By Simon Suayam

Honestly, it is with a lot of reluctance and inertia that I have finally recalled my pen from a long sojourn. It saddens me that I have to write this rejoinder after a long hibernation, to react to the write-up of a bosom friend, if not a brother. I am not in any way alluding that in the absence of the cat, the mice have a free day- far from that.

However, it cannot be far from the truth to say that my readers have missed reading my articles and have constantly mounted enormous pressure on me to pick my pen. I have accepted their pleas and today, I will be responding to an article authored by Mr. Musah Atindow ostensibly to downplay the huge endorsement of the NPP by youth chiefs of Mamprugu a week ago.

To begin with, I honestly do not understand what my brother was responding to, after he inadvertently agreed to the fact that the endorsement took place but that “ a few of the Chiefs sat and concocted such a wicked and sad lies to represent the opinion of all youth chiefs in Mamprugu”.

Well, if he agrees that a few youth chiefs endorsed the NPP, I don’t see what the fuss should be about because nowhere did the endorsees state that all youth chiefs of Mamprugu were endorsing the NPP. In fact by admitting that there are a thousand youth chiefs in Mamprugu (which anyway is a super inflated figure) and that just about two hundred endorsed the NPP is by itself lending credence to the endorsement.

It is sad that my brother in his attempt to discredit the chiefs rather exposed himself in his ill-conceived and mistimed article. For instance, my brother goes ahead to assure His Excellence the president of his support for him but sadly, he used a plural pronoun ‘we’ which might be misconstrued to mean all the people of Mamprugu.

Does it make sense that about two hundred youth chiefs’ endorsement was not credible but an overzealous party foot soldier seating in his ‘somewhere’ can declare support for the president on behalf of an undefined “we”?

That apart, the fear-mongering attitude of the author and his benefactors was once again in full gear as he went overboard to allege that the endorsement of the NPP by youth chiefs was to “destroy the image of Mamprugu”.

I mean how is that possible? Only Mr. Musah Atindow and his benefactors can explain that. Overlords of whole Kingdoms have endorsed their sons and daughters in the presidential race but the author and his benefactors will have none of that in Mamprugu- not that they think it is the right thing to do, but because it will lead to their political obituaries. As for the author’s allusion that chiefs who endorse candidates live in primitive societies, I leave that to the Yagbonwura, Buipewura, Sunyanihene, Kpenaa et al to judge.

On another score, my brother, who affectionately a lot of us call Kpeema (to wit senior or elder) goes on to impugn the hard won reputations of these honourable sons of Mamprugu by alleging that they were paid for their endorsements. That is a very heavy punch far below the belt and Mr. Musah Atindow must come forward with evidence in order to taken serious, else people should take whatever he says with a pinch of salt.

I find it irritatingly nauseating that upon all the abandonment and scorn by the president, people like the author only care about how the president sees Mamprugu politically and not developmentally. I want to dissociate my very good friend and brother (Musah Atindow) from the political hawks of Mamprugu who only are bent on their personal enrichment to the detriment of Mamprugu developmentally.

These political hawks from the stables of the NDC allegedly advise the president to concentrate on buying votes in the Mamprugu enclave instead of putting up developmental projects. If the president cares to know, he will lose big time in Mamprugu but these political hawks will never tell him this plain truth for fear of being starved of campaign funds.

It is sad for the author to think that whereas it is okay to ascribe to himself the official spokesman for the discontented youth chiefs; the mouth piece of the over two hundred chiefs that endorsed the NPP acted ultra vires because he is not a chief. Hmm, I wonder if you needed to be a president before you could speak for the president.

In any case the PRO of the youth chiefs is a royal of Mamprugu and can be enskinned anytime anwhere as not just a youth chief but also the substantive chief if there is a chieftaincy vacancy. Mr. Omane Boamah speaks for the president but he is not the president. Mr. Musah Atindow speaks for Alhaji Baba and that doesn’t make him Alhaji Baba. They need not be at all.

