Like the incomparable Martin Luther King Jrn. of United States of America Civil Right Movement, Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo has been to the mountaintop! So he claimed. His eyes have seen the glory of Ghana to come (albeit in a dream in a London plush Hotel).

This is where the similarities start to diverge, for while MLK philosophically proclaimed that he may not be there when his people got to the promised land yet was equally content to know that his effort would bear fruit for generations to come; Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo maintains that while in his sleep at the top of a plush hotel in London God showed him the new Ghana. His eyes has seen the Ghana to come and he is adamant to set foot on the new land come what may. He is not the one to prepare the way for the Lord so to speak; he must enjoy the fruit of his labor (in other words no, “Monkey dey work Baboon dey chop” axiom).

Why is it that we black race do not appreciate the concept of selfless sacrifice for the betterment of the next generation? Forget it if the project is not going to benefit me here and now. This is where I think SENDERO made a compelling argument as to why Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo should stand down for the new generation to carry on the work. Please read:

http://sil.ghanaweb.com/r.php?id=10254540&thread=10253427

Author: SENDERO (161.76.23.2)

Date: 03-11-2014 09:13

QUOTE: “Normally I do not comment on the Akufo Addo- Alan Kyerematen tensions but given my view that nana is preparing to contest the flagbearership once more I think I can add to the issues at stake. IN my view, Akufo Addo should do the decent thing and throw in the towel. Three arguments are being bandied about regarding why he will win and I believe these arguments fly in the face of reality. First there is the view that the NDC has performed abysmally. Second, Nana is immensely popular. Third his age is not an issue and the fact that it took Mills 3 instances to be elected means the same should and can apply to Nana Addo

Granted the NDC has been below expectation but this does not mean it is staring defeat in the face. Ronald Reagan and Maggie thatcher took the US and UK into recessions in early 1980s yet both were returned to office. Reagan actually won 49 states! The reason was that Walter Mondale and Michael Foot of the Democrats and Labour were worse choices than the incumbents and so voters stuck with Maggie and Reagan. In 1992 the UK economy was back in recession yet John major beat unelectable Neil Kinnock. However Clinton beat George Bush senior as Clinton appealed to the voters.

Second, I doubt the hype about Nana's national popularity. The fact that you visit a constituency or district and people flock to see you and cheer does not translate into electoral votes. IN 1969 K.A. Gbedemah went through the streets of Kumasi on a horse and the crowds went wild with joy yet KA Busia still trounced him in the 1969 election. JEA Mills was very popular yet he kept losing to Kufuor and t his was because of the baggage MIlls carried in the form of jerry Rawlings

What bother me most is the third point and its consequences for the NPP. When MIlls contested the Presidency for the first time he was 56. When he was elected he was 64. If Akuffo Addo wins this flagbearership he will be 2 months short of his 73rd birthday. This if you ask me will be the NDCs campaign message and will be a turn off for a swathe of floating voters in the younger age bracket. Second, when MIlls went up against JAK he was at the head of a divided party. The Reform Party was made up of those early cadres of the P/NDC who felt mills was an external imposition and never wanted him as leader. The party foot soldiers, those who organized and campaigned on the ground joined the Reform Party. Thus this made it easy for JAK to win. The Reform Party's impact was not in the 1% of the votes it got but it was in the impact on grassroots mobilization and apathy. However, Mahama does not have this issue. His party is united around him and thus an advantage JAK had is not there for Nana.

There is a final point and I feel that this is even more troubling for the long-term future of the NPP. It is plain that some executives want to see Akufo Addo lead the party going into the 2016 elections. There have been public declarations of support and subtleties like organizing to meet him on his return from the UK, attacking anyone who thinks a change is needed and mentioning him at any opportunity in the news. It is as if the other potential candidates do not exist. The feeling I have is that by doing this, the next NPP flag bearer has the opportunity to contents only the 2020 elections. By that time a generation will have been wiped out - sacrificed on the Akufo Addo altar. There will have been no work experience, the memory of the NPPs 2001-2008 will be a distant memory as new voters, and today age 15 will only know the NDC. A lengthy period out of power can give those who feel cheated a long time to brood and seethe over injustices. This will be compounded by the argument that a rule is developing in the NPP - once elected flag bearer the position is yours until you have had enough and not because you cannot be elected. With this barrier being raised, I can see many others seeking their political fortunes elsewhere including forming political parties claiming descent from Danquah and Busia. This will be the sad end of a once great tradition

To prevent this problem, the delegates need to vote for new candidates come December 2014. Perhaps Nana can save face by not contesting at all but I feel too many people are urging him on and their pressure might be irresistible. It is thus for the delegates to look closely at the situation and end the aspirations of Nana Addo and begin to put the NPP on the road to capturing state power come 2016.” Unquote.

Democracy guarantees the rights and in fact encourages every Tom Dick and Harry to have a say or a horse in every race yet common sense dictates that it not necessarily every Tom Dick and Harry that would be perfect for the public good.

Folks, Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo is a political spent force! He will loose to NDC 10 times if we dare take him 10 times. We know it in our bones so why do we want to get our eyes poked when we trim the very plant that will do the poking instead of uprooting it outright? Are we ostriches?

Fiifi Bannerman, Is a Bean-counter in Toronto, Canada