YES AGE IS AN ISSUE

Yes the race for the flagbearership of the NPP has kicked off in earnest. It is no longer a secret that various camps are putting in place strategies and machinations to win the flagbearership race. We have heard of numerous activities across the regions by all the claimants to the title. I also agree that the poise for the race seem to have heightened due to the obvious realization that the flagbearer of the NPP stands a great chance of becoming President as a result of the poor performance of the Mills/Mahama government. Though it is only ten months in their administration, I believe that this government has nothing good to offer Ghanaians and majority of the populace are already aware of this fact. Indeed if we are to accept the Akan saying that ‘agoro beso a efiri anopa’, then it seems the worst is yet to be experienced.

The performance of the NDC thus obviously makes the race for the NPP hotter. I have realized recently that the various camps have started putting out the issues which to them should determine who the flagbearer should be. Some are running on the theme of they being compromise candidates to the two main camps within the Party i.e the Akufo-Addo camp and the Alan Kyeremanteng camp; others are running on the theme of continuity which they claim would win us Power in 2012; while others are calling for a change because as they claim after such a bad defeat there must be a total reshuffle of the players, the technical team and management so as to infuse new blood who would ensure victory in 2012.. So far as a person, I have not really decided where to ally myself but I was prompted to come out after reading an article titled ‘Nana Addo’s Age and Competence’. This article sort to play down on the influence of age on a leader and at worst sort to portray all young people as stupid, inexperienced and unworthy of holding political office.  As a young man, I felt very bad after reading that article. I felt the article was very insulting to the gallant and hardworking young men and women of our country and especially our Party the NPP. The article stated emphatically that old leaders perform better than young ones and went ahead to name a handful of Heads of state who happen to be old to buttress the point. Apart from the insulting nature of the article, it was also full of twisted facts that were just meant to deceive the public. I couldn’t help but react before anyone bought the lies. Before I even start, let me caution the NPP that we should never accept any ideology that says that unless one is over 60 he or she can never assume positions of responsibility in our Party. Accepting such a mindset would imply confinement into defeat and oblivion. Those who think that because of their selfish ambitions they can throw all sorts of nauseating ideologies into the fray should immediately stop.

The party and its members are bigger than any single individual.

In starting, I would say that I agree perfectly with the author that at the end of the day, the race for the NPP would boil down to capability, boldness, ability to work with Party ranks and care for the Grassroots. But the author should have stopped here and argued on why he thought Nana Akufo-Addo had these traits and why he should thus be made flagbearer. I would have had no problems with such a presentation and might have even supported his argument. But what did we see? After making such a brilliant statement, the same author who was arguing against using age to deny someone a leadership position, went ahead and argued on why the NPP needs an old leader and how Ghana would do better with an old leader. This totally took the author of the track he should have gone.

Yes I agree that at the end of the day the race would boil down to certain basic characteristics but who at all thinks that we cannot find such traits in a Youngman? In comparing Nana Akufo-Addo to Alan Kyeremanteng, the author sought to portray Alan Kyeremanteng as one who lacked the traits stated earlier. But putting our sentiments and the cheap politics aside, we all know that this is not true. Indeed, if there is anyone in the NPP flagbearership race who meets the author's criteria, then it is Alan Kyeremanteng. Beginning with capability, who can doubt Alan’s capability as a politician and as an administrator? As a politician we are all aware of how he managed his campaign for the flagbearership race in 2007 and emerged as the most popular candidate in the race even though he was running against so called stalwarts who believed that the Party belonged to them. We are all aware of the dynamism he brought into the race which made many in the race to constantly copy every move of his. Those who really know the workings within the NPP would also attest to his effectiveness as a campaigner, a fundraiser and a strategist. Anyone stooped in the workings of the NPP who denies this statement is doing do because he/she has refused to notice this effectiveness.

As an administrator, we are all again aware of Alan’s capability right from EMPRETEC which he transformed totally. As an ambassador, Alan is again known for his role in facilitating Ghana’s eligibility for  the AGOA initiative while he was Ambassador to the U.S.A. He was again extremely vital for Ghana in our successful bid to access the Millennium Challenge Account. As Minister of State, he again performed creditably and it is sad that we are trying to destroy such a competent personality because of Politics.

On the issue of ability to work with Party ranks, I am shocked that someone supporting Nana Addo can set it as a criteria for the flagbearership race because it is a criteria Nana Addo would not meet up to. Barely a year ago most of us in the Party were complaining about how Party structures had been sidelined in favour of parallel structures which had been set up by Nana Addo. Such structures completely hijacked the campaign and this estranged  the Party rank and file.. Indeed, it was Nana Addo that started this whole trend of FONAA, FO this and FO that.

On the issue of care for the grassroots, I wonder why people have forgotten so soon that it was Alan who met with each and every Polling Station chairman while all the other candidates for the 2007 Primaries were meeting only constituency and regional executives. It should therefore not be surprising why people are struggling head over heels to portray themselves as Champions of the grassroots.

Due to the arguments raised in the article mentioned and my own views on the issue of leadership and age I would also like to present a contrary view to what was done in the believe that readers would in their own little ways determine which side of the argument is more truthful, concise and would help our Party and Nation. First of all to begin with, let no one deceive himself into the delusion that the issue of Age in politics is much ado about nothing. The issue comes up in every single democratic election in Ghana and across the world. Indeed age is one of the first issues that crop up immediately a candidate decides to run for public office especially when it is the highest office of the land. So age is never much ado about nothing. It is an important factor in leadership. Also, the fact is that many in our country and worldwide support or oppose candidates because they are either too old or because they are too young. So here again we should not be in any doubt that the age of a candidate can win him votes or lose him votes.

