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Opinions of Wednesday, 10 November 2010

Columnist: DayBreak

Nana Addo Must Read This

If Nana Akufo-Addo does not win the 2012 elections, it would not be because President Mills has fulfilled his campaign promises but because the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has repeated the same mistakes in committed in 2008.
DAYBREAK has said time and again that the NPP, even in opposition, is behaving like a party that has won power and thus members must do ‘eye-service’ just to catch the eyes of ‘Mr. President.’
For a fact the Ghanaian media is sharply divided and one does not need to be a genius to realize this. While some have a soft spot for the NPP, others have a preference for the National Democratic Congress.
That is not what our beef is. Our problem is when these media houses fail to tell the naked truth to the leaders of the political parties they have a preference for.
Even when things are not going well, these media houses continue to paint a very rosy picture of their political parties rather than tell them the truth and that is the predicament of Nana Addo, in our candid opinion.
The persons he put out there as watch dogs have become lap dogs with some even compromising their positions so cannot tell him the truth or perhaps do not have the guts to tell him in the face that he has to sit up, roll his sleeves, lace his boots and start the harvest rather than remain glued to his Nima residence aside the occasional weekend funerals he attends.
If the NPP friendly media had told Nana Addo just twenty percent truth in 2008, his party might have avoided a few mistakes. When the ordinary Ghanaian was calling for a reduction in fuel prices and every commercial driver complained about the motor courts, the NPP papers continued the “Nana Storms Accra Aca”, “Nana Sweeps Ashanti” PR nonsense.
When constituency executives across the country were complaining that they had been left out of a campaign that had been hijacked by an arrogant lot whose names we would shield for now, the NPP friendly papers whether out of mischief or cowardice told the whole world that there was no cause for alarm.
As we write this piece in November 2010, many constituency offices remain locked up with no furniture, no data base, no structure, with executives who have little or no motivation yet the NPP papers keep the annoying “Nana Y3 Ni Da Wu Su” headlines.
As we write this piece in November 2010, there is a very strong perception out there that Nana Addo and John Kufuor have not sorted out their differences yet the NPP papers chose to bury the matter rather than encourage the party to address and solve it once and for all.
As we write this piece in November 2010, Dr. Arthur Kennedy is still portrayed as a villain simply because he spoke a few naked truths that must be addressed rather than covered. The issues Dr. Kennedy raised are still relevant and remain unaddressed yet the NPP friendly media chooses to ignore them and continue to vilify the writer.
As we write this piece in November 2010, it is a fact that Candidate Nana Addo is only accessible to a selected few folks and that is limited to those who do not have the guts to look him in the eye and say ‘Nana, you have not won yet so get up from your bottom and get to work.’
Who said the NPP has completely weaned itself of the tags of cocaine and an arrogant candidate placed on Nana Addo’s neck? Yet the party’s Communication Director is busy for nothing, fighting Ben Ephson over who has sand in his head and who does not.
As we write this piece in November 2010, the party may pretend but the Stephen Ntims, the Prof. Kwabena Frimpongs, the Wereko Brobbeys, the Ohene Ntows and a host of others are not on the same pedestal with the Boakye Agaykos, Osafo Marfos, Kofi Osei Ameways or the Lord Commeys yet the party says all is well.
We call on Nana Addo as a person to open his eyes much wider and ensure that the reports he gets are a true reflection of what is happening in the fields. We ask him to be a little more curious to know the TRUE state of affairs so as to get them addressed and stop relying on the sweet talks that he has already won the election.
Source: DAYBREAK