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25.08.2014 Feature Article

Genuine Unity Is Our Only Potent Weapon For 2016

Justice Abeeku Newton-OffeiJustice Abeeku Newton-Offei
25.08.2014 LISTEN

For the whole of last-week, the New Patriotic Party was the toast of all media houses, both print and electronic, for obvious reasons. The media is only there to publicize what is happening in society, either positive or negative. But in media circles, good news has never been news since it is the bad news that always catches people's attention and excites their salivary glands.

So, I personally don't begrudge any media house or personnel for using their various platforms as a playing-field for unrestrained talkertives within the party to openly display to the whole world, their dexterity in this regard.

The NPP is an organization consisting of people from diverse backgrounds with equally varied shades of opinions on a particular issue; and this is why there is a constitution by which matters of contention can easily be resolved.Again, the party has a stratified organs through which matters of contention can be handled and peacefully resolved, hence, the periodic selection of group of people to steer the affairs of party.

Besides this, is the congress which is the highest decision-making body of the party, followed chronologically by national conference, national council, national executive committee and the steering committee. There are others like legal and disciplinary committees. This therefore clearly cements the fact that, if there is an issue of contention at any point in-time, there is a clearly spelt-out channel of redress within the party.

Internal conflict-resolution mechanisms
In view of these clear-cut channels available for any member of the party to exploit when he/she feels something isn't being done the right way, the only reason for a loyal party activist from the polling station to National Council to ever make an appearance on Radio/TV to discuss matters of the party, should be to advance the course of the party by way of enhancing its image, foster unity and make it attractive to the Ghanaian populace, with an expressed purpose of enhancing our electoral fortunes at the polls in 2016 and beyond.

The scenario of aggressive mudslinging should be off-the-table, completely, for any member of the party that claims to be desirous of seeing the party in government. But from what I'm seeing in recent times, my very personal diagnosis of problems afflicting the party, is as a result of AGGRESSIVE BLIND-FOLDED-HEROE-WORSHIPPING,GROUNDLESS SUSPISION and BASELESS MISTRUST being carried in a golden-palanquin, while sincerity and conviction have been thrown into a pit-latrine; and my reason is simple: in months preceding this year's congress in the Northern Regional Capital of Tamale, we all supported our preferred candidates and actively campaigned for them and on the D-day, a group of people were chosen by our party's delegates to steer its affairs for the next four (4) years.

Following this choice by the delegates, there should have been an end to all the needless 'acrimoniously acrimonious acrimony' which characterized the campaign, so we could move ahead in unity and singleness of purpose to wrestle power from the current incompetent NDC government. But rather unfortunately, this hasn't been the case and perceptions people harbored prior to the Tamale conference is being given needless oxygen to keep surviving.

The vision for the party in 2016
I was a key member of Kwabena Agyei Agyepong's campaign which resulted in him being elected as General Secretary of our party at the Tamale delegates'' conference with our message and vision to prosecute the party agenda for 2016 being very well-articulated to our constituents at all 275 constituencies across the length and breadth of Ghana. Our campaign was anchored on three key pillars which are HARDWORK, DEDICATION, SELFLESSNESS AND SACRIFICE.

These still remain the key pillars Kwabena Agyei Agyepong will use as bed-rock for returning the party to its roots through the spirit of volunteerism. I'm very close to Kwabena Agyei Agyepong and I can state it here and now, that, at no point in time has he discussed with me a desire to aspire to lead our party, as a flagbearer, into any election in the future. But as we normally say; “it is only fools who don't change their minds”.

Now, if Kwabena is harboring future presidential ambition, then, his only chance of ever realizing that dream would to steer the party to a resounding victory in 2016 in his capacity as its Chief Executive Officer. The talk of whatever agenda, by whoever, for whatever reason and for whatever period, therefore defies logic and is clearly borne-out of nothing but pure mischief and obdurate malevolence.

Accessibility of the General Secretary
On the question of party people being made to go through laid-down procedure to see the General Secretary, I guess this is a common practice anywhere on this planet. I have personally managed Kwabena Agyei Agyepong's private office for close to 8years now, and what we do is just taking down names and telephone contacts of visitors. We do this to enable us contact previous visitors when the need arises since they normally come with information which needs to be crossed-checked or a request requiring a response at a latter-date.

