By 1981, the socialist boys had taken control of Ghana’s main student body, NUGS, and after the December 31, 1981 coup, they quickly identified with the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC).
To make it seem that the entire students of Ghana supported that unconstitutional take-over, NUGS mandated all lecture halls to be closed and students form a Task-Force body to undertake the duties of carting cocoa from the farms to the ports and also partake in other community works. This idea was never supported by majority of the students, but they had to comply with the directives of their leaders.
Back in college, the general student body decided to kick out the socialist boys and at the next NUGS Congress, they voted for liberals, like Arthur Kennedy, Dan Botwe and Henry Djaba, among others. Arthur Kennedy became the NUGS president. The main student activists were liberals, with people like Asamoah Boateng, fighting for true democracy.
In late 1982, the students bared their teeth and dared government. This was quickly quelled. Then in 1983 the showdown between government and students begun in the three universities, namely University of Science and Technology (UST), University of Ghana (UG) and University of Cape Coast (UCC).
In May of that year, a new executive body of NUGS, made up mainly of liberals, were inducted into office at UST. Students rallied in UG and demonstrated in a show of power and defiance against government.
Knowing that the PNDC government was going to make sure the demonstration did not come on, under the wise decisions of the organisers, led by Thomas Mfodwo, the student front was split into two.
The smaller group went to Madina to board vehicles to Accra, that dawn. The larger group, took off into the Achimota forest at break of dawn and walked past GIMPA on their right and into the Achimota School’s East Compound and entered the West Compound and headed to the railway lines.
Taking a left turn they walked on the rails until they arrived at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle area and moved on to Rawlings Park in the business district, where “Rawlings’ Coffin” was burnt. The State Security was in the state of confusion and at wits end as to how the students outwitted all security measures laid down to halt this demonstration.
Made to believe that the students would use the main Accra-Madina Road, there was a major road block at the Tetteh Quarshie Circle, where vehicles were stopped and searched and the passengers who looked like students were forced to disembark.
A large number however, were not identified and they landed in the Accra business district, and waited for their colleagues. Thinking that the situation was under control, government was shocked to hear that the students had arrived in town.
From the Rawlings Park many of the students went to the New Times Corporation, where unfortunately, the military led by then Capt. George Partington, brutally quelled the demonstration.
In the midst of the commotion, Arthur Kennedy was forced into a car and driven off to safety. Later, student leaders like, Arthur Kennedy, Henry Djaba and Dan Botwe fled into exile.
Later in the final years of the PNDC, Dan Botwe and Asamoah Boateng came back to help in the promotion of democracy in Ghana.
Not much was heard of Dr Kobina Arthur Kennedy, until in 2007, when he appeared on the scene and offered himself to lead the New Patriotic Party in the 2008 Presidential Elections.
Arthur Kennedy performed badly when he occupied the last position securing only 1 vote or 0.044% of the 2,285 valid votes cast. At that low and humble position, Arthur Kennedy, would not keep quiet, but rather he went making statements and even published a book, Chasing the Elephant into the Bush: The Politics of Complacency.
Arthur Kennedy started revealing his dislike for President J.A. Kufuor by making very false statements in the book. On page 148 of his book, under the heading: “President Kufuor Pledges ‘No Vote”, the author made it appear as if (i) “President Kufuor had declared that no voting will take place in Tain (ii) that the decision for the NPP not to contest the Tain elections was taken by President Kufuor; (iii) that President Kufuor did not go to Tain because of security reasons.”
On December 7, 2009 the ex-President responded to these false statements and asked Arthur Kennedy to find a way of incorporating his (Kufuor’s) reaction “in the re-run of your book, should there be one”. To date, Arthur Kennedy has not been able to do that.
On February 2, 2009, in an interview with the Ghanaian Chronicle, Arthur Kennedy accused Ex-President Kufuor for causing the defeat of the NPP in the 2008 General Elections. To him, the building of the Presidential Palace (Jubilee House) and the purchase of two presidential aircrafts in an Election year, contributed greatly to the defeat of the party.
