haave been able to identify why they failed to attract more independent votes and votes from minority parties. One can therefore not conclude accurately that it is Nana Akufo-Addo who is unelectable. I think it is due to a number of factors and that must be identified and addressed.
BOY KOFI 10 years ago

The 2012 campaign strategy was ineffective and wrong.You don't need to campaign on free shs to win general elections.That is why NDC was able to neutralise it so easily.There is a triagular voting formular,the 3 swing regions ...
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The 2012 campaign strategy was ineffective and wrong.You don't need to campaign on free shs to win general elections.That is why NDC was able to neutralise it so easily.There is a triagular voting formular,the 3 swing regions are making it difficult for NPP to win general elections.Kuffour traded horses with CPP in 1996 and 2000 where Paa Kwesi Ndoum from Central region and Freddy Blay from Western region were supported by NPP to win parliamentary seats.I have not seen this effective tactics coming from Nana Addo.From this very tactical mistake I knew NPP was going to lose the 2012 general elections.On a more serious note,NPP must look for a new face.It should not be like an old win in a new bottle.You need effective campaign strategy to win general elections.I don't think Nana Addo can recapture all the 4 swing regions in 2016.Besides,even if he wins there will be another Supreme Court.Thank you.
Kojo T 10 years ago

It is not a quaestion of likeability. The man is INCOMPETENT. MP for Abuakwa Akyem 16 years , what has he got to show for it. Even the Research Institute that was there is closed. Ag what did he achieve Ziltch, Foerign affai ...
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It is not a quaestion of likeability. The man is INCOMPETENT. MP for Abuakwa Akyem 16 years , what has he got to show for it. Even the Research Institute that was there is closed. Ag what did he achieve Ziltch, Foerign affairs was even worse. he ws importing rice instead of building relations. Guys , let us kick this guy into the ditch
LONTO-BOY 10 years ago

Obviously, this is an astonishing piece with mischievous intent.

Obviously, this is an astonishing piece with mischievous intent.
kojo 10 years ago

Dr. Kobina Kennedy, you will live long. you know why? cos you speak the truth. God bless you and increase you in knowledge

Dr. Kobina Kennedy, you will live long. you know why? cos you speak the truth. God bless you and increase you in knowledge
Sly 10 years ago

Nana Addo is of ill health,he is incompetent,he is not truthfull,honest and disciplined enough to be leader of Modern Ghana.The man is simply not fit to lead Ghana.Those who claim Nana Addo is capable of fighting corruption a ...
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Nana Addo is of ill health,he is incompetent,he is not truthfull,honest and disciplined enough to be leader of Modern Ghana.The man is simply not fit to lead Ghana.Those who claim Nana Addo is capable of fighting corruption are just joking. Nana Addo is such weak leader in all places he has had an opportunity to lead,
KOFI AGYAPONG 10 years ago

Age is everything in life. Time and space always tell who was there and when. That is why most national constitutions have minimum age for the too young can not lead a group of people no matter what.

Age is everything in life. Time and space always tell who was there and when. That is why most national constitutions have minimum age for the too young can not lead a group of people no matter what.
RUSH 10 years ago

Listen out Mr Writer,Your Chronicle here does not apply to Nana,because it's obvious Nana has NO leadership value base on his speeches on the pondium.

Listen out Mr Writer,Your Chronicle here does not apply to Nana,because it's obvious Nana has NO leadership value base on his speeches on the pondium.
Whatever 10 years ago

It wasn't me who said. It is general saying. To seek for a 72 year-old to lead a country like Ghana with its collapsing infrastructure and way of life is to be very unfair to the people of Ghana. We need an fit-looking leader ...
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It wasn't me who said. It is general saying. To seek for a 72 year-old to lead a country like Ghana with its collapsing infrastructure and way of life is to be very unfair to the people of Ghana. We need an fit-looking leader capable of rallying the people behind him to attack problems that confront us. We don't need someone who is old and about to look frail to do that job
KK, USA 10 years ago

I couldn't agree with you more. Age got nothing to do with competence to govern, barring ill-health.Those who have what it takes should be intimidated by the aged

I couldn't agree with you more. Age got nothing to do with competence to govern, barring ill-health.Those who have what it takes should be intimidated by the aged
KK, USA 10 years ago

i mean should not be intimidated by old age

i mean should not be intimidated by old age
George b 10 years ago

Thanks you for sharing the idea of leadership here. In fact this must be a core debate in our political arena since many of my Ghanaian folks sheepishly associate a good leader and for that matter a good government with a per ...
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Thanks you for sharing the idea of leadership here. In fact this must be a core debate in our political arena since many of my Ghanaian folks sheepishly associate a good leader and for that matter a good government with a persons sheer personality. Most of our youth are so ignorant like "sheep" that they will only vote for a "tall handsome" man than to think of any of the necessary ingredients that you have advocated. I hope you can get a wider forum for education the populace about the need for good leadership.

Age and leadership

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