The New Patriotic Party is internationally acclaimed for its democratic credentials. It is for this reason that any observer from a distance cannot but begin to worry about recent happenings in the party. It saddens me to say that eventhough Ghanaians are sharply divided along political lines, the intra-party polarization within the NPP is even more frightening. This threatens to deal a big blow to the party in future elections if the tide is not stemmed.
I’m known to be a gentleman who always minds his own business. I have been thinking of expressing my disgust at what is happening in my beloved party for some time now but unable to do so until now because I have always held on to the slim hope that I will wake up the next morning with good news of unity in the NPP. As the days come and go, amidst intermittent calls for party unity and cohesion, utterances and actions of some party activists who should know better leave me with nothing to hold on to except my prayers for God to unite us.
The prayers of the current government might have been answered since we hardly find time to let Ghanaians know that President John Mahama and the NDC party are incompetent and mismanaging the economy. We are so busy turning the guns on ourselves with glee and without recourse to the effects of our actions and utterances. Some party members are quick to point to me that intra-party quibbling is unavoidable and even healthy. They are quick to refer me to the tension in the NDC in the run up to their 2012 Presidential primaries. Responses of this nature make me develop goose-bumps since it portrays us as a party that doesn’t learn from history. The NDC were in power at the time of their in-fighting and even with that, they rallied around their candidate when it mattered most. Can that be said of the NPP? We are in opposition and I see no reason why there shouldn’t be compromises for the sake of power. Painfully, those who are in good stead to benefit more than anyone else when the party is in power are those pushing us further from power.
We have lost two elections however disputed they were. Inasmuch as I believe the NPP was robbed especially in 2012, I also think the party could have fared better were all the party heavyweights solidly behind our candidate. It baffles me that some so-called party men will rather turn to be apostles of Dr Afari Gyan and Justice Atuguba in their bid to prove that all is not well with our party fielding Nana Addo for the third time.
It is so obvious that our party delegates will put their trust in Nana Addo to lead us into battle once again in 2016. That doesn’t mean those who express interest to compete with him are devils. No, they aren’t. All those people rather calling for Nana Addo to go unopposed are rather the people that are fanning the divisions. You cannot prove your loyalty to Nana Addo only by asking that he goes unopposed. If you believe in him, work with the delegates and Ghanaians to make his dream, our dream a reality. I appreciate the admonitions, demeanour and reactions that have come from Nana Addo’s office ever since he declared his intension to run for the third time. It is glaring to even Nana Addo that our ambition as a party to wrestle power from the incompetent and clueless NDC risks hitting the rocks once again if we remain polarized along some petty factions. I believe and know that he is keen for unity and is doing enough to have all hands on deck in the 2016 campaign.
I have an appeal to all the new executives of NPP from the constituency level through to regional and national officers. They should be impartial and welcome all presidential aspirants with open arms even if they know they are not their favourites. They should also sanction all bootlickers of the aspirants who become overzealous with their actions and utterances which may be inimical to the interest of the party.
I’m also appealing to the presidential aspirants not to hide behind some faceless groups to conduct smear campaigns against their opponents. Their campaigns should be civil and decorous. They should also be courageous to openly condemn actions and/or utterances of their subordinates especially those that are very close to them.
We the ordinary members of the party also have a responsibility to remain silent at best if we cannot argue with reasons why we support a particular candidate. We can also point it out to the aspirants and their campaign teams that we abhor indecent language.
The current state of affairs in mother Ghana is disheartening and the NPP needs to refocus, regroup and recapture power to bring hope and smiles back to Ghanaians. We cannot disappoint the numerous Ghanaians who aren’t members of NPP but are prepared to vote for us in 2016 to salvage the economy just because of our self-centred differences.
I’m a bit relieved at least to have learned from social media that GAKE and CONAA have met and resolved to embark on issue-based campaigns. Since then I have not heard on radio or read from news outlets explosive and divisive comments coming from members of the two groups. That is surely the way to go because whether Nana, Alan or Bawumia, we the members of NPP sorely miss power and cannot afford to stay in opposition after 2016.
Please join me in my appeal and campaign for a decent and united NPP as we prepare to march on to victory in 2016. Nuubil yinni bikpikri kugri (one finger cannot pick a stone).
LONG LIVE NPP, LONG LIVE GHANA.
Author: Simon Suayam, from Nalerigu
Email: suayamsimon@gmail.com
Mobile: 0207854685