On May 11, 2021, during an interview with Dzifa Bampoh, Arthur Kennedy accused Ex-President Kufuor for poorly implementing the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
As if his unwarranted attacks on H.E. J.A. Kufuor was not over, after some other accusations, Arthur Kennedy on February 23, 2024, accused President Kufuor, for letting the NPP down by allowing the “Akyem Mafia,” to take control of the NPP.
With the issue of Tain, it was the NPP lawyers for the then candidate Nana Akufo-Addo, who went for a court injunction on the voting at Tain and it was this group which announced that NPP would not contest the Tain run-off. President Kufuor was on his way to Tain and had reached Sunyani when he heard the news of the injunction and the boycott. Very disappointed, he returned home.
As a sitting president, the party could not consult him before coming to those decisions. This Kobina Arthur Kennedy knew was what happened, yet he decided to cover-up for the pro-Nana Addo group and rather spread these lies.
That era was when the party was split into Kufuor Group and Nana-Addo Group and Arthur Kennedy who hates President Kufuor decided to wrongly blame him for the party’s defeat in 2008.
The National Health Insurance Scheme was a very laudable scheme which was applauded by majority of Ghanaians, especially those in the lower income group. The NDC who stood against this scheme and walked out of Parliament when it was being passed into law, in the House, later saw its great importance and in its 2008 Manifesto, it promised to implement a policy of One-Term Premium.
When in power, the NDC could not fulfil its promise and went on to collapse the NHIS. What has this got to do with President Kufuor? And for an NPP leader coming out to rubbish a very good policy like the NHIS started by his party in power, is very incomprehensible.
Ghana’s economy was booming during the Kufuor’s administration and various infrastructures were constructed. It became necessary for the construction of a new Presidential Palace and the purchasing of two presidential aircrafts. It is very ridiculous to condemn these and even say they led to the defeat of the NPP in 2008.
Perhaps, very much disappointed for not being acknowledged by President Akufo-Addo, Dr. Arthur Kennedy is today accusing Kufuor for allowing Nana Addo to take control of the party.
He is aware that the Nana Addo fever spread sway over the party and infected majority of NPP members, who would hear only of Nana Addo and no one else. With his perceived intelligence and foresight, Arthur Kennedy should have known of the end-result of this phenomenon. During his final term as president, the NPP was led to believe that President Kufuor did not like the party.
But for Hon. Dan Botwe, party members, who were being organised to hoot at President Kufuor, during a party function, would have done that.
During the 2006 Party Conference to elect national executives, President Kufuor walked into a hall in University of Ghana, one evening to speak to party faithful. Apart from government appointees who acknowledged him by standing up as he entered, all others were seated with some, placing the legs on the table.
Dr. Arthur Kennedy, was enjoying every bit of this and so he could not advise party members to do the right thing to enhance fairness and democracy in the NPP. After this had taken roots, and failing to be favoured by government, Arthur Kennedy is now coming to complain that Kufuor had permitted the take-over of the party by pro-Nana Addo.
Very bitter, he is angry that President Kufuor is now perceived to support the pro-Nana Addo candidacy of Dr Bawumia. He should know that with President Kufuor placed low by the party, there was no way he could have a say, if it would go against the majority.
Since 2017, why did Dr Kobina Arthur Kennedy not organise a movement within the party to check the so-called Akyem-Mafia from taking control of the party? If he thinks there was a problem, he must know that with the lies he spreads about Kufuor, he, Arthur Kennedy, is part of the problem and hence, he should be part of the solution.
He cannot say in one breath, that President Kufuor was ineffective and the main cause of the party losing the 2008 General Election and, in another breath, accuse him for not acting to save the party. This is only from a confused mind full of greed and egoism who believes he must be the only person to have any say on any issue.
This confused state of mind, is confirmed in his statement that Alan Kyeremanten does not know how to fight for power. In 1983, as president of NUGS, Dr. Arthur Kobina Kennedy could not lead students to kick out the PNDC government and today he is saying somebody does not know how to fight for power.
Fast forward, in 2007, when he contested the presidential primaries, while Alan placed second and secured 738 votes or 32.508%, he, Arthur Kennedy who knows how to fight for power, secured only 1 vote or 0.044% and placed last among seventeen aspirants.
By Hon Daniel Dugan
