What Conclusions Will Ordinary Ghanaians Draw From The Dismissal Of Martin Amidu From The NDC?

At any given point in time in our democracy, it is vital to have viable opposition parties able to keep ruling parties in check, on all fronts, and offer sound policy alternatives to those of governments of the day. We must also never forget that every political party in each true democracy on the planet Earth is essentially a broad church - within which there exist differences of opinion amongst party members.

Above all, we all need to understand that party members need not necessarily have to get along personally or be close friends either - as long as at all material times they are tolerant of divergent opinions on controversial issues that divide them, which crop up from time to time.

For the sake of the hardpressed ordinary citizens of our homeland Ghana, the various factions in the National Democratic Congress (NDC) must not lose sight of their main constitutional role: ensuring that those who now govern our country do not eventually end up enslaving Ghanaians and gang-raping Mother Ghana. Having publicly expressed their frustrations with each other on various media platforms recently, the various factions in the NDC would be wise to let sleeeping dogs lie for the moment.

The wisest course of action for the NDC's leaders to take, for now, would be to focus on creative policy formulation and innovative initiatives that will redound to the benefit of ordinary Ghanaians, which will make it possible for their party to return to power again someday. Lest they forget: With the benefit of hindsight, clearly, it was unwise for those around President Mills to insist that Hon. Martin Amidu ought to be dismissed from the then NDC government by the president, at the particular moment when Mills did so. And it will be most unwise for the NDC to now dismiss him from the party - for the repercussions could prove fatal for a party many of whose leading lights might probably soon find themselves on trial for causing financial loss to the state: in some of the very first cases to be taken on by the Special Public Prosecutor.

Whatever their faults as individuals - and let us not forget that none of us is perfect either: for we all have our own faults too - both former President Rawlings and Martin Amidu are key NDC figures: whom many ordinary people in Ghana (for indeterminate reasons) somehow believe to be politicians who are dedicated to protecting the national national interest when it comes to fighting and exposing high-level corruption.

The NDC lost power in 2016 mainly because it failed to read the national mood correctly - which was that many Ghanaians were thoroughly fed up with a regime they perceived to be corrupt. It must not repeat the same mistake again in dealing with the 'problem' that some of the party's leading lights clearly feel Martin Amidu represents.

Strategically, dismissing Martin Amidu from the NDC is not smart politics. Full stop. It will be a shorsighted move and incredibly daft in a society that has clearly had enough of high-level corruption.

As they deal with that mischievous petition-of-convenience before them, which was filed against Martin Amidu by some disgruntled NDC members, the question the NDC's leaders must ponder over is: What conclusions will many ordinary Ghanaians draw from the dismissal of the much-admired Martin Amidu from the NDC? Food for thought.