It is stumping for Mr. Musah Atindow to think that he can just make sweeping statements which at best epitomises praise-singing or better still, bootlicking and get away with them. How has the president raised very high the image of Mamprugu in the political map of the world as you put out in your article? I’m tempted to think that you are confusing the erudite and the humble royal of Mamprugu in the person of Dr Mahamudu Bawumia for the president.

Arrogance is when a candidate on a campaign platform instead of telling the people what he intends to do for them with their mandate, rather tells them that if it is money he has it in abundance and can buy enough votes to win. Insults is when a man,not so endowed vertically, continually refer to Nana Addo as ‘kanbon digri’ to wit Asante Dwarf instead of his real name to a rousing applause from NDC supporters. Lies is when you claim that Dr. Bawumia and the NPP have disrespected and desecrated the Nayiri when in fact it is a GH1000 fabrication with a keyboard.

“Arrogance, insults and lies never win elections in Mamprugu and the country at large”. I agree unreservedly with this sagacious observation of yours and that explains why NDC and your candidates in Mamprugu will all lose because they are the repositories of arrogance, insults and lies.

It is sad and indeed very alarming to know that of all the issues the youth chiefs raised that led to their endorsement of the NPP; the author could not satisfactorily answer a single one of them. He went on a propaganda overdrive in trying to cook up answers to the issues raised by these distinguished and accomplished patriots of Mamprugu in the youth chiefs. How on earth can you claim that the Nalerigu Township roads are 80% completed and that the Langbinsi-Walewale stretch is “almost done”.

We were told that the tarring of the Nalerigu Township roads which all add up to less than two miles will be completed and commissioned before September. As I write, the roads have been abandoned and still remain as dusty as an undone Saharan desert road. Until today, I never knew that “almost” mean the same thing as ‘barely’ because the road that the author claims is almost done, is barely done and still poses a lot of safety and health hazards to residents along that stretch.

On this particular one, I can feel the unseen hands of Hon. Ablakwah and Hon. Felix Ofosu Kwakye mentoring my brother, the author, in political propaganda. It took the P/NDC almost twenty years in power and they did nothing about the sorry state of the Walewale-Nalerigu until the NPP, especially Hon. Hajia Alima Mahama came and tarred 22km of the 56km stretch.

It is worthy of note that as at the time the NPP handed power to the NDC, the road contractor was still at site. The NDC abrogated the contract and discontinued the road construction until last year.

If we add the eight years of NDC 3 under Presidents Atta Mills and John Mahama respectively to the nineteen years of President Rawlings, the NDC in 27 years have tarred only 11km (half of what NPP did in just eight years).

So the question posed by the author as to whether the Walewale-Nalerigu road was not in existence during the erstwhile NPP administration was not a well thought out one. The projects listed by the author as infrastructure provided by the government in 8 years actually go to confirm the fact that the NDC especially under president John Mahama have taken Mamprugu for granted. How on earth should we appreciate the president for building two uncompleted dining halls when he could, and should have done better.

The unpaid salary arrears of only ten teachers in the East Mamprusi district could have done that. Under president Mahama, everything about Mamprugu is tokenism. President Mahama sees us as votes and not humans. Why are all his projects in Mamprugu election timed? To deceive us, or? Even his ministerial token for Mamprugu was reserved for an election year.

In conclusion, I must state that Mamprugu is wide awake this time. No responsible father will leave his or her child who is second in class and go to celebrate with his neighbours for their child being first in class. A responsible parent will celebrate his child, support and encourage him to aspire to top the class one day. Mbuni s) tibuni.

NOTE: We in the NPP appreciate the task ahead of us. We have the truth and Hajia Alima’s track record behind us as strong pillars. We have no money to buy motorbikes and tricycles for the masses but we have the men to make each and every voter a worthy buyer of his or her own vehicle. Hajia Alima doesn’t have money to pay for her campaigners but thankfully, we are quadrupling by the day voluntarily. We support our candidates without any strings attached. The problem with wealth is that you barely know whether the people around you actually like you or it is your wealth they like. In