Opinions of Sunday, 7 March 2021

Columnist: Raymond Ablorh

Ghana at 64: Wake up NDC, NPP footsoldiers

Flag of NPP and NDC Flag of NPP and NDC

When individual party members seek their personal interest at the expense of their party's collective interest, it hurts the party members so much, as it happened to the NPP during the speaker of parliament's election, and, to the NDC, in the ongoing ministerial vetting.

This is exactly how some of us feel when these leaders seek their personal and partisan interests at the expense of our collective national interest.

But, when we express our pains party footsoldiers don't care. They call us names and visit tags laden insults on us.

Yes, this is how painful it is.

Let's all fight for our collective national interest and lift ourselves above parties and personalities.

In that case, we could all work together and punish those who seek their parochial individual interest against the collective national interest.

On this day, let's be reminded of our collective pains and sufferings, and strongly stand up against the few who have always placed their selfish parochial interest above and against our collective aspirations and dreams.

Our parties are full of very corrupt individuals who don't mind sacrificing all what we work together and suffer for.

No nation made it with a very corrupt Executive, Legislature and Judiciary. No nation made it with leaders who toyed with the sufferings and pains of the masses, enriching themselves as individuals while their people suffered deprivation and acidic poverty.

No nation made it with citizens who looked on for their leaders to do what they like as many of you do.

This isn't how to a build a great nation. We're the very reason Ghana is in such a mess.

NPP and NDC grassroots must as a matter of urgency withdraw their thoughtless unrewarding loyalty and allegiance to their parties and leadership, and embrace our collective national reality to redeefine our future.

Every eight (8) years, your parties got or lose power, you struggled and fought for your leadership with all your might; you're killed and maimed like it happened at Tachiman and other places, but, after all the pains you endured, you got nothing, absolutely nothing, while your leaders traded our collective destiny.

Why do you attack and insult yourselves for only few to share the spoils of your struggles while you live dehumanizing lives in deprivation?

Why do you continue to struggle for people who never cared about you?

In 2008, millions of NPP supporters were left in acidic poverty; in 2016, same happened to NDC supporters. You continue to fight and kill yourselves, chasing your fellow brothers and sisters from stinking KVIP toilets and toll booths during transition periods.

Are there enough toilets and toll booths for all of you? Is that what you bargained with your lives in your parties?

Ghana is 64 today. The Fourth Republic is about 30. Check your ages, young people, can't you see you're growing up away from youthfulness with nothing to show for all your struggles?

Or, do you enjoy following your leaders who careless about you, waiting for them in your numbers at their offices from morning to dusk for leftovers while your mothers, fathers and siblings in your villages live like refugees?

You're important to these people you've put your lives and destinies in their hands only during elections time. Can't you see? Can't you reason to know that there's enough for all of us but your stupidity and thoughtless partisan support is depriving all of us of what belong to us?

Wake up!

Wake up!

Wake up, young people!

You're wasting your lives, hating your brothers and sisters of other parties for nothing; killing yourselves for people who seldom care about you.

To the NDC youth who are wailing. You've every right to. You saw how your brothers were killed like rats at Techiman. Up till now, they and their relatives haven't got justice. Yet, those who gave the command for them to be killed and your leaders in Parliament have already started dining.

The same happened to your counterparts in the NPP. That's why their footsoldiers went mad destroying everything here and defecating lawlessness and impunity even in our court not long ago.

Today, sit and think about your lives;

The lives of your village people;

The future you're wasting in such unrewarding political relationships;

And, advise yourselves.

For you've been fools for far too long.

This is the time to withdraw your partisan support and embrace Ghana even in her old age.

Together, let's strive for all, not a few.

President Ablorh