NDC 2012 ELECTION MOTTO: “WIN AT ALL COST – DO OR DIE!” : A LITERAL TRANSLATION.

It will be recalled that at a recent convened of the Functional Executives of the ruling NDC party on 1st September 2011, an election motto was adopted titled “Win at All Cost – Do or Die!” Good people of our beloved country Ghana behold the undisguised declaration of intent by the ruling party of this country and be the judges as to what this portends! Whilst considering your verdict, please consider the following salient points:

Mottos are meant to garner support; galvanize the base of a party; show the direction, focus and objectives of a party, as well as making a statement of intent! Of course some mottos are meant only to appeal to the raw sensitivities of a party’s base and otherwise have no progressive or developmental purpose, to wit, this motto adopted by the ruling NDC for the 2012 elections. You can debate this motto till the break of dawn, never-the-less, one thing stands out, and that is no other than that, this is a no holds barred declaration of a desperate party/government hopelessly out of its depth in governance and determined none-the-less to cling on to power “…at all cost…including death”!

Please note this glaring difference! When the NPP was going for the 2008 elections as the party in government, there was a discernibly relaxed mood and understandable confidence within the party based on the performance of the party in government. The NPP at the time went into the campaign holding up the record of president Kufuor’s government as a trump card to winning a deserved third term for the NPP. There was no need for negative campaigning. There was no need for desperation, because, the NPP could boldly render an account of it’s tenure in office where innumerable developmental and social interventions accrued. Not even now that the NPP is in the opposition would her responsible executives adopt a motto as desperate as ‘Win at All Cost – Do or Die!’

A well performing government, confident of her achievements would never adopt such a motto. In fact it amounts to a criminal charge of incitement to social disorder to make such a call! What the NDC is telling its base is that ‘deservedly or not, the party should win/retain power and be willing to cause mayhem [vandalism; wanton destruction and even civil war] into the bargain! This motto is nothing short of irresponsible, to put it mildly!

Before any less discerning individual rushes to counter this by citing the NPP Flagbearer’s statement that ‘All Die be Die’, let me juxtapose both, contextualize them, and show their relative differences.

[1] ‘Win At All Costs – Do or Die’: the literal interpretation of this motto has already been given above, but in summation [i] It is a desperate call by a party whose self assessment and sponsored opinion polls tell them that their re-election chances are zilch! [ii] It is an irresponsible call by a party in Government with the responsibility to maintain law and order, rather, marshalling its foot soldiers to commit acts of wanton violence and possibly plunge the country into civil war [iii] This is a call by a party whose government have no record or evidence of achievement to present to the electorate as the NPP did in 2008 [except for the short memory of the electorate regarding how good things were under Pres. Kufuor] [v] This is a statement that boldly declares that this government would use any means, fair or foul to retain power, including cheating at the electoral stage. Is it therefore any wonder than there is justifiable angst that persons holding key and influential positions at the Electoral Commission are seen as NDC sympathizers? – David Kanga, Deputy Electoral Commissioner responsible for electoral affairs, and Amadu Sulley, Head of Research at the Electoral Commission.

[a] The attendance of Amadu Sulley, the Head of Research at the EC at the NDC party Functional Executives meeting in September 2011 where he briefed the party execs on how to cheat he biometric registration system and literally conceded that biometric registration without its verification element is useless, is one case in point.

[b] Furthermore, the obvious gerrymandering the NDC government recently instituted with the creation of 42 new districts and the intention to then create a corresponding 40 new constituencies, against the spirit of the Constitution which dictates that this should only be done after the results of a population census is known, as returned by the Statistical Department [ which has not happened, as the results of the 2010 population census has still not been presented], is indeed another case of ‘…win at all cost!’

[c] The NDC’s voyeuristic preoccupation with the NPP Flagbearer, Nana Akufo Addo as an election tactic is further proof of the desperation of the NDC, fair or foul. The baseless and well worn accusation of drug taking against Nana, is viewed by the NDC, albeit baseless, as the only ‘viable’ weapon to use against Nana. Therefore, rather than discussing issues, they focus on the negative. After all, in their Machiavellian view, ‘the end justifies the means’ – ‘’win at all cost –do or die!’

