...AS KENNEDY AGYAPONG’S LOOSE TALK INFURIATES TWUMASI APPIAH TO REVISIT NANA WEE CASE

Corporate image and corporate identity are two things every investor would fight hard to protect because dented or tattered image or identity can result in the collapse or liquidation of an establishment. A bad image or identity is unattractive and makes it difficult for an organisation to achieve its corporate objective or a political party to win power. Aware of this, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) unsuccessfully attempted to carve a new positive image for the flagbearer whose tatters reputation is making it difficult to market him for the 2012 elections. Fearing that the party’s political fortunes would be seriously dented by the present perceived bad image of Nana Akufo-Addo, the NPP has began another initiative to cleanse the flagbearer and present him as a fresh personality to the good people of Ghana.

This strategy however suffered a setback last week when discredited NPP Member of Parliament for Assin North, Kennedy Agyapong touched the tail of Honourable Member of Parliament for Sene, Twumasi Appiah accusing him of using marijuana.

Twumasi Appiah reminded the NPP MP that, if Ghanaians are concerned about any public figure who is a wee smokers then it cannot be him but the leader of their political party, Nana Akuffo Addo .

He therefore challenged him to avail himself for a voluntary drug testing at toxicology department at korle-bu to establish the drug status of their candidate who is aspiring for the country’s highest position. Kennedy Agyapong since the arrest of the key suspect in the MV Benjamin cocaine scandal, sheriff Asem Dake , has been hopping from one radio station to the other claiming the government wants to use the suspect to implicate him in the case.

According to him, he was even not in Ghana before the shameful incident of the missing 77 parcel of cocaine happened and wondered how he could be involved.

The party has tried to reposition him as a God fearing person who has turned a new leaf and accepted Christ as his source of direction after the party had chastised President Mills for praying at the Castle.

The communication objective of the NPP is to affect the minds (cognition), hearts (affective) and attitude (conative) of the Ghanaian electorate in order to bait them into voting for their candidate during the 2012 presidential elections.

Every political party is unique and springs from philosophy and personality, which must be so clear that they become a yardstick against which the party is measured.

This image cleansing by the NPP for Nana Addo cannot be a simple slogan but must be visible, tangible and all embracing. The war mongering tag cannot be wished away when the ‘all die be die’ mantra is still being justified by the leader and the leadership of the NPP who have extended the call to the youth to adopt ‘Boko Haram’ style of killing innocent souls in the name of fighting for freedom and political power.

Supporters of Alan Kyeremanteng have expressed discomfort about the choice of Nana as their leader because of his battered reputation due to countless drug allegations levelled against him. Akufo-Addo is also accused of being a womanizer, which he reinforced in his campaign message that Ghanaians can verify his physical strength from women, the bottoms scandal and recently, a pictorial expose showing him nailed between two beautiful ladies his children’s age. The wikileaks expose’ of official US cables also revealed that key individuals in Ghana are aware of his drug related problems.

Mr Kwesi Pratt, Dr. Aning and a former US Ambassador to Ghana, Pamela Bridgewater confirmed the NPP flagbearer has a habit of drug use.

This strategy is designed to shed the drug and womanizer tag hanging on Nana in a subtle confession and call for forgiveness to launch the new image or reputation branding.

After this is done successfully, the next move is for the party to flood the country with Nana Addo’s souvenirs to improve and sustain his political visibility to drown his past. Sources close to the party both home and abroad reveal that the party is far advance to import Akufo-Addo branded products to flood the market. The NPP Presidential candidate is undergoing image rehabilitation to redeem his tattered political figure suffered from his womanizing and drug related problems. The challenge is whether the NPP presidential candidate can undergo the process of rehabilitating his image through artificial attachment to the church before the country goes for the 2012 general elections.