Momentous Times

Who says politics is not interesting? It is full of thrills and intrigues as being unfolded in Zimbabwe, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and by extension the entire political landscape of the country.

Whereas in the former we are dealing with an old fox foisting new tricks to hang on to power even after his people have decided otherwise, in the latter, we are being served with a dish of Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings suffering the most devastating of blows yet since a series of challenges to her ego began.

If there is anything like a political movie, then what we witnessed when Prof Mills was torn between proving his mettle as an independent-minded person and succumbing to the threats of She-Who-Must-Be Obeyed, aptly passes for one.

Ghanaians and the media relished it all, following the trends with such a passion that nothing could distract their attention from it.

Then came the crescendo and the Prof alongside the NEC decided to call her bluff and damn the consequences. The action has already claimed its first casualty but we do hope that no broken bones would be recorded.

Democracy is gradually growing and we think from current trends we would in the not too distant future get close to maturity in our practice of this form of governance. That way we would have driven past many milestones from the tyrannical rule of yore.

The days when a superwoman could issue marching orders to ministers and reverse such decisions at will have perhaps given way to new times when such powers are facing hard times from people seeking a new image to the NDC, thanks to the newfound democracy and freedom blowing across Ghana.

The largest opposition party in the country has drawn the curtains over the sore and rapturous running mate issue. Now that the party has gotten over this hurdle, there is no doubt that the message fired by the National Executive Committee (NEC) is that they are bent on building a new image for their political grouping.

A party which would eventually relegate the relevance of its founder to the background is perhaps what the NEC and the Prof would be dreaming of.

Having made this observation, Ghanaians would wait to see if the NEC and the party as a whole are able to maintain their independence from the apron strings of the couple whose hold over the affairs of the party exhibited all traces of ownership.

The appearance of Hon John Dramani Mahama at this new level of NDC affairs is a major test for the political grouping to prove to the world that it can call the bluff of the former first couple and not drown ,when there is need for such an action.

It is not as if there is no need for Mr. Rawlings and his better half to show interest in the affairs of the party they played a part in founding. But when such interventions smack of dictatorship and the issuance of ultimatums to the flag bearer, the interests of the party are threatened because they remind Ghanaians of the past bone-breaking days of the country's dirty history. Now is the time however to attempt altering the not-too-good image of the party.

Hon Mahama would have to work hard in achieving this feat so that his appearance at that level in the hierarchy of the NDC leadership can add to the growth and development of democracy in Ghana.

It would not be easy because perhaps some resistance could be lurking along the way. The success of such an image-salvaging campaign would by and large depend on the entire NDC fraternity including the founder and his wife.

We wish the John/John partnership Godspeed.