Can the CPP (under the leadership of Osahene Boakye Djan) win the Presidency in 2008?

NPP and the NDC are the two parties with more representatives in Parliament and seem to remain so for some foreseeable time to come. In 2004 elections the CPP were consigned to the dustbin of history with only a couple of seats courtesy of the NPP who decided not to contest those 2 seats.

The sorry state of the party stems from the infighting and disunity among the Nkrumaists parties all purporting to represent the interests of the masses and ideas of President Nkrumah that helped shape Ghana.

In 2005 a group of concern Ghanaians who all share the ideas and principles behind formation of the CPP by Dr Nkrumah and his group of veranda boys and girls got together to chart the unity and perhaps capture the presidency for the entire Nkrumaists family and indeed Ghana.

With current lawlessness and persistent poverty engulfing our motherland, after the exit of the current president Ghana would need a very assertive president with a degree of authority and leadership qualities to steer the country towards the take off stage. That take off stage is fast approaching (2020 that is) and the urgency being demonstrated by all stakeholders can be seen in the body politic of the country.

In previous related articles this writer and others including Bonna argued that the leadership credentials of the next president would determined whether Ghana can arrest the continuing deteriorating economy and make the turn around.

The NDC are seen by many as the third force in Ghanaian politics who are fast asserting themselves (after haven been already in power once) as the credible alternative to the NPP. It is true the after the demise of the CPP during the NDC days many of the members joined either the NPP or the NDC.

It is a well established fact that elections are won from the centre, either centre left or centre right, and thus these two positions are now firmly occupied by the two big parties in Ghana, the NPP and NDC. So where does CPP fits in?

People who are either Nkrumaists or are sympathetic to the CPP dominate the NDC; covertly the NDC projected itself as the party only that is best placed to fulfill the ideas of Dr Nkrumah.

Ghanaian politics is made of two groups; the Danquah ?Busia grouping who see themselves as centre right party and places much emphasis on private sector as the engine of growth. The Nkrumaists grouping have always been known to occupy the centre left of the political spectrum. They believe in social justice with the state playing a major role in helping people to get out of poverty.

Thus with the emergency of Rawlings and his (P) NDC in the late 1980s when all party politics were disbanded, the (P) NDC firmly placed their mast in the centre left. Their cause was helped by Rawlings successful execution of the Structural Adjustment policies of the Bretton Woods Institutions that proclaimed Ghana as an ?Economic Miracle? and an ?African Success Story?. The Nkrumaists also suffered internal fragmentation due infighting and parties proclaiming to be the true successor of the great CPP. Whilst the Nkrumaists were tearing themselves apart, the Danquah-Busia grouping united behind a single party under the leadership of Professor Albert Adu Boahene. Perhaps that was the defining moment that helped shaped the NPP and let the Ghanaian people to seen them as the credible alternative to the then corrupt ridden NDC.

There is now an intense debate going on within the rejuvenated Nkrumaists both in Ghana and in Diaspora as to the direction of the grouping and how to present a united front to capture the presidency in 2008. In their hay days the CPP were such a formidable party with great organisational skills. During the 1979 elections Imoro Egala, Kwesi Amarh, Krobo Edusie and others brilliantly articulate their organisational skills learnt from the great man (Dr Nkrumah) to propel the PNP (CPP) into power under the presidency of Dr Hilla Liman. They presented Dr Liman as reincarnation of Dr Nkrumah, someone who stood for the ?common man?. And this worked with Dr Liman (then a career diplomat and an unknown to that point) beating Victor Owusu, a seasoned and brilliant politician, in the presidential elections. Who can the CPP turn to reinvent itself?

The only credible person who is not tinted and can challenge any candidates put forward by the NPP and the NDC is Osahene Kweku Boakye Djan. Why Osahene one may ask?

Osahene, once the number two to ex President Rawlings during the heady days of AFRC has got all the leadership qualities and the authority that Ghana needs. Like ex President Rawlings, Osahene has held to his principles and convictions by giving democracy chance to succeed in our motherland. Despite the animosity between Osahene and his one time best friend ex President Rawlings, these two men can be credited for the current democracy now firmly geminated in Ghana. Without the June 4th and the 31st December 1982 Revolutions Ghana would have ended as a war torn African country with no prospect of recovery. The role-played by Osahene in the house cleaning and early handover marked him as someone with great leadership potentials. It is quiet ironic that ex military men who come back as civilian politicians tend to do much well than in Uniform. Ex President Rawlings, despite his sometimes-unguarded remarks, can be safely assured of his place in history as the one who brought Ghana from the brink of anarchy.

The fact that Osahene and his colleagues Peter Azongo, Ansah Atiemo and John Gatsiko appeared before the NRC to apologise for the actions taken collectively by the AFRC shows the maturity and integrity of the man. Like ex President Rawlings and President Kufuor, the love that Osahene has for his motherland cannot be disguised. Having had the opportunity to read some of his thoughts and what he wants to do for his motherland, by electing Osahene Boakye Djan as their flag bearer, the united CPP for once in our nations history would be a very formidable force and the third force as other claim.