Playing Kookooase Politics With Our Mandate

, Our Government Must Remain Focused.

Day in day out, it is becoming glaringly evident that most of the appointees in the President Mills government don’t appreciate so well the magnitude of the task before the government in its bid to lead the people of this nation to build a better and more prosperous Ghana. The minutest of issues is enough to push most of these appointees and members of our party leadership to make one unnecessary remark or the other. And in this country where over 75% of the media is in bed with the opposition New Patriotic Party, such needless arsenals in the hands of our friends on the other side of the political divide should be guarded against.

In our day to day conversations is this country, we have used the saying “there are many ways of killing a cat” on several occasions. Yet when the Chairman of our party made that statement, all hell broke loose. It was as if we haven’t heard nor made that statement in this nation before. For weeks unending, the statement was dissected and expended on our various media platforms. The core relevance of the statement which was the need to have a credible and relatively fairer Judicial system in Ghana was put on the back burner.
As usual, members of the New Patriotic Party being aided by their collaborators in the media made a political fortune out of it. The Minority in Parliament expectedly organized a Press Conference and issued a jaundiced Release on that often-used statement. Other hypocritical organizations and groups also made public their positions on that statement of the Chairman.
Another comment by Dr. Tony Aidoo on “Christians and Tongue Speaking” was twisted and manipulated to taste sour in the mouths of members of the Christian Religion in Ghana. It was misrepresented to look as if the President Mills led government was anti-Christian Religion; like none of the members of the ruling National Democratic Congress is a Christian. All effort was made to pitch members of the Christian faith against the NDC. For days, these made the headlines of the dailies and were discussed from many obscure angles in the electronic media across the country.
Then entered Kobby Acheampong, the Deputy Minister for Tourism! An otherwise apt description of the primitive manner in which Lawyer Kwadjo Afriyie, popularly known as Sir John (never mind, he can never be knighted) the General Secretary of the NPP often does his political analysis, was completely turned upside down. A group of NPP legislators honourably calling themselves “kookoo ase MPs” organized a Press Conference making all kinds of far-fetched demands from the Deputy Minister. NPP Youth in the Ashanti Regional capital of Kumasi also joined the fray by issuing childish threats to the Deputy Minister. That was also worthy to occupy the front pages of the print media and the air-space of the prime news of the electronic media!
Mention can also be made of Rojo Mettle-Nunoo’s allege comments to the Junior Nurses; Stan Dogbe’s answer to Nana Akomea on the concocted 1.6 billion hampers fiasco on Joy FM’s News File and many others. These comments are becoming few too many and our officials both in government and in the party should take note and act in line.
No political party in the history of contemporary politics in Ghana has been so desperate to grasp the wheels of power of this nation as the NPP today. Age is catching up with their Presidential Candidate and in a political party where over 20 individuals have expressed ambitions of being flag-bearers, Nana Addo knows too well that in the event of his defeat in 2012, he will never get another shot at the Presidency again. The party itself is reported to be in dire financial difficulties. It had to depend on the benevolence of individuals to successfully organize its last congress. The party’s headquarters was recently given to be auctioned; Dankwa Institute (DI), the so-called research arm of the party was served with an eviction notice to vacate their present offices not too long ago. Another 4 years in opposition after 2012 might spell doom for the party.
But the issue-based politics are not helping them either. The President Mills led government is fixing the broken economy beyond the expectations of the NPP. Nothing adverse is there to be said about the economy now. All indices show that the current Ghanaian economy is a thriving one. Corruption, which we were told was an age-old phenomenon is currently under control. The drug business is virtually non-existence in the country now. Drug barons are given hard times to the extent that they now find our country an unfriendly destination to do business. The levels of crime have generally reduced to tolerable levels. The NPP cannot do their politicking on any of the above issues nor any other important national issue for that matter.
So the only straw of a leeway the NPP can hold on is the growing tendency of making political mountains of virtually any loose comment an official of the government or the NDC makes. I expect our officials to appreciate this fact very well and not offer free weapons to the NPP with some of their comments and statements which at best can be described as unnecessary.
Perhaps we need to remind our government appointees and party officials that as a party in government, we can’t continue to play gutter to gutter politics with the opposition. They should focus on the mandate of the good people of Ghana and propagate the good deeds of the government on any platform they find themselves.
His Excellency the President has called for ceasefire of the politics of the insults but I can’t foresee the members of the NPP heading that call. The insults and names-calling are part and parcel of their plans for 2012. Otherwise what message will they share with the electorates? But the NDC can never follow suit. The party has a sacred contract with the good people of Ghana and the assessment of that stewardship will be done in December 2012. The government dare not perform below the expectations of the majority of the people.
I am of a firm belief that the President Mills government will deliver. Ghana in 2012 will be better compared to the Ghana at the beginning of year 2009. Our leaders should therefore remain focused and steer the affairs of this nation to that expected end. With the present largely NPP controlled media, the diversions will continually come but our leaders can’t afford to lose guard, else they disappoint us all. Friend, don’t you agree with me? Please let me know your take on this.
I love NDC; but I love Ghana more. So I humbly pray, God bless our Homeland Ghana!
Nii Ayi Anteh
Teshie Tsui Bleoo
Ledzokuku Constituency
Accra.
(gentlepope@yahoo.co.uk)