Opinions of Thursday, 17 November 2016

Columnist: Jackson, Margaret

NDC supporters: Please stay away from Akufo-Addo’s gallery

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By Margaret Jackson

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the NPP flagbearer, is very much aware that the die is cast. He knows that this upcoming election is not going to go his way. Akufo-Addo also knows that all the prophesies pointing to his victory are just stories being made to goad on the Christendom to vote for him. In fact, it’s an open secret in the NPP circles that 2016 is definitely not their year.

If the NDC supporters are very much aware of all these, why then do they go closer to a wounded lion like Akufo-Addo, which is looking for the least opportunity to roar for attention from the International Community and possible sympathizers?

It is an open secret that the NDC supporters did not attack the residence of Akufo-Addo this past Sunday when they went on a health walk. Because if they did, there would have been footages of the attack being shown on television and all social-media you can imagine slamming the NDC until election day.

The NPP would not have waited for the NDC to challenge them to produce the CCTV footages, which they have refused to release. If what the NPP supporters are saying, notably their lying Communications Director, Nana Akomea, is true Ghanaians would have been flashed with footages every second on Joy TV.

In spite of that, I urge NDC supporters to stay away from Nana Akufo-Addo. The man has no message. He has no campaign direction, so don’t give him one. I think it was needless that some NDC supporters went closer to his house at Nima during the health walk. The NDC does not need that kind of attention.

In fact, the NDC does not need that kind of distraction. President Mahama does not need that kind of unwanted incident. Such incidents give the NPP the ammunition to jump on and stay the NDC away from its core campaign message. The NDC supporters do not need to go to Akufo-Addo’s house to win the upcoming elections.

I am not at all happy about the turn of events and how the NPP is twisting the facts for its political gain after the incident. See how the US Embassy, the Peace Council and the ubiquitous Catholic Bishop’s Conference have all tuned in to blame the NDC for that incident. Surely, you would be blamed no matter how truthful you sound if you go closer to your opponent’s gallery without invitation.

I strongly believe that NDC has taken a cue from this incident and going forward its supporters would not involve themselves in such needless incidents, which take the shine away from whatever they are doing.

The NDC supporters set out to do this campaign walk. Just look at the thousands of supporters who did the walk and the beauty it created in all the areas they passed in Accra. One therefore would ask why did they get closer to Akufo-Addo’s house leading to that chaos, which eventually made everybody forget about the beauty of the walk?

The NDC has only three weeks to energize their supporters to the polls on December 7. Nothing more! Therefore, time like tide, is definitely not on their side. The focus is to win! It is not to create unnecessary attention.

Akufo-Addo is already caged. He sees the mess he has created in the NPP all around him. He sees defeat coming. He sees himself becoming a loner after December 7. So don’t throw him anything for him to hang on. Let Akufo-Addo drown in the his own mess. I urge NDC supporters to do what is required of them. That is what will get them to the finishing line.

Please stay with this until you hear from me again!

Writer's e-mail: magjackson80@yahoo.com