Alhaj Boniface Deserves The NPP Running Mate Slot

Alhaj Abubakar Sadiq Boniface, the Member of Parliament for Salaga and Minister for Housing and Water Resources is an intelligent, self-sacrificing and eloquent politician. His partnership with Nana Akuffo Addo if allowed to see daylight promises to be a dazzling and tantalising prospect with the poignant capacity to deliver electoral victory for the NPP in the December 2008 elections.

As a politician, Alhaj Boniface has exhibited exhilarating qualities of good judgement, honesty and patriotism and his rising star status in the NPP is a fitting reward for his dignity, excellent political aptitude and his ever-burning desire to serve the people.

Ghana is an emerging economy displaying appreciable level of growth and development. We need those at the apex of political affairs to have a good grasp of economics, finance and rule of law. Nana’s sterling qualities in the dynamics of rule of law can only be discussed here at the risk of boring readers since that is known to all, friends and foes alike. What Boniface adds to the presidential equation is the knowledge of economics and finance. Boniface is a highflying professional in finance having spent considerable number of years in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning as a civil servant. Add this to his illustrious service at the Ministries of Tourism and Trade and Industry as Deputy Minister and you can only appreciate the depth and enormity of his experience.

That is not enough though. Boniface again served as Northern Regional Minister, then occupied the position of Minister for Employment and now holds the portfolio of Housing and Water Resources Minister. These impressive records of his service to the nation illustrate a desire and belief to move to the top in the insatiable quest of delivering and improving the quality of life of Ghanaians; an inviting case for him to be made running mate to Nana.

The electoral fortunes of the NPP will also be given a tremendous boost by a Nana and Boniface ticket. Boniface possesses an impeccable quality for attracting and retaining floating and even NDC voters. The Zongo and Northern votes have eluded the ruling NPP for sometime now. What will take the ruling NPP to attract the Zongo and Northern votes is to turn the dream of many well-wishers of seeing a Nana/Boniface partnership into reality. A single but striking example of Boniface innate abilities to captivate many a floating voter and the Zongo votes is his electoral victories of 2000 and 2004. For the benefit of readers who know very little about Salaga, this ancient and historical town is a very big Zongo. Many tribes such as Kotokolis, Gurmas, and Dagombas inhabit Salaga apart from Gonjas and the commonest language spoken is Hausa. We all know that the lingua franca of the Zongo communities in Ghana is Hausa. Boniface is an orator and very eloquent in Hausa, Gonja, Dagbani and Twi. Boniface does not need to flaunt his Zongo credentials because that is overwhelmingly self-evident. What he brings to the NPP presidential campaign is power of language, which he can use to storm the North and the Zongo communities to canvass for votes, which from all indications would be forthcoming in view of the NPP governments’ superlative performance.

If victory is a result of good performance, then Boniface has shown repeatedly that in the political theatre, he is the man to beat. In jettisoning his independent cloak and opting to stand on the ticket of the NPP, the political terrain in Salaga became rugged. He lost his friends in the NDC and some NPP supporters were not amused either. As the battle for the seat waged on, the single sense of purpose and the personal dynamism of Boniface illuminated the political atmosphere in Salaga resulting in his historic victory for the NPP. It is this rare but admirable quality that he brings into a Nana and Boniface candidature. If the NPP is serious about victory in December 2008, they should look no further than Boniface.

What about the tribal factor. This creates uneasiness but cannot be glossed over. After all, prudent supporters of the NPP cringed over the prospect of another presidential candidate from the Ashanti Region. Many therefore welcomed Nana’s victory because his election momentarily dazed those who were waiting in the wings to mount a campaign assault on the NPP should the winner from the NPP primaries was to originate from the Ashanti Region. Gonja’s traditionally are more acceptable to other Northern and Zongo tribes. In the Upper East Region, Gonja’s are “play mates” to the Builsa’s and Grushi’s and in the Upper West Region, Gonja’s “share jokes” with Sisala’s and to the South of Ghana, Gonja’s are a part of the GUAN speaking tribes. If this is not an asset for Boniface, then it is definitely not a liability.

Finally, every follower of the political environment in Ghana is aware of just how much this year’s campaign promises to be ferocious. It would require politicians with the exquisite skills and characteristics of valour, credibility and valiant fighting spirit to conquer their rivals. Boniface is a man of several parts. He is very sober, evaluates options and exercises good judgement as seen in the way he handled the turbulent Northern Region before, during and after the burial of the Ya-Na but what about when the political terrain metamorphoses into a minefield as predicted this year. On such occasions, one can place your trust in Boniface to display the instincts and bravado of a street fighter. Indeed, Boniface is a brave political warrior. He is at his best when he comes under enemy fire.