Take it that politics is an ideological struggle, that depends on the competence of the Generals in charge to execute it, you will, no doubt, understand why some who engage in it keep winning while others keep losing. Based on this premise, the automatic question to ask is whether the NPP Generals (operatives), if there any at all, understand the philosophy of their adversary, (the NDC). I have put the NDC in parenthesis here for reasons which I will explain later. I therefore discuss properly defining a political adversary, making political allies, invading the adversary’s stronghold, and the tools needed to wage a successful political warfare.

Conventionally, any army general going into a battle first, has to define his adversary and identify the battlefield. When we relate this to politics, the two big political parties in Ghana need to define their adversaries and the battlefield. While the NDC has a clear definition of their adversary from the outset, the NPP, unfortunately, has failed to define theirs. To the NDC, anyone who stands for and/or defends the elephant symbol is an adversary, regardless of their tribal background or religious affiliations.

Consequently, a staunch NPP member from the Volta Region is seen as a threat to an NDC cause, and must be eliminated or kept in check, for example. And the battlefield is the mind of the NPP Generals and grassroots. NPP, on the other hand, think that Volta and the three northern regions, that keep voting NDC, are their adversaries. And the battlefield is the organizing of colorful events to inaugurate numerous splinter groups within the main party, as though the party’s electoral victory hinge on these groups. So these are the fundamental ideas that drive the two parties.

With this kind of mindset, the NPP operatives make sure they keep the Voltarians and Northerners (their adversaries) who are also members of the party in the background because they can’t be trusted enough to be at the forefront of the battlefield. Suffice it to say that the three regions mentioned constitute the adversary of the NPP, then the battlefield is definitely not the organizing of colorful events and splinter groups; it is the three regions. However, we are yet to see any deliberate plan by our generals to take these three regions. I think the time has come for these generals to show some bravery by invading the strongholds of their opponent; otherwise they are fit to be branded as cowards.

If you are familiar with the international relations and foreign policies of the world superpowers, you will understand the importance of making allies, which is crucial to political parties. Indeed, of the two main political parties in Ghana, it is the NDC that can be credited for understanding this concept and the need to keep strong political allies. Consequently, they have built a strong Northern and Volta alliance, which is further strengthened by their linked fate mentality.

The NPP generals, on the contrary, have failed to win or make any allies for the party, and one wonders how they can face a formidable adversary the caliber of the NDC. But, making allies demands a lot of political maneuverings and winning the trust of your ally. In politics, the surest way to do this is to promote linked fate mentality with your ally; thus, ‘we are in this together’ mentality. You may also want to expand your allies and not to shrink it, which is what the NDC has done successfully.

Having made your allies you can now confidently invade your adversary’s stronghold. The idea is that, for a place to be called a stronghold of a particular party, it must deliver over 90% of its electoral votes to the party. The NDC, having defined their adversary and the battlefield, are leaving nothing to chance to make sure that NPP supporters are kept in check and are set against one another. That way, they have control of the battlefield to keep their adversary mesmerized at all times.

Therefore, while the Ashanti and Eastern Regions are seen by the NDC as crucial regions to win, the Volta and Northern Regions are seen by the NPP as too dangerous places to go into. Given these two mindsets of the parties, it is clear which of them determine the political dynamics of the country. Then, we need to know the types of tools used by the NDC to achieve this success.

Many of us are made to believe that the only tool the NDC has at its disposal is propaganda. We are wrong! This is a party that believes in the ideals of representative democracy. They have demonstrated this over the years by way of political appointments and politics of respectability. They have made conscious efforts to satisfy the minutest tribal group in the country that matters politically. This is what we call strategy! So while the NPP seems to be boasting of their intellectual prowess, the NDC can boast of how representative they are.

At the end of the battle, it is the NDC that gives us (NPP) many questions to answer why we did not win. Recently, the intelligent NDC operatives have started co-opting the top NPP men in the erstwhile Kufuor’s administration, and are using them to set the tone for the next general elections. Their agenda is to cause chaos and disorder within the party, going into the next general elections. And in their folly, the NPP men are bent on carrying on with their paymasters’ agenda, forgetting that the masters’ tools will never dismantle the master’s house. Meaning, as far as the NDC is concerned, they make no difference whoever leads the NPP party; they will not give up on their party’s ambition to stay in power forever. The election year will soon be right with us, so let our Generals be proactive and think smart.

Immanuel O. Boateng

New York.