Opinions of Monday, 7 August 2017

Columnist: theheraldghana.com

Who is deceiving Amissah Arthur?

Former Vice President Amissah Arthur Former Vice President Amissah Arthur

The statement by the former vice-president, at the 5th anniversary wreath laying ceremony of the late president, John Evans Atta Mills that “I am not considering it [running for president] but people have come to me and I am thinking about it”, is turning heads in political circles.

As unrealistic as it sound, Amisah Arthur, who could have told those seeking to hang him that, he has come to the end of the road of his political career, said, he was thinking about it.

Apart from the fact that Amissah Arthur, could not win his home region for the National Democratic Congress, he’s a man whose views on subjects of national importance, has not been heard.

The reason why many people are dissatisfy and is the cause of avoidable problems is that, people don’t accept who or what they are made of. Some people act as catalyst to achieve a certain reaction and result, on their own they are nothing and can never go further than they.

Some people are born leaders, while others are born followers, a follower can never pretend to be a leader and vice-versa.

If, like me, you are sometimes constipated by the language of politics, you will begin to wonder what and possibly who, might have had the courage of conviction to tell our former vice-president that, he has the capacity to lead the National Democratic Congress.

Amissah Arthur, did not see through the trap being set for him, he also out of the abundance of heart and the presence of mind, is also considering such a suicide mission.

This is not about ambition. This is not about a dream. It is not about a quest, it is a suicide mission, it is an intrigue, which every experience politician, will tell you, will come to nothing.

What Amissah Arthur is considering is like striving after the wind, you can never catch it. One of the mistakes the NDC and president John Dramani Mahama, did in the 2016 election, was to maintain Amissah Arthur as his running mate.

As someone, who has been in politics long before Dr. Mahamudu Bawuah, it was obvious that, Dr. Bawumia, learnt the ropes very quickly and won the hearts and minds of many Ghanaians, which has produced the results, we are seeing today.

Dr. Bawumiah today, is in a better position to succeed Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, than Amissah Arthur was as a vice-president.

What matters to every individual is not what people tell them, but what they tell themselves. We all hear voices, asking us to take a certain adventure, the consequence of which we have to live with. It takes a man with a certain character to sieve through the voices and know which one will set him on a course to doom and which one will bring him redemption.

Amissah Arthur, has gotten to the pinnacle he was destined for, being a president, is a different kettle of fish and he has demonstrated enough capacity for that job.

The NDC, is at a cross road, any wrong decision taken at this juncture could spell doom for the future survival of the party. One of the key decisions the party will be considering is, who should lead it in the 2020 presidential election. A lot of names have been making the rounds and makes one begin to wonder, whether the party is serious about wrestling power in the not too distant future.

Amissah Arthur, who is considering the call by some people, was a disaster from the onset. Electorally he did not add anything to the fortunes of the party, strategically, he was simply not there, economically, which was his strong suit, at least telling by his experience, he allowed vice-president, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, to run riot in this country without any rebuttal.

Even the 170 questions, Dr. Bawumia asked him, are still unanswered, yet Amissah Arthur is considering running for president.

We joke with a lot of things in this country, but to try to joke with the presidency, mean we have reached the lowest of the low.

Amissah Arthur, flew a kite, and it was a dangerous kite in every sense of it, this kite is too disastrous to be considered and I plead with him to shelve whatever ambitions he has.

The NDC in 2008 and 2012 won the Central region, where he hails from, but lost it miserably in 2016, when his four years in office, should have led to the NDC increasing it votes in that region. So in effect, he brought nothing to the table.

It appears that out of the dozens of opportunities that exist for a former vice-president, he wants to venture into uncharted territory that is reserved for the chosen.

It is said that, the gods give power to those who exhibit some power; this explains why the brave always succeed in life.

Amissah Arthur, has not exhibited any power, he was anything but a leader, the party needs elders, he should bring whatever experiences, he has gathered to bear on the party moving forward.

Every idea, of him contesting should be discarded, his ambitions may be true and may come to pass in George Orwell’s Animal Farm, but if he is sleeping he should wake up, reality check will help him decide his political future.

Some people listened to certain voices and ended up mad, they thought it was the Lord talking to them, it turned out to be delusions of grandeur.