NPP’s Flag-bearership Currently Arms The NDC; I Propose to NPP a Constitutional Review After 2016

I must commend the NPP's leadership for an excellent move of demanding cease fire on the current factional media war, this is very good administrative posture by the Afoko-led executions.

To start, recent situations make it almost impossible for a person and for that matter an intellect or elite to ply life apolitically, watching consensus nation-building unperturbed. Especially now that even the most introvert elites are forced to cough out from their offices just at the handling of salary structures, pension issues, utility supplies and payments among others; and much personally, now that even degrees from KNUST, Legon, UCC, UDS among others never guarantee even internships or jobs. And be dreaming just at the mention of a degree fetching graduands capital assistance for entrepreneurial ventures. From these, we as a country obviously have not hit the economically possible targets. And we need equally stronger alternatives in the form of political parties to show the other side of the coin or spearhead systematic corrections.

Having said so, NPP has been able to establish itself as de facto alternative to the incumbent NDC, the immediate next to resort to when incumbency for instance plunge us into myriads of socio-economic shortfalls. But of late one hardly banks his/her hopes with NPP upon the assessments and monitoring of issues emanating from their internal party politics.

Some few days back, a ranking member of the NPP could emphatically stress on the inexistence of camps within the party. But internal camps are too ripe of late to the extend that whoever deny camps within the current NPP stands a non-serious politician, irrespective of his political acumen. And in as much as opinions are like noses, camps will forever interrupt party politics. But what if the camps are directly and indirectly working to the advantage of the opponent by giving clues, revelations and falsifications?

Ever since I started monitoring campaigns, NDC has used major arsenals crafted by NPP themselves (clues, revelations, defamations and falsifications) to effectively do the damage. But until their recent preparation for Tamale Congress, some of us thought the internal defamations and falsifications have paved way for brotherhood contest. But that category of arsenals which have worked effectively against their flag-bearer resurfaced from insiders, and this time the incumbent party chairman even had his share to the brim.

Now, whereas defamations and falsifications have just taken the back-bench for the new faces in future internal elections, another trend is developing faster like a cancer. This trend I call COMPETENCE DEGRADATION always questions the competencies of aspirants; even though the party's Vetting Committee thumbed persons' competencies before they turned aspirants. Instead of lobbying or marketing a favored aspirant, the party's airwave commentators now revisit the issue of competence-measuring by descriptively belittling the competence of other aspirants.

Aggregating media submissions by the party's factional commentators, anti-Nana Addos for instance see no reason why the two times flag-bearer Nana Addo must be fielded a third time mainly because he could not pull more votes especially from a class known as floating voters. Whereas some argue from the fact that you cannot always come out of competition claiming machinations (just give way for one who will not be cheated), others argue the man is simply not appealing for Ghanaians to buy, other resort to old-age as the reason why he should be substituted, some paints him to stand alone as someone pursuing his hook-or-crook personal presidential ambitions, others his utterances, and yet some attributes it to how he is not destined, divined or ordained for presidency.

On the other hand, anti-Alans submit a lot about Alan's egocentric style of sit-down-strike or passive posture in all the party's two attempts to clinch power. Others tag him of not competent enough to even convince 30% of party delegates to get him elected as flag-bearer, literally if not good enough to even pass 'class one' exams, how then do you ask to be allowed to sit for that of 'class two'? Because effectively writing exams in the upper class rests on the foundation of the lower class (in this case delegates are by far a sample of the population relating these floating voters one way or the other). Yet another try to degrade his competencies by flashing back his execution of the past Presidential Special Initiatives (PSI) as well as other offices he held.

Yet another school of thought drags in H.E ex-president Kuffour and paints him as anti-Nana Addo. I feel very sorry even as mere sympathizer to mention these tags, but they are already in the public domain of which some voters monitor NPP's flag-bearers from these perspectives, I mean their tagged disadvantages. And what factional commentators are failing to note is that, these tags are also too enough for the TARGETED FLOATING VOTERS to swing decision even at the point of thumb-printing within the ballot box. So that after serving a floating voter with falsifications to decide upon, Electoral Commissioners and Supreme Court Judges are to have their breathing noses after losing general elections. Irrespective of various camps, all party members had a lot to say on machinations, shenanigans and irregularities in both the 2008 and 2012 General Elections which discredit the genuineness of sitting presidents. They stood in solidarity for instance to petition the highest court of law for redress. At that time the household description was 'stolen verdict' under the orchestration of the EC and the sitting president. This meant a 66year old competent 'oluman' by name Nana Addo won NPP a general election; but even the laws of our land were not in clear cuts to affirm this competently won election. Or was it that the man Nana Addo never won any of the two elections but the entire NPP out of desperations created stories to mar the elections? Big No, because revelations at the Supreme Court as they proceeded underpinned the fact that irrespective of who wins from the court, there are more lapses and laxities on our electoral acts, which can easily thwart competent results and efforts. In the end, the NDC had been given enough to feed on just on competencies; in the event of Nana or Alan becoming the flag-bearer.