With these basic facts established, I move to some of the main points raised in the article. The author asked if anyone can associate the loss of strength and mental agility to Nana Addo. Seriously speaking, I believe the author didn't really think through the statement before he put it in ink. But for the information of the author, the loss of strength and mental agility is a natural process which cannot be undone by any mortal. Nana Addo like any human being like myself or you reading would be affected by ageing as we grow. The best any of us (myself, Nana Addo or you) can do is to slow the ageing process and its effects, it cannot be stopped! Not even political fantasies like the article I am citing can stop it! So Nana Addo has no choice but go through the ageing process which is associated with loss of strength and mental agility as the author aptly put it.

As stated earlier the author made mention of a few old men who did well as Head of States. But such examples in no way imply that Ghanaians and the NPP would for that matter prefer an old President who might steer this country till he is 77? Again, if the argument is that Leaders perform when they are old then I believe it would be a waste of resources organizing elections. Simply, what we should do is to find the oldest person in Ghana and make him or her President. If we do not support such an analogy then why should anyone tell us that because Winston Churchill was oldt and so we should also vote for someone who is of a similar age? It completely baffles me. But it is not as if we young ones cannot find young leaders who have excelled and continue to excel. Indeed it is a lie for anyone to state that young bloods fail as leaders of Nations . again, it is a fact that a large majority of World Leaders were elected before they turned 60. obviously there are exceptions to every trend but let no one twist such exceptions and seek to portray them as the rule.  To prove my case, I won't just pick randomly and use what suits my argument; I would do a truly academic exercise and take a sample. My sample is the G20 countries not only because they are countries we are trying to emulate but because it includes both Developed and Developing Nations from all continents. Out of the 19 leaders in the G20 (as the 20th member is the EU) only 7 are above 60 years. The 12 other leaders are all below 60. That is not just it. Christina Kirchner, President of Argentina and the first female for that matter is 56 but she was elected at the age of 54. Kevin Ruud of Australia is 52, he was elected at 51; though Lula Da Silva of Brazil is 64, he was elected at the age 57; Canada’s Stephen Harper is 50 but he was elected at the age of 47; Nicholas Sarkozy of France is 54 but was elected at the age of 52; Germany’s Merkel considered to be the most powerful woman in the world is 55 and was elected at the age 51; Indonesia’s Bambang is 60 but was elected at 55; Silvio Belusconi (who was mentioned in the article I cited to be an example of good old leaders) was first elected as Prime Minister in 1994 at the age of 58 though he is 73 now. This is not all the real shock is about to follow- Mexico’s Felipe Calderon considered one of the best leaders in latin America is 47, he was elected at 44; Russia’s Medvedev is just 44, he was elected when he 43; Turkey one of the emerging super economies has Tayyip Erdogan  as Prime Minister, he was elected at the age of 49 and is currently 55; The United Kingdom’s Gordon Brown is 58, he was elected at the age of 56; above all comes Barack Obama who we queued up to shake when he was in Ghana, he is 48. Clearly, the argument of the author of the afore mentioned article cannot stand. The shakers and movers of World Politics are young, dynamic, energetic and visionary men and women who are steering their countries better than most old leaders ever did.

The exceptions in the G20 are China’s Hu Jintao who was elected at 61 and is 67; India’s Manmohan Singh who is 77 and was elected at 73; Italy’s Belusconi who I have mentioned earlier; Saudi Arabia’s King Abdallah who assumed power not through elections but through inheritance; South Afica’s Jacob Zuma who is 67; and South Korea’s Myung Bak who was elected at the age of 67. But even Myung-Bak cannot be an idol for old leadership, he is leading his country now because he did not enter politics early. Myung-Bak became Chairman of Hyundai Corporation, one of the largest complexes in South Korea and indeed in the world at the age of 47; after about two decades at the helm of Hyundai he retired and it was then that he decided to enter politics.

In talking about old leaders, the author of Nana Addo’s Age and Competence intentionally decided to forget mentioning leaders like Robert Mugabe and Raul Castro who fit the bill for old leaders perfectly. Juxtaposing such leaders with the many young ones I mentioned in this article, the difference is clear! In ending this chapter lets ask ourselves how the likes of Wade of Senegal, Mubarak of Egypt, Silvio Belusconi of Italy  (who were cited in the article I keep on referring to) are doing compared to Calderons, the Medvedevs, the Obama’s , the Kirchner’s and the Merkel’s of this world.  In ending let me state that I don’t believe anyone is hanging his ambitions of the issue of age but the issue of age is one no one can run away from. It should also be obvious that a young personality would appeal better to younger Ghanaians than an old person can ever do. Also, I urge all interested individuals to take a quick look at the ages of the various Heads we have had as a country. Until, the election of Atta Mills as head of state,  the oldest to assume the highest office of our land was incidentally Edward Akufo-Addo who was 64 years 2months and 5 days when he became ceremonial President on 31st August 1970.  Kwame Nkrumah was 50 years 9months 108days when he became Ghana’s first President on July 1st 1960; Ankrah was 50; Afrifa was 32; Busia was 55years 2months and 20 days when he assumed the Prime Ministerial office on 1st October 1969; Acheampong was 40 years; Akuffo was 41years; Limann was 44years 9months and 12 days when he assumed office on 24 September 1979; Rawlings was 31 in 1979, 34 in 1981 and 46 in 1993; J.A. Kuffuor was 62years 0 months and 30 days when he became President on January 7th 2001. Nana Akufo-Addo should he become President on January 7th 2013 would be 68 years 9months and 9days old. Let’s analyse these issues carefully.

I rest my case.

Rahman Karmil Gushiegu Northern Region