Moving The Elephant

"Give me but one firm spot on which to stand, and I will move the earth" (Archimedes, Greek mathematician). Whether that is possible or not is immaterial. What is important is that it points to an individual's eagerness to perform an action that can only be possible if the needed platform is provided.

Therefore, if prior to elections, an individual vying for the position of a General Secretary travels the length and breadth of this country canvassing for votes, what he, indeed, seems to be telling the masses is "Give me but one firm spot on which to stand, and I will move the party", the fact is it is impossible for him to do so until the firm spot he is asking for is offered him. Thus, the spot is a means to satisfying one's desire. So having finally grabbed that much-needed solid spot, how the heck is he supposed to abandon his sacrosanct desire of moving the New Patriotic Party (NPP)?

It is worth emphasising that a General Secretary's ability to move a political party might depend not simply on the level of commitment and engagement he demonstrates, but also on the plethora of strategies he employs. Asking officers to proceed on leave is an example of such strategies. Hence, it is understandable that Mr Kwabena Agyapong asked "two New Patriotic Party officials [Mr Fred Opare Hammond and Mr Perry Okudzeto] ... to proceed on compulsory leave ... last month" (See "Kwabena Agyapong: NPP Constitutional Committee verdict is bogus", peacefmonline.com, 10th September, 2014). Indeed, those officials could be "clean", but that does not matter. What matters is that Mr Agyapong perceived their presence as noxious to the party and had to remedy the situation by doing what he did.

Here, Mr Agyapong's action can be expanded and clarified by "diseases" and "remedies". According to Hippocrates (Greek physician), "Extreme remedies are most appropriate for extreme diseases". Thus, his idea of devising solutions to problems is based on the prescription of harsh measures for that purpose. Mr Agyapong is on the same wavelength with Hippocrates inasmuch as his decision to ask the officials to proceed on compulsory leave has attracted vociferous uproar from people from all parts of the country, with many describing it as "harsh", "inhumane", "arbitrary" and "unconstitutional". But, he seems not to be perturbed. His main focus now seems to be the adoption of strategies, albeit pregnant with controversies and contradictions, that can effectively move The Elephant.

Such an approach in moving The Elephant has a potential indirect effect. In this era of high rate of unemployment and the excruciating difficulty in securing employment, the most sensible thing to do is to hang on to one's job. What that action tells people in the NPP is "no one is safe", therefore, all workers of the party will be put on their proverbial toes, after all they do not want to lose their jobs. Thus, it creates a burst of discipline amongst the workers.

Just as the adoption of innovative technologies to improve operations in organisations can lead to increased productivity, so too can the awareness of the presence of a "no-nonsense" General Secretary lead to increased productivity. That is to say, Mr Agyapong's occupation of the seat can indirectly encourage the workers to shirk all forms of laxity in their work.

However, one question which keeps wriggling through the lips of many is: Why did Mr Agyapong refuse to consult the National Executive Council (NEC) or its Steering Committee (SC) before asking some officials to proceed on leave and appointing Deputy Communication Directors? In cognisance of the declaration of the NPP's Constitutional Committee that he refused to consult the NEC and that he "is humbly requested to reverse [his directives] for due process to be followed" (See "K. Agyapong shot down by NPP'S Constitutional Committee", tv3network.com, 10 September, 2014), it appears he was buoyed by the advice: "And don't consult anyone's opinions but your own" (Persius, Roman poet). Thus, for him, the advice of this Roman poet is of profound political relevance; and supersedes all the pieces of advice and opinions of the members of NEC or its SC.

Well, it should be noted that resistance, `disapproval and struggle in political parties are integral to, not a distraction from, an understanding of their operations. To this end, the emergence of resistance and disapproval in reaction to his actions was expected. Therefore, it was not surprising that the party's Constitutional Committee report castigated him and described his actions as unconstitutional. And he also responded with: "the party's legal committee had not been set up yet and so any directive to reinstate the officials was not acceptable" (See "Kwabena Agyapong: NPP Constitutional Committee verdict is bogus", peacefmonline.com, 10th September, 2014). Thus, while the Constitutional Committee wants to point to the fact that he does not know what he is doing, he is bent on sticking to his guns. Hence, Mr Kwabena Agyapong seems to be saying: ""What I know is enough for me" (Persius, Roman poet) to move The Elephant".

Good luck in your mission, sir!

Richard Kwabena Aboagye-Gyan

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