It is only an opportunist who teaches children how to swim when the basement is flooded - author: Unknown

If politics is about governance and governance can be equated to management of state resources, then the focus should be on the good people of Ghana, the holders of power.

Surprise, surprise, they say, is inevitable in politics as goals are in premiership, that is why people watch. The NPP’s deliberate choice of issues in trying to win favour from Ghanaians by asking the President to retake his oath, taking issues about his 100 days in office, the implosion in the NDC, reducing the budget statement to nothingness, and other attention deflecting issues is like a fetish priest trying to impress the local pastor in asking a gossipy widow to be quiet in church.

The litany of these unsaintly acts and pronouncements of the past weeks is an unfortunate reminder of how low the NPP has sunk these days. By the time they had left office, anyone of them who had not been disgraced or have their hands soiled in some form of deal would surely have been eligible for some form of medal, no doubt they were all honoured by President Kuffour The holy book admonishes us to first take the plank in our own eyes and then we will see clearly to remove the speck from our brother’s eyes. Could we be more underlying on these statements than the opportunist ideas being spewed by the NPP guys?

In his sessional address, the President in his wisdom recognised the contribution of the erstwhile governments by saying inter alia, “ ….. we will depart from the practice of undoing valuable contributions of our predecessors….” We therefore need to remind ourselves that the test of our progress is not whether we add to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little. The President is a man of distinction, a visionary, free of prejudice and mental block. As a dedicated sportsman, he is able to see far ahead into the future, planning his next move. He does things others wouldn’t do, he doesn’t limit himself to rules and norms, he rises above traditional logic and rationality and above all, has a great practical sense. His intuition is not only instinctive, but drives from a summation of his experiences and observation; he is aware of everything and nothing escapes his eyes.

The refusal of the opposition NPP to be persuaded by the President’s achievements and gains were heralded as the end of his political honeymoon. They even accused him of impotent populism for reminding those who still could not move on from the loss of the elections that he is the only elected President of Ghana. There is nothing unusual about the President reminding the citizenry of their civic responsibilities. President Mills’ achievements are still miles ahead of his two predecessors at this similar stage of their presidencies. This is no small achievements considering the rather hectic and chaotic nature of the election and the other issues that characterised the handing over of power. One would have thought that this bandwagon of criticism poured on the President by the opposition New ‘Patriotic’ Party is premature. They appear to be undergoing a rerun of their ever staunch views held whiles in opposition, but these should not be underestimated. The opposition is weak, confused and divided; it is hardly surprising that, in their present state, they have chosen the easy option by objecting to every policy proposal by the President. Their very clever ones are deploying all their cleverness and effective wit, university degrees and fluency to defend not just trivia but also trash. How can we develop when the finest prospect open to a natural communicator is not to help the nation to enjoy the fruits of civilisation but to use it to muddle issues and then tell the world that this is courageous? This is a desperate, aching and unsatisfied appetite for power at the heart of greed and selfishness, yet faced with the void of ignorance in our society; all that the NPP can do is shovel in more rubbish.

It is of course true that every new president will be judged by policies and programs implemented during their tenure of office, but the time for that judgement for President Mills is still some way off and not in 100 days. We are of the conviction that the President and his team will not make the mistake of allowing these dribbles of criticism to throw them off the larger course.

What the opposition NPP should realise is that in any institution, be it religious, social or political, the existence of factions is important for the growth of these groupings; Tony Blair - Gordon Brown factions existed in the labour government for a long time; but the important issue for these factions is how to harness their divergent views to achieve the goals of their existence. If factions do not exist, we bet we would have had only the NPP or the NDC, their existence is an epitome of democracy and the essence of it thereof! It is astonishing to understand the gullibility of Authur Kennedy’s assertions on the implosions within the NDC. Clearly, this is a failed attempt to sow the seeds of division and discord within the NDC. The threat that the NPP seem to be scared of is the strength and unity of purpose that is prevailing in the NDC. One therefore wonders why the NPP should be worried about the implosion within the NDC. If winning political power has something to do with factions, then the NPP should be at ease with itself about the development of factions within the NDC, sorry, have we already forgotten about Alan, Kufour and Nana Akufo Addo factions? Oosh, what of the Akyem and Asante factions?

It is a truism that the current pronouncements coming from the NPP is like a fleet of runaway tractors without drivers or brakes, beyond accountability or control. What is even worse, their claim to be truly democratic and piously to safeguard freedom were fig leaf justification for an unremitting dose of lies, poison and half truths poured into public eyes and ears every day. Needless to say that their hidden agenda has been to turn with almost one voice to blame back everything on the NDC. They have a point up to a point, but there is no second for reflection or thorough analysis of themselves and what they might have done to the good people of Ghana. There appears to be no way of quarantining this malaise. One can only sum it up to say that, perhaps the only way is for the NDC to remain steadfast, undivided, (Ref: NPP’s Defeat part II, 3rd paragraph by Haruna Mahama; accessed 24th April 2009 on www.ghanaweb.com ) and not to allow the NPP to set the agenda for the nation. Finally, for writers who purportedly care so ardently for the well-being of their nation, it is mystifying how these people muster so much energy and enthusiasm to attack the government and yet so little when it comes to holding to account the countless demonstrations of violations of trusts and decency by members of the past government.

Watch out for our series of articles on developments in Ghana

Source:

Theophilus Dzimega Jnr (abiscole2000@yahoo.com) & Alexander S K Bediako