After reading John C. Maxwell?s analysis on leadership ability (in the Maxwell Leadership Bible), I now understand better Prof. Frimpong-Boateng?s motivation. Hear John Maxwell: ??Success lies within the reach of nearly everyone. But personal success without leadership ability (and I dare add effective leadership, italics mine) brings only limited effectiveness, achieving only a fraction of what might have occurred with good leadership. The higher you want to climb, the more you need leadership. The greater the impact you want to make, the greater your influence needs to be.?? Prof succinctly expatiated on this during his recent interview with Kweku Sakyi Addo on Kweku-one-on-one.
I recently visited a friend called Mother. Her sister was visiting from Canada and I went there to say hello. The moment Mother saw my vehicle which had been decorated with Prof?s posters, Mother vehemently registered her protest. Initially, I thought she belonged to the camp of one of the numerous NPP flag-bearer contestants. But as the conversation went on, I realized that Mother did not belong to any ones camp. She just did not like the idea of Prof descending into the ?dirty? arena of (Ghanaian) politics. She thought the man was such an icon, he should not make any such move. She lamented that she respects and reveres Prof. so much that ??she is very, very uncomfortable with him going into politics??, to quote her.
Coming to think of it; I guess that may be the thinking of some Ghanaians; and you never know what influence they may have. Listening to Prof on Kweku-one-on-one, however, he would have helped build, for instance, a cardio thoracic centre in about 8 regional capitals, within the nine years it took him to help establish the only one that we presently have. This is just one example of what good and effective leadership can do.
Hear John Maxwell again: ??Leadership ability is the lid that determines a person?s (and an organization?s - italics mine) level of effectiveness. The lower an individual?s ability to lead, the lower the lid on his potential. The higher the leadership, the greater the effectiveness.??
NPP @ CROSSROADS:
NPP is at the cross-roads. For the very first time in history, we are electing a leader as a party in government. The quality of leadership we select as a group will have far reaching ramifications; not only on the destiny of our party, but indeed, on our dear country, Ghana.
Paraphrasing John Maxwell; whether we like it or not, our leadership ability ? for better or for worse ? always determines our effectiveness and potential impact of our party as an organization; and indeed, our nation. As a party and / or nation; if we want to reach the highest level of effectiveness, then we have to raise the lid on our leadership ability and indeed, the quality of leadership.
. . . ENTER PROF. FRIMPONG-BOATENG
This is where we can all trust the leadership ability and qualities of one man who, more than everyone else in this race, has been tried and tested. He has gone through the mill, and we can trust him. This man is Prof. Kwabena FRIMPONG-BOATENG.
A LEADER?S LEADER
Prof?s visionary leadership inspires all and sundry! It was his achievements which attracted me to him. I did not until recently, really know him; but I had been closely following his fortunes from a distance. Success attracts! I once took time off work to attend a seminar just because he was a speaker there.
APPEAL TO THE DELEGATES:
Many, many Ghanaians are quietly and solidly behind the Prof. Most of them are praying with him. And you all live in society. You listen to and know who has the heartbeat of the majority of well meaning Ghanaians.
In all humility; please know that, the position of the flag-bearer goes beyond the party. You need to elect a candidate who will BEST attract the largest pool of voters - FLOATING VOTERS - into the NPP camp during the general elections. And the best guy to do that is Mr. CLEAN - Prof. K. Frimpong-Boateng. It is he, more than anyone else, who has demonstrated leadership and shown achievement. He has CHARACTER - Ghanaians can trust him to do all the right things. Above all...he fears God. Please prove God right - because promotion does not come from man. He is the man after God's own heart. He has paid his dues to Mother Ghana ... Let us reward hardwork & industry, humility and honesty, and indeed; patience.
Remember, he had the option to stay abroad and make all the money he could, yet he opted to come home and help build Ghana. He is a servant ... serving humankind. He is so dedicated and believes in GHANA! Indeed, Prof. is so dedicated to Ghana that, very early in his professional career, he and his family decided to come back home and help build our nation Ghana. This man could have earned billions of Ghanaian cedis a year abroad. Yet he put Ghana first and sacrificed all that he and his family could have earned for the sake of our motherland. For him, it is GHANA FIRST! This man is a man of destiny and Ghana needs him at the right place ? the Presidency - to be even more effective. He is a servant; and society has always proved that the quickest way to get to the top is thru' service to mankind.
PLEASE CONSIDER MY APPEAL, because I am sure I speak for majority of Ghanaians who admire Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng and wish him to be our next President.
IN COMPARISON TO THE OTHERS:
Prof talks more about the future than the past. It is Prof who represents the new breed of leadership in Ghanaian politics: Selfless dedication and conscientiousness to duty. He represents a whole paradigm shift from the status quo. He is humble and practical. He is dedicated and patriotic. He is industrious and is himself an industrialist! This is the man all of Ghana is waiting to hear. The man who was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth and yet has achieved so much for himself and (his) country. One who never knew his dad, yet grew to be so compassionate. He is an achiever, a God-fearing man, so simple and practical.
NOT SEEN AS THE FRONT RUNNER:
Though Prof.; with all his achievements, is not seen as a front runner; he is the David in this race ... and he will 'decapitate' all the so-called goliaths/giants. There is one man who is after God's own heart. This man is the one who will win this election. He is the one God will turn the hearts of the delegates (Kings) favourably towards (Proverbs 21:1). This man is Hon. Prof. Kwabena FRIMPONG-BOATENG. The Joshua who will take Ghana to the next level of development and economic freedom. Hear him: ??We must believe in ourselves and in our ability to develop without total reliance on the west. Until we do this (i.e. believing that we can do it on our own), we have not yet started on the road to economic emancipation; let alone economic and financial freedom.??
Indeed, it is now that I really understand his motivation. To all the ?Mothers? who read this piece, I hope you will understand the driving motivation of Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng. Let us give him the chance he needs to be able to lead this party and great nation to even greater heights.
MY CONCLUDING REMARKS:
To paraphrase David Cameron; this decision is about the FUTURE of our dear party, (and indeed country), and the one who has got what it takes, including the Vision, to lead our party and country, to the next level of our development. As afore-mentioned, we (NPP) are at the cross roads, and the destiny of our nation and party is at stake. It is really not as simple as who has stayed longer where; or better still, who has been in the forefront, etc. Obviously, we all cannot be upfront. Again, this is the very first time in history that we are selecting a flag bearer as a party in government. It definitely cannot; should not, and indeed; will not, be business as usual. The high office of the Presidency of this dear land of ours, cannot be simplified and/or reduced to one who has stayed longest as a front runner. We have all played our roles to contribute to the great tradition of NPP and to its success story. Only one person, however, will be selected to this highest office ... but with malice towards none, and charity to all, let us make a choice looking beyond the confines of our party; great as it is, I am afraid. I dare say that if we can sit; then we do not have to stand! Let us, with these in mind, dispassionately select PROFESSOR KWABENA FRIMPONG-BOATENG as our leader, flag-bearer, and Ghana?s next President! ?Obiaa si eryeh?.
God bless the NPP! God bless our homeland Ghana!! Long live Prof. K. Frimpong-Boateng!!!
E-mail: jonesarv2001@yahoo.co.uk
NB: The writer; a geo-political analyst and an old Vandal, was also the President of the SRC of the University of Ghana, Legon, in 1988.
Views expressed by the author(s) do not necessarily reflect those of GhanaHomePage.
