Unity is a most potent force. It is pre requisite for any successful endeavor. Whether a solo personal mission, marital, societal or national, unity of purpose is fundamental. Even God is threatened by a united people. In Genesis, God had to bring confusion to fragment the people who were united in building a tower to reach the heavens. God obviously won the day with a weapon of division and confusion among the people. Nothing can defeat a united front!
Ghana is seriously polarized politically. This needless national polarization manifests through the sharp acrimony between NPP and NDC. This fragmentation and confusion is orchestrated by both outside and forces within. Our emotions and ignorance collectively compounds this cancerous issue. Irrespective of the source of this splitting evil, the resultant effect on Ghana is a serious depth of retrogression. The following is a vivid example of how the serpentine baited horizontal movement of both NPP and NDC, reminiscent of the world of crab ology manifest, vis a vis CPP’s forward projection.
Under the erstwhile CPP government, Ashanti (then including Brong Ahafo) was the fiercest opposition region. This did not matter to the CPP government in consideration of national economic development plan. CPP ideology and development policy is most uniting in its forward movement. Among the critical sectors of development, CPP flagship projects in agriculture, education, health, energy and culture were focused in Ashanti and BA Regions. These included Kwadaso Agricultural College, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Center for National Culture, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, and the Bui Dam. The Bui Dam was supposed to be the power house of irrigation for agricultural areas in Northern, Brong Ahafo and Ashanti Regions. Bui Dam was actually under construction when the CPP administration was regrettably overthrown. Secondly, Bui was to take care of the domestic energy needs while Akosombo Dam was to cater for the industrial power needs of the country.
Philosophically and substantively, the CPP nationalist agenda prevailed over the Matemeho Movement championed by the fore bearers of NPP, the National Liberation Movement, NLM through to the United Party, UP. In this regard, the current Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu 2 must be singled out for his great stance for national and continental unity. This is in acknowledgement of the great and courageous lecture the Otumfuo, overlord of Ashanti, stronghold of the Matemeho Movement, gave at a recent annual democracy lecture organized by the National Commission on Civic Education, NCCE.
Among other things Otumfuo boldly and categorically stated, the Ashanti decision to join Project Ghana is “IRREVOCABLE”. He further threw light on how Ashanti relates by blood to all ethnic groups in Ghana, including others beyond the borders. All ethnic groups must follow this great posture for national and continental unity. The above consequently renders the grandchild of the National Liberation Movement, NLM, the New Patriotic Party an outcast in politics of the new nation Ghana agenda. The NDC will suffer the same status of outcast as NPP with leaders of ethnic groups in the Volta Region following the same posture for national and continental unity by the Asantehene.
Our current urgent national agenda must be the building of a real nation out of the geographical country Ghana. This era where the bonds among people of the same ethnic groups are equivalent or stronger than that among Ghanaians is not good enough. Nonetheless all ethnic groups must be commended for the clear desire of wanting to relate peacefully with all others. This want must be upgraded into a need to belong to the nation Ghana for obvious individual and collective progress, needless to elaborate.
Currently our strongest urge for national unity is demonstrated in support for the Black Stars, especially at the world cup and continental tournaments. This strong urge and support demonstrated periodically is also not good enough. This enviable patriotic demonstration must be extended to all facets of national endeavors at all times. We, Ghanaians, are the Black Stars of the world in all things, not just in soccer. We must live and manifests as such.
The childish selfishness of NDC and NPP permeating all corners of national fiber is a cancerous plague that must be healed out of Ghana and Africa. This cancer of NDC/NPP acrimonious division has festered deep, even to their heads. President Rawlings calls President Kufuor “Ataa Ayi” after the notorious armed robber. President Kufuor in turn calls President Rawlings “Sasabonsam”, the legendary Satan!
Ndc has currently been in power for the last six and half years. The Suhum portion of the Accra Kumasi road, the major trunk road of Ghana, has been in a terrible state of disconnect for almost a decade. NDC has not fixed this unfortunate anomaly because it is an ‘NPP Project’! Another project in the same bracket is the famous uncompleted housing projects across Kumasi, Accra Tema and other places. They are also ‘NPP Projects’, meaning it was started by the NPP and therefore continue not, for NPP to take the credit! Unbelievable in this unfortunate equation is the fact that Ghana currently has a whooping two and a half million deficit in housing!!
When the NPP assumed office as government in 2001, all NDC appointees across board were summarily asked to proceed on leave! Ex-President Rawlings was stripped off all diplomatic immunity through a fiat by the then Foreign Minister, Nana Akuffu Addo, current presidential candidate of NPP. When NPP set up the National Reconciliation Commission, NRC, others of non NPP stock were given ‘windows of opportunity’ while those of NPP stock walked through doors!! CPP assets across Ghana, unjustly seized since 1966 are still not released!! What then was to be nationally reconciled?
This evil cancer of national division, like a biological cancer that starts from a single cell, is rooted in the political ideological orientation and subsequent policy and programs of political parties. Thankfully, CPP has had opportunity to demonstrate its spirit, ideology, policy and programs, just like the NDC and NPP. It is crystal clear which party moved Ghana forward in unity towards the promise land, and others which have polarized us into retrogression. At this great opportunity at the dawn of the promise land, Ghana must make a critical choice. Either we choose CPP for forward movement of developmental progress in unity or the NDC and NPP which have proven to be opposite sides of the same coin, for division and retrogressive chaos. We must return to the African spirit of ‘Ubuntu- you are because I am and I am because you are’. United we stand, divided we fall! Ghana and Africa must move forward. CPP, FORWARD EVER, BACKWARDS NEVER! God bless us!
AUTHOR: Yaw Nkunim
Sculptor, Concept Developer & CPP Member