“NPP followers have said worse than Arthur K's book”

Listen to Dan Botwe (audio in Twi)© Copyright myjoyonline

The New Patriotic Party's Member of Parliament for Okere, Dan Kwaku Botwe, is counseling party followers who disagree with Dr. Arthur Kobina Kennedy's book, Chasing The Elephant Into The Bush, The Politics of Complacency to measure their reaction appropriately so they do not get the party distracted.

Dan Botwe said he understands perfectly why party followers are aggrieved by the book, especially its title which would usually be expected of an opponent of the party, however, many others have said very bitter things and attributed several causes as reasons for the party's electoral defeat in the 2008 elections that are being addressed.

He also reminded them of Arthur K's right to author the book, be he a member of the party or not.

Speaking on Asempa FM's Ekosii Sεn discussion programme, Dan Botwe, who has served in various positions of the party – General Secretary, Director of Operations and Research – among others, after the 2008 polls defeat, the party set up a committee that went round the entire country to collate members' views on why the party failed. The objective of the exercise is to inform planning and strategies for the future.

According to Dan Botwe, the same exercise was undertaken in 1996 when the party lost the presidential election, and even when it won the 2000 election, it did the same – set up a committee to analyse and evaluate the party's strategies.

He said in the course of undertaking the post 2008 exercise, memoranda were invited from aggrieved party people, some of who submitted very bitter complaints, some even bitter than the contents of Arthur K's book. After the initial fact-find committee's work, a second committee was sent round to seek explanations where the issues were not clear enough and that committee also submitted a report.

Upon receipt of the report, Dan Botwe said the Strategy Committee of the party comprising MPs, Youth Wing, Women's wing and regional chairmen and other groups also met in workshops and seminars to deliberate, in frank and open manner, the reports with a view to seeking corrections for the future.

He reckoned that ideally, strategic information and plans such as Arthur K's work should not be for public consumption, wondering for example, why Accra Great Olympics would publish a review report of an encounter they lost to Accra Hearts of Oak for the attention of the opponent if Olympics also desire to ever beat Hearts.

Dan Botwe maintained that he understands the anguish of many NPP supporters over the book, however steps are already being taken to address the issues that may have contributed to the party's loss at the elections and there was no need for anyone to belabour the issues.

He reiterated that building a political party can be very arduous, recalling again, an incident in 2000 when the party just about set for the election only to hear that its national vice-chairman had announced his resignation. “Can you imagine?” he exclaimed, adding when such things happen, they also speak bitterly against the party. Some also defect to the opposing parties, and they do so at a time the party can virtually do nothing about the situation, recalling yet again the party's parliamentary candidate for Chereponi in the 2000 election who defected to the National Democratic Congress after the Electoral Commission had closed nominations.

Dan Botwe urged NPP supporters to learn to disregard some of those things so they would not over-react to the book.

Story by Isaac Yeboah/Myjoyonline