Opinions of Wednesday, 24 September 2008

Columnist: Ato Kwamena Dadzie

THE OUTSIDER: The Cockerel gets its head back on

If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I would have dismissed it as politically-motivated deceit. But I saw it for myself and I tell you it was a refreshing sight. Can you believe it? The Convention People’s Party drew (quite) a large crowd to the Holy Gardens in Accra to launch its campaign for the December elections.

The occasion also marked what would have been the 99th birthday of the party’s founder and Ghana’s founding president, Kwame Nkrumah. That guy has been turning in his grave over all sorts of issues for a long time but I am in no doubt that with what happened on Sunday, he could – at long last – afford to rest easy, at least for a short while.

Four years ago, the CPP was the acronym for the Confused People’s Party. The party which won independence for Ghana had become a political laughing stock. Its presidential candidate was an apology to the office he was running for. At one point, he was asked about the role women would have in his administration and he very proudly proclaimed that women are only good for “comfort”. Even the chauvinists were embarrassed. Click here to read full article