Even characters that shamelessly went on radio with abominable, insensitive, reprehensible and irresponsible pronouncement that, Kwabena Agyei Agyepong's near-fatal road accident, just 3days to the Tamale delegates' conference, was cooked-up are still being accommodated at the party headquarters. Again, there are others who vowed to ensure Kwabena never won the contest but these people are all being accommodated and have direct access to the General Secretary. So, how on earth would he deny access to grass-root followers whose votes actually counted in the contest?

Indeed, if the General Secretary of a huge political organization as NPP were to open his doors to all followers of the party wanting to see him at any point in time, without first being taken through some form of orderliness, there will certainly be confusion and many of these very people will end up not gaining access to him for their stories to be heard. So,I will plead with our party followers, on whose munificence Kwabena is General Secretary and will competently advance your course by way of meticulousness in service, to bear with him.Indeed,the General Secretary has a plan in-place to rather spend most of his time with you at the polling station, constituency and regional levels to listen to all your concerns and spare you the trouble of having to travel to the Headquarters in Accra.

Duties of a party communicator
Recent development at the party headquarters which was unfortunately given excessive volumes of oxygen in the media by some members of the party, even after council of elders had advised otherwise, in my very humble estimation, should not have happen because the party has structures in-place to address any internal matter, as I have stated above. Now, NPP has over 8million actively active activists and if all these numbers were to rush to the media with their grievances, there will surely be no time for the party to focus its attention on articulating policy alternatives to make it attractive to Ghanaians to enhance our chances of being given the mandate to govern.

Forinstance, I have been a victim of highly intense vilification by some people within the party who are today talking plenty in the media when they are very much aware of internal procedures for addressing matters, but I neither went public about nor even bothered to seek redress internally.Indeed, some of us have, on the quiet, made a great deal of sacrifices to the party in 2008 and 2012 campaign. The 'MINORITY CAUCUS' on Multi-TV was a concept developed by myself and Lawyer Boaben Asamoa and there were days where I closed from the programme and have had to walk home because I had no money for transport.

Again, on Choice-FM, was a programme called 'HARD FACTS' on which I was a regular panelist. I sometimes had phone calls, at short notice, to make appearance on the show because the party didn't have a rep.Some of those unscheduled calls came at the time I was peacefully resting in-bed after a hard day's struggle but I never let my party down. In the print media, editors of newspapers as now 'dreaded' Daily Guide, Daily Search-light, Crusading Guide, Statesman and now defunct Patriot, will bear me out for the enormous contributions I have made, over the years, for our party by way of weekly feature articles.

As a matter of fact, I used to be a columnist in the Daily Guide newspaper for close to 4years, and I used my column “MY VERDICT” to give commensurate response to insults being heaped on our party's flag-bearer Nana Ado Dankwah Akufo-Addo during 2008 and 2012 electioneering campaign. My articles often rubbed NDC ministers on the wrong side and they were always sending emissaries to the editor, at the offices of the newspaper, to ask if an arrangement could be made for them to meet me in person. I did all this without holding any official position in the party.

Again, in 2008,I was at the nerve-center of NPP strategy for the second round of voting where I personally coordinated the distribution of 230 lap-top computers to every single constituency, on the night before voting day,but,I was never holding any officially-recognized position in the party. As a matter of fact, until Kwabena Agyei Agyepong made his private office available to the party to accommodate media monitoring wing of communication department of the party's 2012 campaign, most members of the party didn't even know me in person. So my point is, changes are certainly part of human evolution which must always be embraced and endeavor to do our bit in every capacity we find ourselves, to advance the course of our party.

Selling our story the right way
Within a period of one week, NDC constituency chairmen for Obuasi-West and East have both been rendered completely paralyzed as a result of merciless beatings inflicted on them by their party foot-soldiers who accused them of hiding forms for prospective office-seekers at the constituency level, with an expressed purpose of making them available to only their preferred candidates. Such a scenario never played-out during NPP process so what reason do we have to always engage in plenty verbal war in the media, over matters which can easily be resolved internally?

Indeed, genuine unity remains our only effective weapon for 2016 so let us please cut-out this emerging habit of rushing to the media, with incessant haste, and tearing ourselves apart over matters that can easily be resolved internally, and rather channel our energies into building a STRONG, UNITED, ATTRACTIVE and TOLERANT political organization since our real 'enemy' (NDC) is definitely not within but our there. NPP WILL BE BACK!!!

Justice Abeeku Newton-Offei
E-mail: [email protected]

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