New Patriotic Party (NPP) members should, at this moment, stop attacking Alan Kyerematen and rather concentrate on those who have remain faithful and are still in the NPP. In the Gospel of John Chapter 6, Jesus Christ taught about the bread of life, emphasising that what the people need in order to gain salvation was to eat His Body and drink His Blood.
With these words, many of His disciples deserted Him. Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked “Do you also want to leave?” (John 6: 67). Peter on behalf of his brothers, pledged their commitment to Jesus and they remained with Him.
Jesus never even once condemned those who deserted Him, He rather concentrated on those following Him on His mission, here on earth and drew numbers to His side.
Today, the New Patriotic Party may be facing the same challenges that Jesus faced with the deserting of one of the party’s backbone, Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen. But instead of concentrating on those left, some of the party’s gurus have decided to go after Alan and condemn him. This will not make the party any stronger, because many in the party today are facing lots of challenges and disappointments, because even though their party is in power, they live lives as if they are in opposition.
Anyone who expressed displeasure about party and government is considered to be violating some laws in the Party’s constitution and summarily disciplined. One other thing is that violence seems to be taking charge of the NPP and things which the party accused the NDC of, have become the status quo of this liberal democrat party.
Polling station executive elections which always went on, unnoticed, took the central stage of blood shedding in the recent internal elections. The Super Delegates Congress looked like a dress rehearsal of what was to be expected during the main event, the National Delegates Congress, in terms of violence.
As for moneyocracy, the least said about it the better. The Greater Accra regional executive elections showcased that. Money and half pieces of cloth were taken into the polling booths area and broadcast like a farmer broadcasting, seeds.
Before the Super Delegates Congress, it was discovered that the album (electoral register) of thirty-one out of the thirty-four constituencies in the Greater Accra Region had been tampered with, making them not credible. It was said that Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen donated GH¢500,000.00 to the Party to fix this anomaly. Allegations are that, nothing was done to fix the problem.
The question is who is playing mischief in the NPP? One could quickly point fingers at the National Executive Committee, but could it be the one? Unfortunately for these current executives, they seem to be doing voluntary jobs. No source of income for hard days work.
So, they may not be able to resist external forces from wherever they may come from. If that is the case, then what is the hidden agenda of these external forces? All things said, whoever they are, they do not have the grass root base in mind. When it matters, the grass root will be given goodies to vote in a certain way. And that they become history.
Taken the grass root for granted could lead to losing elections. They are based at the polling station areas, which are the only places that elections are conducted. Their hard work and dedication result in the party picking up victory towards electoral victory in the constituencies.
So, no polling station must be taken for granted and every party member working in a polling station is a rock and foundation for the party. Without them, there is no party. They trek the trenches to convince people that their party is the only choice. They do so because they believe that if the party wins, their lives would change for the party.
However, their party wins and forms government and nothing comes. Jobs and goodies go the other way and they wonder why. Then all they hear from a top government appointee is that the president had decreed that no job must be given to NPP persons. Someone very close to government comes out to justify this by saying, NPP believes in political neutralisation.
No problem, but of course no one will put square pegs in round holes, so when a polling station person is not qualified for a particular job, he must not be appointed into a job. All the same, what about his children or what about poverty alleviation projects to boost their income?
Feeling used and abused, this NPP person would wallow in poverty until the next elections, internal and external, when cash and goodies would arrive so that he or she is asked again to conduct themselves in a certain appropriate way.
Hon Boakye Agyarko made a solid statement that Alan’s departure from the party is not the problem. Many have departed in their hearts and would only make this evident on voting day. The neglecting of the ordinary party person is not new in the history of politics in this country and it is like Boakye Agyarko was recalling an event from our political history. And it is this:
The United Gold Coast Congress (UGCC) was founded on August 4, 1947 and it was poised to become the first political party to form government of the independent Ghana.This strong and powerful party had an Achilles Heel. Almost all of the leadership prefer not to associate themselves with the youth and commoners, except Nkrumah.
Whenever they came around Nkrumah would buy food and he will sit and eat together with them. Nkrumah’s association with the youth and commoners greatly displeased his colleagues. In August 1948, the working committee decided to suspend Nkrumah as General Secretary and offered him the post of Treasury, which he accepted in November 1948. Relations became strained and attempts of reconciliations failed. The final break came on June 11, 1949.
The youth and commoners were denied entry into the conference place and they mounted a stage outside, demanding Nkrumah came to them or they would leave the UGCC. Nkrumah initially did not want to break with the UGCC, but for the acts of the executives and the demands of the youth, he tended in his resignation and he was appointed leader by the youth.
The following day, June 12, 1949, Nkrumah announced the formation of the Convention People’s Party (CPP). It grew from strength to strength because of the large following of youth and commoners. And of course, Nkrumah had a good message which pleased them.
The results of the first General Elections of the Gold Coast, had the CPP winning34 out of the 38 elected seats in the Legislative Assembly, the UGCC taking three seats and an independent candidate won one.
One of the most remarkable victories for the CPP was at one of the Sekondi-Takoradi constituencies. A straight fight between Nana Sir Tsibu Darku IX, Omanhene of Assin Atandasu, Knight of the Order of the British Empire, a leader of the Joint Provincial Council and a senior African member of the Executive Council under the Burns Constitution, who was on the UGCC ticket and Alfred Pobee Biney, a former engine driver of the Gold Coast Railways who was on the CPP ticket. After the results were collated and declared, the commoner, Pobee Biney won almost 80% of valid votes cast, beating the elite by 51 votes to 13.
The fact was that the UGCC underrated Nkrumah as a butterfly in the wind, so it did not bother to take the trouble to recall Nkrumah to negotiate his return to the party. It took it that his CPP was going to be ignored by the people and dry out before it could even sprout. Unfortunately, the UGCC rather collapsed after the 1951 General Elections after only less than four years of formation.
In this case, if history is to repeat itself, in the case of NPP vs Alan Kyerematen as was the case of UGCC vs Kwame Nkrumah, then Alan’s strong message in his movement for change can pose problems for the Elephants. Arrogance and complacency may lead the NPP down the drain and be quickly forgotten just as the UGCC encountered in 1951.
Should the NPP come out poorly in the 2024 General Elections, it could mean the UP Tradition will die out soon after, unless another party with the Tradition’s roots is founded.
The lack of respect for the grass roots which cost the UGCC, seem to be showing its head in the NPP. The Party must as urgently as possible sit down and have a thorough deep introspection and come out with the reasons why Alan left and who else would want to go. Going about saying that Alan is finish is like burying one’s head in the sand.
Saying that no independent candidate can win presidential elections is like not accepting what happened in Benin. And to say that Alan will find it difficult to form government since at least 51% of his ministers and deputies must come from Parliament is like forgetting the rules of the game.
If Alan wins 2024 on independent ticket, all he has do is to go to the House and pick the tough nuts from both the NPP and the NDC and put them in his government. This form of unity government will make both sides perform well and they will endeavour not to have anything wrong in the government they belong to. People will then see how well the NPP and NDC can perform in government.
Will the NPP follow after the UGCC is something God should not allow to happen. But the NPP must sit up in humility and seek the right course. Blasting or insulting Alan will rather weaken the Elephant Party.
Hon. Daniel Dugan