[d]This motto is for all intents and purposes, prejudicial to the outcome of the 2012 elections, especially so when you consider Pres. Mills’ confident and unwarranted declaration that he will hand over peacefully in 2018. It makes you wonder and gives added weight to this election motto of ‘Win at All Cost – Do or Die!’ Where is this confident prediction coming from? A certain knowledge that there are dubious plans in place - fair or foul to ensure this prediction? Is that it? Is he like the blind man who confidently threatens to stone you? Of course the blind man must be standing on a stone to know why his threat is not a vain one. Considering this party is in power and Mills the executive president with the levers of power and influence within their grasp, including control over the military, police and government departments , the presumptions against this party’s election motto of ‘Win at All Cost – Do or Die’, do really mount up. Folks, as said in one horror movie, “be afraid, be really afraid!” But then that is precisely where the NPP’s ‘All die be Die’ comes in as explained below.

[2] ‘All Die be Die’:

[a] For a start, this call was made by the Flagbearer of the NPP, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in his personal capacity, and not as an officially adopted NPP battle cry! The fact that this call resonated with the broad masses of the NPP base and has assumed a life of its own, makes it appear as if it is an official NPP motto, which it is not! You will agree with me that there is a world of difference between an official party motto as adopted at an official party executive meeting, such as the NDC did, and an off the cuff statement made by an individual of the NPP, albeit the Flagbearer of the party. Party structure and rules dictate that party policy is not formed by off the cuff speeches. That said, point one in showing the difference between the NDC’s irresponsible official election motto and that of the NPP is made.

[b]Point number two is that this ‘All Die be Die’ call by Nana Akufo Addo was made in reaction to a series of intimidatory acts by NDC hoodlums during by-elections where NPP supporters were either mown down by the NDC National Women’s Organiser on the one hand, or the Azorka Boys harassing and preventing NPP supporters from going out to vote, on the other hand. Nana Akufo-Addo’s statement was in justified frustration to these undemocratic acts and bestiality by the NDC apparatchiks. As a responsible leader of a besieged party, he had to make a stand that in future, the NPP would not countenance without appropriate response, acts that amounts to denying our people the expression of their democratic rights.

Therefore a translation of ‘ all Die be Die’ within the context the call was made is: ‘Whereas the NPP would not initiate violence, henceforth we will not meekly surrender to NDC violence and intimidation; we resist any acts of voter intimidation that is intended to give an unfair advantage to the other side - the NDC - even if this results in death.After all, political decisions determine the outcomes of peoples’ lives and therefore dying in defense of a political party that will ensure the realization of one’s goals in life, is a worthy cause. Any illegal act that militates against the success of one’s party of choice is equal to a death of one’s aspirations. Therefore if one physically fights the inimical political force and dies in the process, it is no different from the political death of one’s aspirations = all die be die!

[c] Nana Akufo Addo’s contextually relevant off the cuff remark does not manifest itself in how he has conducted his campaign to date. He has focused solely on issues such as improving the educational standards of our future generations through revamping the training, remuneration and other incentives for teachers. He has pointedly and doggedly refused to be distracted from his vision and focus by the vile and slanderous attacks on his person as well as his family by official NDC sanction. The respectable and professional that he is, Nana would not descended into infantile and unproductive exchanges nor grace these charges with an answer or rebuttal. Instead, he has undertaken a political master stroke by going on his phenomenally successful national ‘Listening Tours’ much to the chagrin of his political detractors. He has not paraded the streets spreading fear of the likelihood of NDC shenanigans during the impending 2012 elections, and therefore geeing people up for an all die be die engagement with the NDC. Even in opposition, Nana and the NPP seem more relaxed than the party in government!

Conclusion: When a political party in government prepares for impending elections by not discussing issues; by not confidently enumerating its achievements and therefore the reasons why the electorate should retain them in power, then you know all is not well and therefore, desperate times call for desperate measures! Therefore, ‘Win at all Cost – do or Die!’ is none other than this self same act of desperation. Citizens of Ghana, behold your incumbent government’s desperation and decide whether you’d rather have an extension of this parlous state of affairs for another four years, or you’d more rationally prefer the party and candidate that maintains a cool head in the face of a barrage of baseless and unsubstantiated accusations, and who’d rather discuss issues that aim at progressing the country, than depend on gutter politics of smear, innuendo and falsehoods. The choice in this regard is clear, folks - the choice between the NDC and President Mills and that of the NPP and Nana Akufo Addo. From the NDC election motto, the choice is clear and your decision made easier, if you needed further persuasion.

By: Richard Dombo Diedong UK