... And Dr. J. B. Danquah Wept

The Distant rumbling of thunder is an indication of rainfall. Whereas thunder is associated with rainfall, so is chaos and division associated with failure. The heart of many fellow kukrudites and for the most part, some Ghanaians, who envisage the NPP as the only formidable political party, to rescue our dear nation Ghana, from the adversities of the ruling NDC government, by moving the agenda of the nation forward, inspired by the visions and ideals of our forbears, are profoundly dismayed by recent qualms within the party.

Astoundingly, many would have thought ,after our excruciating defeat in the epic contest of the 2008 presidential and parliamentary elections, greater lessons would have been learnt and a proactive approach pursued, to reflect and dissect on circumstances that caused political power to flip over our hands, despite t he enormous successes chalked under the erstwhile NPP administration, led by His Excellency John Agyekum Kuffuour, the only successful leader born out of the Danquah-Busia-Dombo tradition in our time, by re strategizing to recapture political power in 2012 and beyond. However, that is far from the latter.

Albeit, there have been diverse moves to perform a post-mortem by the leadership of the party and some members, in regards to our loss in the 2008 elections .Indeed, as to whether those measures is having any significant impact ,in solving the copious problems attributed to the party, it is obvious for all to examine.

The power play that has engulfed the party, in the name of factionalism is deepening our woes as an effective and a united political front, ready to combat and capture political power. Factionalism, I must admit, is part of any democratic establishment, were individuals, are at liberty to support or associate themselves with any persons or group that they deem fit. However, it also has grievous effects, particularly when it is not played according to the rules, just like the current happenings within the NPP fraternity. The party is sharply divided among two presidential hopefuls, namely Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo and Mr. Alan Kyeremanteng, making every party activity, revolve around them. These has caused stir and severe tension among the rank and file aligned to these splinter groups, with not a day passing by, without them vilifying and machinating, to undermine each other, discounting the supreme interest of the party, at a time when an efficient opposition is needed to keep the ruling government on its toes.

The Mills-Mahama led administration has undoubtedly exhibited its ineptitude to man the affairs of the state. The government is treading, not only slowly but in a wrong direction, so to speak, by its founder, His Excellency Jerry John Rawlings. All these, characterized by abuse of fundamental human rights of individuals, especially members of the largest opposition party, coupled with higher standard of living due to the astronomical increases in taxes, prices of goods and services, as well as, profligate and unnecessary expenditure by officials of the government, should rather shake the spines of the NPP family, to unite and salvage Ghanaians from these catastrophic tendencies of the ruling government. Unfortunately, the elephant is busy destroying itself due to parochial interest of certain conspiracy theorist within the party.

As members and sympathizers of the NPP, we have always boasted, mainly with reference to our rich tradition of Danquah-Busia and Dombo, but I respectfully doubt, if indeed, we have kept faith with the selfless struggle, commitment and the road map to which these great leaders set for the forward movement, of our party. The tradition was firmly built on discipline and respect for individuals and party structures. The myth, Dr. Joseph Boakye Danquah, who led the formation of this great tradition of ours, during the imperialist rule, through the dictatorial maneuverings of our first president Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, stood together with others, to fight for the course of this movement and largely the democratization of our nation, at the peril of their lives, and were subjected to torture by the oppressors and even died in detentions without recourse to due process. These gallant heroes did not seek their narrow parochial interest and that of their families and cronies, but rather sacrificed themselves for the course of right and laid a more solid and unified front, in perpetuity by the next generation.

In the vein of many, I am much concerned, on the dark lane our party is trampling upon. Though, we seem very optimistic and highly confident in returning to political power in 2012, very little have been done to make this dream of ours manifest. Like a car, with a disintegrated parts and engine problems, how can it travel through thick and thin to reach its desired destination? Dr. Joseph Boakye Dankwa and his likes, wherever they may be, will be saddened and weeping for the tradition they sacrificed their blood to enable it achieve greater heights.

This generation of ours must not fail our forebears, who sacrificially went through horror, in their days to pave way for us. We must appreciate and respect their collective struggle and efforts in consolidating our gains. Their sense of patriotism, unflinching love for party, high spirit, commitment and selflessness, must run through us, if we believe in the course and vision they stood for.

The NPP faces a stiffer contender, who like a hungry lion won’t let go its prey. We must close our ranks, by putting the interest of our party above our own and work in camaraderie with each other, as loyal party members to ensure unity. We must not underrate the 2012 elections as a done deal, due to the mismanagement of the ruling NDC government, but rather work extremely hard, thereby bringing everyone on board to fight for what is rightfully ours. Ghanaians, all over, are indeed yearning for development in freedom.

Long Live Danquah-Busia-Tradition!

God Bless Ghana!

Chief Obosu Mohammed

[email protected]

www.obosumohammed.blogspot.com

+233-244-073-028

The author is an NPP Youth Activist and the Director of Communications for the Patriotic Youth Front (PYF), a coalition of young individuals committed to the course of the Danquah-Busia -Dombo tradition, by propagating its ideals and organizing an effective radical grass root campaigning, with the Zongo communities and fresh voters been the focal point, to ensure an overwhelming victory in the 2012 elections and beyond.