The NPP @ 30: My Little Advice to the New Leadership

By the grace and mercy of the Almighty God, the NPP is 30 years. Some of us are fortunately alive to witness the 30^th birthday of the Party in this Fourth Republic under the new Ntim-Kodua leadership.

The 30 years have been characterized by myriad of rollercoaster experiences - struggles, joy, perseverance, triumphs, defeats, heartbreaks, betrayals, disappointments and mistakes, to mention but a few.

I sincerely doff my hat for the bravery of the founding members who withered the storm of intimidation, harassment and victimization to ensure that the vision of our forefathers to see Ghana develop in freedom was not lost in history. I also mournfully doff my hat for all departed souls. May their patriotic souls rest in peace.

By the grace of God, some of us have been fortunate to have scored 30 out of the 30 years. Some have also scored pass marks, but there are others who are yet to score pass marks.

However, the most important thing is that all of us continue to share a common vision that needs to be managed and steered properly so that we don’t veer off the road like others have done. I pray those who don’t know the true history of the party would humble themselves and learn from those who have seen and experienced it all so as to appreciate the sacrifices of those who started the journey in those dark days. If truth be told, sense of sacrifice is gradually evaporating from our great tradition.

Moving forward from 30, the party should be careful not fall into the temptation of maintaining or creating demigods in the party. Justice and fairness must remain the cornerstone in the administration of day to day affairs and activities of the party. Also, the ownership of the party should be made to remain at the grassroots, from where the party draws its strength and essential nutrients to grow to remain relevant and competitive.

This means taking a very good care of the grassroots by having sustainable support programs for them. I also entreat the new national executives to pay special attention to the needs and welfare of the grassroots, especially those who have offered themselves to serve the party as executives.

Besides, the party should find a legitimate way to break the discouraging culture that allows only the highest bidders to have their way to lead the party. As it has proven to be the case, most of the highest bidders lose elections because they are mostly people who don’t have strong connection with the constituency they seek to represent. Most skirt and blouse cases that bedeviled the fortunes of the party in the past were born out of such situations.

It behooves the new national executives to ensure that things are done differently right for the good of the party. As I have mentioned earlier, let it be repeated that, in order for this new leadership to succeed, justice and fairness must never be made to elude any member of the party at any point in time.

One other important thing I will implore the new leadership to do is not to sell the conscience and authority of the party to the government for favors. The party gave birth to the government and, as a result, should have a greater say as to how the government conducts its business to the satisfaction of the Ghanaian electorates.

There is no gainsaying that every decision the government takes, one way or the other, affects electoral fortunes of the party, either positively or negatively. Therefore, they should be bold to make their positions known on government decisions without fear or favor. When it becomes obvious that particular decision or policy is going to put a damper on the electoral fortunes of the party, the national executives must muster the courage to appeal or ask the government to stop or postpone it.

Let’s all of us endeavor to bear up the new executives of the party (from polling station to national) in prayer and offer them to needed support for them to succeed. For we can only break the 8 when they succeed.

God bless our homeland Ghana, God bless the NPP!

Sincerely yours,

E. G. Buckman