President John Kofi Agyekum Kufuor gave a hint of campaign 2008 when, in one of his rare outbursts this year, he threw several punches at his opponents last Sunday.

President Kufuor, charged by the electrifying presence of party faithful who thronged the Tema Community One park to celebrate the 15th Anniversary of the New Patriotic Party(NPP), described the National Democratic Congress (NDC) as a party that has “no vision, no ideology, and all that they think of is ‘I’ll slap you’.”

He lashed out, saying his opponents are not to be feared; “Wo nnye obiara,” (You are nobody) he said, and then asked, “What are you? That Ghanaians must feel threatened should you lose the next general elections”, obviously referring to recent threats by the NDC hierarchy that they suspect NPP will rig the elections. Continuing, he said, “They say someone has stated that the electricity will be restored by September 31, and they are threatening that if the power does not come by September 31, we shall see. What shall we see?”

He urged them not to be deterred by persistent threats from former president Rawlings and the NDC that something untoward would happen after the next general elections. He said in spite of the vile attempts by them to discredit the NPP, his government, through its prudent policies and good governance, continued to draw more international attention thereby placing Ghana in a better position in the League of Nations.

According to President Kufuor, “You cannot kill the vision and ideology of the NPP. You cannot kill it because we believe in human centred ideology.” He said governance is not about physical money alone but is achieved through “the wisdom in our heads”.

When he took the microphone, the firebrand MP for Assin North, Hon. Kennedy Ohene Agyepong also lashed out at the former president.

According to him, Rawlings was a hypocrite because while he and his wife continued to chastise the NPP government by day, they ‘nicodemously’ at night sought the intercession of chiefs on their behalf for fear of going to prison. He therefore reminded supporters and the aspirants not to be complacent since the NDC flagbearer, Prof. Evans Atta Mills was still formidable as he was in the last two elections.

Several pretenders to the throne attended the rally, obviously taking advantage of the platform to test their strength. While some brought organised groups wearing T-shirts and carrying placards to cheer them, others strolled in quietly. The applause which greeted the introduction of the personalities also differed. Daily Guide can say that Nana Akufo Addo had the loudest roar when he was introduced.

Papa Owusu Ankomah’s supporters brightened the grounds in yellow shirts, and Mike Oquaye’s placard-bearing followers cheered him on, while Vice-President Aliu’s group drummed their hearts out.

Continuing to extol some of the achievements of the NPP government, President Kufuor mentioned the rehabilitation of the Tema Harbour which, he stressed, had made it one of the best in Africa; the introduction of the mass cocoa spraying exercise which had resulted in Ghana’s cocoa production rising from 347,000 tons in 2000 to 740,000 tons currently and the numerous road networks being developed. “Due to our prudent management of the economy and the discipline we have attached to it, the cedi is now competing with the dollar,” the President said.

He told Ghanaians that the NPP, which has its roots in the Danquah-Busia tradition, had been inspired by the same spirit that inspired the Founding Fathers in 1947 to form the UGCC. Underlying that spirit, he said, is that “government and political parties should be there to serve the people. The government should not harass or frighten the citizenry into silence and the government should make laws to make human beings free and happy. The party continues to rely on the spirit of service to mankind, so no amount of harassment can cripple it,” he noted. Kufuor further told his opponents that “We believe in the truth and that ideology is bigger than swords or guns.”

He however acknowledged that, as human beings, they were bound to falter and make mistakes and that is why they (NPP) had been humble enough to ask for God’s forgiveness.“We are not perfect. As human beings, we make mistakes but the problem is that when you have too much of everything, you try to forget good values,” he lamented. President Kufuor therefore urged the party faithful not to be discouraged by the smear-propaganda campaign of the NDC, which he described as harbouring violent entities. On the aspirants, whose supporters virtually hijacked the function by displaying their ‘chosen candidates’ emblems, paraphernalia and placards, President Kufuor said their large number had its benefits because “many aspirants is good for the party and the nation.”

He said the NPP was noted for its tenacity of purpose and that after the December Congress, he had the conviction that the losing candidates would rally around the chosen flag-bearer to push the party on to victory.The President then declared the 2008 General Election Campaign launched and urged the aspirants, party supporters and admirers to campaign for the party as they travel round the country to solicit votes for the top job. Other speakers at the function included Vice-President Alhaji Aliu Mahama, Peter Mac Manu, Dan Botwe, Nana Akufo Addo, Hajia Alima Mahama and Madam Amerley Tagoe.