Hon. Kennedy Agyapong and the three hungry lepers

Three hungry lepers went to the market to buy some foodstuffs to prepare food. They went to a stall where a woman sold fish and vegetables. There were quite a number of people also waiting to buy from the market woman, and so the lepers had to wait for their turn, but their turn never came; the woman ignored them and decided to serve customers who came much later.

Irked by this development, the lepers decided to scuttle the woman’s business. They forcibly made their way into the stall and started touching the foodstuffs with their severed fingers. “Ye tapo, tapo,” they spoke through their noses in unison while touching the foodstuffs. Away bus, all the customers left the stall – no one want to buy food items touched by lepers.

In relation to the story of the lepers, it looks like Hon. Kennedy Ohene Agyapong a presidential hopeful of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the Member of Parliament for the Assin Central Constituency seems poised to put "sand in the gari" of the NPP as our local people will term it.

Ghana is tottering, and Ghanaians are plainly disgruntled because of rising cost of living, endemic corruption, political skulduggery and reckless repression. And intriguingly, Hon. Ken Agyapong seems to be stoking the fire of agitation or perhaps being honest about what is going on in the country.

He was the first to reveal that a bribe of 20,000 USD was collected before an appointment is booked for one to see the President. He has also recently accused his party for looting as if there is no tomorrow among several scathing allegations.

But beyond these, the Honourable MP has promised to give a showdown if his party's upcoming presidential primary election on November 4, 2023, is not free and fair.

His campaign messages appear to be getting out of kilter sometimes, and Dr. Bawumia's chances of succeeding as a flag-bearer of the NPP seem to hang in a delicate balance; and Kennedy Agyapong could tip the scales toward failure.

Ken is far more menacing than he appears to be. He has been a thorn in the flesh of his own party as already indicated. He is like a cat with nine lives – always landing on his feet – and always seemed to land unexpectedly on the doorstep of a member of his party.

Unfortunately, this time around, he has decided to land on the doorstep of the party itself, daring them to attempt to skew electoral fortunes in favour of a particular aspirant.

And I can see a flash of helplessness. Of panic. Of fear. Of people begging him. However, I don't know whether Ken’s threat is real or a joke; but if the party makes a mistake on November 4, walahi-talahi, we will soon be finding out.

The NPP is obviously navigating the storms of indecision and their predicament could be likened to the proverbial Akan drum known as Kwasi Anata Twini; it is believed that when the drum is beaten you will lose your mother, and if it is not beaten your father will die. As things stand, Hon. Kennedy Agyapong looks determined to beat the drum, and wants to hit it hard!

The Steel Pulse band say they can't go without music, but I think Ken can also never cope without a showdown. And like the three hungry lepers, he is likely to do some tappings on November 4, 2023 and beyond.

Anthony Obeng Afrane