Nkrumah's Magic At Work For Samia
Ms Samia Yaba Nkrumah, the daughter of former President Kwame Nkrumah, last Sunday, pulled what could be described as one of the largest crowds the CPP had ever witnessed at the Half Assini Police Park.
The occasion was the formal introduction of Ms Nkrumah as the CPP parliamentary candidate by the party's flag bearer, Dr Paa Kwasi Nduom, who is also undertaking last minute's campaign throughout the country to canvass for votes to win both parliamentary and presidential elections on December 7, 2008.
It was marked with pomp and pageantry as most of the party supporters were clad in CPP T-shirts and other paraphernalia embossed with pictures and names of Dr Nkrumah on them.
Babies, as young as three months old, were seen on the back of their mothers, who were dressed in CPP clothing.
The people danced to various brass band music, and music played by Spinners.
Some very old and young people told the Daily Graphic at the rally grounds that their support for Ms Nkrumah, whom they affectionately referred to as Yaba, stemmed from the fact that she was the daughter of their proud son, Dr Kwame Nkrumah. Others also wore very old traditional clothes and smeared their bodies with clay.
They added that they believed that Yaba would be able to continue what Dr Nkrumah was not allowed to do.
Madam Nyameke Acquah, 72, said, “I believe it is only the CPP that can develop this country. Therefore, if the daughter of my senior brother was going to assembly, we should support her to go. I even wanted her to be the President of Ghana.”
A 31-year-old seamstress, Ms Mercy Yenzu, could not hold back her tears when she saw Yaba wiping her tears. Ms Yenzu told the Daily Graphic in Fante that although she would not understand what Yaba was saying in English, she was of the strong conviction that it was the father who was speaking through her.
Moved by the huge crowd, the CPP parliamentary candidate thanked the people of the area for the show of support, and urged them to translate that into votes on the D-day.
She said she was in the race to help the people of her father's area to have quality education and health, decent jobs, among others.
Dr Nduom, whose car had a hectic time before entering the grounds, urged the people not to be complacent, but should convince their relatives, colleagues, friends and church members on the need to come out in their numbers to vote for the CPP in honour of Dr Nkrumah and also for peace and accelerated development.
He said a vote for NDC and the NPP would be wasted, because they have had their fair share of governance of this country and had done they could do, but what Ghanaians needed was a party that would undertake development with a sense of urgency.
He said the CPP was tired of always assisting other political parties to win election and that “this is the time for a CPP government led by a CPP president”.
Dr Nduom urged the people to vote massively for Yaba and him, the presidential candidate, to ensure that the dream of Dr Nkrumah to make a better place for all Ghanaians to live in was realised.
According to some residents the Daily Graphic spoke to, if Yaba maintained the momentum of her campaign, she would give Mr Lee Ocran, the incumbent NDC Member of Parliament (MP) a good run for his money.
But Mr Samuel Yamson, a supporter of Mr Ocran, was optimistic that his candidate was not the least disturbed by the crowd Yaba was pulling, but said the verdict would be out after the polls on December 7.
Surprisingly, mixed with Mr Ocran and Prof. J. E. A. Mills' posters posted on some of the walls was the poster of the NDC parliamentary candidate for Klottey Korley, Mr Ashitey Nii Armah.
Attempt by this reporter to get the reason for this unusual incident proved futile as the people were oblivious of the fact that there was a poster of another NDC parliamentary aspirant from far away Accra posted on their walls.
Story byDonald Ato Dapatem, Half Assini