Open Letter To Alan Kyeremateng, Akufo-Addo And NPP

DEAR
Mr. Kyeremateng, Nana Akuffo-Addo And NPP:

Factions, sections, groups, divisions (however you want to call it) within groups are a fact of human society. Even within families, the basic unit of society, there are usually sections and factions. Therefore, factions within political parties are largely normal, but when human lives are at stake as a result of such groupings, we must be worried. This is the reason I am writing this letter. What is happening in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) currently is worrying.

MR. ALAN KYEREMATENG (and supporters):
Whether real or perceived, true or not, there is a belief that you have sabotaged Nana Akuffo-Addo’s bid to become president since 2008. Whether this is true or not, I am not in a position to confirm or deny. I remember that before the 2008 elections, in a conversation with a regional organiser of the NPP, he told me that he would not be surprised if the NPP lost the elections.

His reason was that there was an Alan-for-2012 agenda, which meant that you and your supporters were secretly campaigning against Nana Akuffo-Addo, so that if he lost the 2008 elections, you would become the flag bearer for 2012. I did not believe it, anyway. But, lo and behold, the NPP lost the election, in fact, with a slim margin. Before the 2012 elections, there was another rumour of Alan-for-2016 agenda. Again the NPP lost. Today, there is another rumour of Alan-for-2020 agenda. This is a worrying development.

Since Mr. Afoko and Mr. Kwabena Agyepong became the chairman and the general secretary respectively, the perception of sabotage has heightened because they are perceived to be working for your 2020 agenda. Again, I am not in a position to affirm or deny this. But the truth and reality is that since the two became leaders of the Party, disunity in the Party has degenerated. This has fuelled the old perception of your sabotage.

Mr. Kyeremateng, I wonder whether you have deeply thought of this. I do strongly believe that the perception that you undermined (and continue to undermine) Nana Akuffo-Addo’s presidential ambition courted substantial disaffection for you from the majority of NPP supporters and that might have accounted for the 94% win for Nana Akuffo-Addo in the 2016 flag-bearership race. Perhaps, it was a warning to you that if you did not want Nana to be president, you would not be president either.

Mr. Kyeremateng, do you in anyway realise or imagine that your becoming a president of Ghana is somehow tied to Nana Akuffo-Addo’s becoming president? This may seem trivial but wait a minute. Have you heard that you are behind Nana Akuffo-Addo’s losses in the previous elections and that you and your supporters are planning same for the 2016 elections? If your response is ‘yes’, then there is a real problem.

Supposing that Nana Akuffo-Addo loses the 2016 elections and you become the flag bearer of the NPP for the 2020 elections, are you sure supporters of Nana Akuffo-Addo will support you to win? Or, better still, will you expect them to support you? I have my doubts. The perception of your sabotaging Nana Akuffo-Addo is growing strongly by the current events happening in the Party. You are a presidential material, so I think you should think deeply about this; otherwise, you may be paid back in your own coin.

If I were you, therefore, Mr. Kyeremateng, I would do all I could to support Nana Akuffo-Addo to win the 2016 election. If I were you, I would advise the chairman and the general secretary to work closely with all concerned for victory in 2016.

For me, Mr. Kyeremateng, if it is true that you are sabotaging Nana Akuffo-Addo, it is Ghana that you are sabotaging. Have you thought of the difficulties and hardships that Ghanaians are going through due to poor economic management by the current government? If you are not careful, posterity will judge you very bitterly. Remember what the Good Book says in Proverbs 24:17-18: “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles; Lest the LORD will see it, and be displeased, and turn His anger away from him” (RSV).

NANA AKUFFO-ADDO (and supporters):
Nana, I can appreciate the critical position in which you find yourself now. For example, If I were the flag bearer like you and heard all the rumours I have stated above, I would be, and justifiably so, extremely worried. However, I do think that this is the time that you and your supporters need to be careful and strategic.

These are hard and difficult times that require using the head rather than the heart. Emotions are high, especially following the unfortunate killing of the Upper East Regional chairman under those bizarre circumstances. Fortunately, the Police are handling the issue, which gives you and your supporters the opportunity to feel relaxed, allow the law to take its course, and not call for the resignation or impeachment of the chairman and the general secretary.

Nana, do understand that not everybody in the NPP will wish you success in the 2016 election. No. That cannot happen. It may sound strange, but forget not that the NPP is a human institution. As Friedrich Nietzsche said: “In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.” What you can do is accommodate all such behaviour. Remember that the ability to accommodate dissent and all the insanity makes one a good leader.

Nana, however unpleasant things are, if I were you I would ask my supporters to be steadfast and keep cool heads in the face of provocation. You stand to be the biggest loser if the NPP loses the 2016 election. If I were you, I would ask my supporters and the entire Party to stay away from the so-called impeachment. At this stage, tolerance is crucial. Impeaching the two party leaders will not add to your chances of winning the elections, but tolerating and dialoguing with them may. What is happening now within the Party is rather dividing the NPP more. Remember that an eye for an eye will leave us all blind.

I have read your statement distancing yourself from the impeachment votes going on in the regions. The perception out there is that you are behind it. I cannot confirm or deny the veracity of it, but one thing is clear: no amount of words can convince your detractors or out-groups. That is the more reason you need to find every means possible to dialogue and bring the Party together. Impeachment surely is not the way forward, at least for now. Unity is what is required in these hard and difficult times.

THE NPP
For me, it is not about the NPP winning power in 2016. It is about salvaging this economy, this country, from the current doldrums and despondency. Yes, it is true that things are difficult for Ghanaians, but remember that elections are not won by default; winning elections is not an entitlement. The fact that people feel despondent does not mean they are going to vote for change. You need to tell them real stories, stories about events, stories about why we are where we are, stories that make people feel that there is an alternative for the current system. As Buckminster Fuller would say: “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”

But the infighting is making things unpleasant for you. At this crucial moment, only about 18 months to elections, you do not fight against each other. For me, the cause of all this infighting is selfishness. If this were happening during a flag-bearership campaign, it could be excusable. I thought that after a flag bearer had been chosen all party members would come on board to support him to win the presidential election. Is it selfishness that is driving the Party into such chaos? It looks to me that the NPP as a party is being selfish – you are not thinking about the masses of the Ghanaian people.

At this stage, you must be seen to be fighting for the ordinary Ghanaian by engaging the government over issues that affect the people. But the NPP is allowing the government enough room to continue its mismanagement.

I think that the NPP is on the course of disintegration if things do not turn around. The future of the NPP hinges largely on what happens in the 2016 elections. Should Nana Akuffo-Addo win, it would be easy to bring the Party together; otherwise the Party may collapse, if supporters of Nana Akuffo-Addo also decide to sabotage whoever becomes the flag bearer for 2020. Like Josh McDowell puts it: “ The downfall of the church will not come from a lack of apologetic teaching; it will come from disintegration of the families in the church”.

There is more to be said, but a word to the wise is enough!

Emmanuel Sarfo
PhD Student, School of English, University of Leeds, UK

Email: [email protected]