Opinions of Friday, 13 December 2024

Columnist: Nana Kwadwo Akwaa

Let's remain calm; we may have lost the battle, but not the war

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To my respectable and hardworking elders, executives, sympathisers, youth, and especially the grassroots of our great political party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP), both in Ghana and abroad, I humbly knock at your door this day!

The past days since Saturday, 7 December 2024, have indeed been dark, squalid and sorrowful, causing the entire spirit and body of the party to be drowned in tears due to our huge losses incurred in the just-ended general elections, and I must say I am equally very pained, murky and broken, like any other patriot.

I am as well very sure that the spirits of our great forebears, such as Paa Grant, Okyeame Baffour Akoto, S.D. Dombo, S.G. Antor, K.A. Busia, Adu Boahen, J.B. Danquah, J.B. Da Rocha, Obetsebi-Lamptey and many others who fought tirelessly to move this great party to where it is today, are equally anguishing in their graves.

But it is worthy of note, as opined by our Flagbearer, H.E. Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, in his concession speech, that "we may have lost the battle, but not the war", so I am humbly pleading with us all to remain calm and composed.

In fact, this is a time for reflection, not deflection. We must acknowledge our losses, work and learn from the mistakes, and use the resolution and experience to grow stronger.

As humans, we must accept defeat with dignity and humility. Let us not forget that losing is not the end, but rather an opportunity to learn and come back stronger.

In the words of Thomas Edison, "I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 ways that won't work." Let us adopt this mindset and use our losses as stepping stones to success.

As the great Nelson Mandela of the African National Congress (ANC), our sister party in South Africa, also postulated, "The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." Let us therefore embrace this spirit of resilience and determination, and let us all be rest assured and have hope in the structures of the great party to get our grievances and perceptions of what might have resulted in this predicament resolved for the steadfast forward march of NPP.

In furtherance, I will humbly plead with all party members, especially the youth, to kindly refrain from the blame games, finger-pointing and washing of our dirty linen in public. This does not only make us weaker but also gives our opponents ammunition to use against us. Instead, let us focus on unity, constructive criticism and self-reflection.

Moreover, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate President-Elect John Dramani Mahama, and at the same time, admonish him to call his numerous National Democratic Congress (NDC) members engaged in the numerous barbaric activities across the Country to order, at least in order not to wreak the good reputation the Nation has gathered on the globe over the years under the reign of the NPP government.

President-Elect Mahama should be cautious of the fact that it is for the sake of such reckless actions of his party members over the years that is why the over 7.8 million Ghanaian voters of the total 2024 registered voters still chose not to add a single vote to the NDC's existing 2020 general elections vote figures despite the quest, zeal and protest of these numerous Ghanaian voters to stage a vote strike and exhibit their discontentment with some of the decisions of the NPP government between 2021 and 2024.

Finally, to all NPP members, in all humility, let us look to the future with optimism and hope, because there is more life ahead; let us all remain calm.

God bless Ghana! God bless NPP!

Hhhmm, May God be praised always!