And on point here, the anti-Nana Addos especially must be EXTRA CAREFUL by way of comments, because it turns to be a confused paths or double standard to chant 'a stolen verdict or erroneous collations' some few months back, but to come again this time speaking of the flag-bearer's inability to win for NPP a power. This is clear desperation for the entire NPP which the opponents fittingly describe the party.

Meanwhile, as person who forecasts old-age to be binding on all mankind, l do not see reason why a 70year old COMPETENT AND HEALTHY 'oluman' should be forced to yield for a relatively younger man just because of the 70 tag, even when he has no problem with constituted retirement. This is why as mere sympathizer I consider the monitoring of actions and inactions building up to the next election more indispensable than degrading a candidate's competencies. I once heard a radio commentator saying the man Nana Addo snubbed most fringe benefits and entitled payments during his ministerial times in the erstwhile Kuffour's administration, and also heard Nana Addo himself claiming incorruptible engagements and daring everyone on an international medium. I also heard somewhere along the line, that Alan was once confronted by World Trade Center to chair such institution. Dr Frimpong Boateng as l heard besides all his stellar achievements needed to snub much European pampering and cash just to descend down and serve Ghana. And if there are bits of truth in these claims, are these for instance not bigger pluses for the party to sing to households?

From this point, not only factional commentators are perpetuating NDC's reign, it is equally self suppressing for a trusted and ranking party members to be abreast with all these pluses on candidates (truthful or not) and yet fail to clear the airwaves to that effect or fail to put it on record for hardy political points. This actually is not what the article intends to communicate, this piece rather suggests to the NPP a sharpened review at their constitution, because after all it is factual that only persons wailing out of socio-economic hardships find it much easy to promote a senior's achievements, so as to ripe the senior's chances of winning elections. Economically good-standing and high-ranking members of the society hardly put on record a fellow's decisive achievements - something of an African instinct.

Having said all these on COMPETENCE DEGRADATION, I propose to the party a constitutional review after 2016. An effective constitution will help minimize the below-belt comments, competence degradations as well as going a long way to fetch for the party a united front. This will brighten their chances of clinching power to usher in the 'Development In Freedom' mission. For as it stands now the party's constitution is either blunt or mute on degrading utterances from party members on fellow members. Constitution must this time come clearer on campaign utterances, how/why and when flag-bearer must be contested and percentage requirements from delegates for which flag-bearer must face contest or popular acclamations and the likes. In the same way marketing of favored aspirants and lobbying l think must be detailed to the highest point of possibility. A reviewed constitution must variedly bite after barking severally. A review constitution must give competence-measuring exclusively to the Vetting Committee, after which no campaigner has the right to questions other aspirant's competencies as to how the aspirant handled so-so-and-so office. This is because competencies are one of such pulling factors which pull floating voters to a flag-bearer.

Without another look at the constitution, the quest for factions being decorous with their utterances will always be like vapors from a pot, vanishing seconds after appearance. Dr Amoako Tuffour for instance on 2nd June 2014, at Rainbow Radio's Frontline Program had no option than to summarily entreat factional commentators to be mindful of their utterances on fellow candidates. Yes! This is how far ranking members like him can go, entreating factional commentators and not reminding them of clause(s) which threatens their party political ambitions and other possible sanctions. After tracing the epicenter or origin of bad-mouthed information (by a well instituted Investigative Committee of the party), one of such varied sanctions for orchestrators or architects of such degrading information can be a listing on probating, dwindling, denting and/or quenching of orchestrator's future political ambitions within the party.

For if a discipline-centered constitution will drive persons away from the party, then a lax constitution is perpetuating the party's years in opposition. Because as it stands, what makes the pro-Alans think they will get the needed cooperation in the event whereby Nana Addo is voted out for Alan? So it is more or less like a self-destructing carcinogenic or albatross hanging on the party's neck, and all as a result of internal candidature which has not been bumper-to-bumper contest so far.

This has been my urgent call on NPP to use a reviewed constitution to the maximum point of eliminating competence-degradations, defamations and falsifications to realize a unified front; even before we as hopefuls totally lose hopes on the entire entity called Ghana.

Long Live A Better Ghana; Short Live This Current Ghana

Abel Okyere
'a keen observer'
[email protected]