Of Political Cons And Pretenders- The Case Of Ben Ephson

Ghanaian politics today looks very interesting when a cursory look is taken at it. Aside the major political players, that is, the Political Parties (and the various players in those parties) and the electorate whose attention the political players seek to win, lies many other individuals who fail to identify themselves as players in the political game but who have very vested interests in the politics of this country and who day in day out try to shape the landscape in favor of those vested interests they possess in a very open way. These are the people I choose to call, Political Pretenders or Con Artists
Such people often portray a semblance and image of objectivity, expertise or patriotism in sharing their opinions but under this guise, one finds a very obvious agenda of bias, distortion and an agenda of shaping political outcomes positively for the interests they seek to protect and negatively for the other opposing players. The people I am referring to normally come by the name of Social Commentators.
Of the very common examples of this breed is a personality like Kwesi Pratt Jnr. who always refuses to identify himself as acting in concert with the Mills/Mahama government and the NDC party in general but whose every action and statement is coloured in the interests and beliefs of green, black, white and red. But that is not the focus of this piece because Kwesi Pratt’s hypocritical, deceptive and unprincipled nature is well documented and known widely and wasting ink on it would be mere wastage of resources and most importantly time.
Another personality whose con and deceptive agenda is not probably as documented as Kwesi Pratt’s is Ben Ephson, the self-acclaimed political prophet and researcher. Ben Ephson since 2007 and especially since the assumption of power of the NDC has been known for an increasing penchant to put out analysis in favor of the Mills / Mahama government and that same faction within the NDC with the aim of enhancing the prospects of the Mills/Mahama administration and faction in the political landscape of our country ala 2012.
Mr. Ben Ephson has been known much for downplaying the influence of the Rawlingses within the NDC and has on various platforms stated that the NDC can do without the founder and his wife whose roles in the victory of the NDC in every election it has won, have been known to be more significant than any other individual within the NDC. Indeed it is even baffling that any pollster or political researcher can state emphatically that the NDC a party which has relied so strongly on the charisma and history of the Rawlingses can do without the Rawlingses within just over a year of coming into power. But yes this is the postulation of Mr. Ephson who seems to think that the NDC without Rawlings would even be stronger than with him.
However, Ben Ephson’s is arguably best known for the stance he has taken against the NPP in a very subtle but venomous manner. It has become characteristic to see Ben Ephson drumming and trumpeting a so called Akyim – Ashanti feud in the NPP for example and this agenda clearly is meant at dividing the NPP in probably its strongest areas and ensuring that the NPP’s performance within such areas dwindle; something which would be to the obvious benefit of the NDC, his masters and aides.
There have been many instances where Mr. Ben Ephson and his Daily Dispatch have been noticed to overlook very important issues which become major topics and instead focus on the so called Akyim-Ashanti feud. Again, Mr. Ephson has been known on many occasions prior the 2008 elections brought up many postulations which pointed out that the NPP would be so much affected in the Ashanti Region since the NPP had elected an Akyim and so forth. However, the results from 2008 clearly show that his postulations were either terribly faulty or that his agenda to predict and create doom in the Ashanti Region utterly failed.
After the 2008 elections, Mr. Ephson’s agenda to promote the agenda of the NDC in various forms and schemes became more obvious and incessant as he wasted no opportunity to skew his analysis of situations in favor of the NDC while continuing his agenda of sowing disunity in the NPP and turning round to proclaim that the NPP is a disunited party incapable of winning elections and even went ahead to call for both Nana Akufo-Addo and Alan Kyeremanten to step down from the NPP race if they wanted the NPP to win power in 2012 at a time when even toddlers were aware of the fact that within the NPP and in Ghana at large, the two most popular personalities capable of delivering victory as flagbearers were Nana Akufo-Addo and Alan Kyeremanten.
In the run-up to the August 7th primaries of the NPP, Mr. Ephson as usual of him played the tribal cards and especially the supposed enmity between Akyims and Ashantis and kept on theorizing on how it was going to damage the NPP. Indeed any virgin of Ghanaian politics would have mistaken Ghana to be made up of only two tribes – Akyims and Ashantis if that virgin had paid good attention to the political sermons of Ben Ephson.
The sad thing about this whole agenda being prosecuted by Mr. Ephson is the fact that this supposed feud has absolutely no standing if put to strict proof. The NPP as a political party and the Danquah – Busia – Dombo tradition in general and since its inception has always valued competence, capability, dedication and such values far ahead of trivial matters such as tribe or ethnicity. For the Danquah – Busia – Dombo tradition, where one comes from is one of the least considerations when it comes to struggle for leadership positions or any other discussion.
In our tradition, anyone who proves his capability and dedication and is found apt for leadership at any point in time is given the opportunity to lead the tradition without recourse to tribal affiliation etc..
It cannot be denied that the tradition split in 1979 and that the two main characters involved in the split were an Akyem and an Ashanti but for anyone to take this fact and interpret it as a feud between Akyems and Ashantis is most dubious.
First of all, anyone who knows the incidents that led to the split in 1979 knows that the major factor was a clash of personalities. How can anyone therefore conclude that because the two opposing personalities were of different tribal affiliations, then there is enmity between those two tribes? But sadly, this is what many including self – acclaimed political researchers and analysts like Mr. Ben Ephson would want us to believe. So I ask, is there a problem between the tribe of Gossie Tanoh and that of Prof. Mills? Does a feud exist between these two tribes because Gossie led the faction that split from the NDC after Prof. Mills was ordained candidate of the NDC?
The issue is even more baffling as to why people like Ben Ephson would keep trumpeting it because after 1979 and with the so called feud, these same two factions which Mr. Ben Ephson and his folk would want us to see in the terms of Akyem and Ashanti, came together to form the NPP and have since been together as one family. So what is the real point in stressing on this feud because if there was real enmity between these two factions, then they would have formed separate political parties and maybe would have all claimed the ancestry of the Danquah – Busia _ Dombo tradition as is happening within the Nkrumahists.
Year after year, doom mongers and ill wishers of the NPP keep proclaiming the imminent split of the Party because of the supposed rivalry between certain groups but the NPP has kept proven such people like Mr. Ephson wrong. However Mr. Ephson and his likes obviously do not care a hoot about logical arguments or reality but care a whole lot about spreading false rumours and trumpeting imaginations so as to achieve the targets set by their political pay masters and benefactors. Or perhaps maybe it is the likes of Mr. Ephson who are so stooped in petty tribal sentiments and affiliations that they feel all humans are like them. Maybe because Mr. Ben Ephson would put tribal affiliation ahead of competence, capability and commitment, he thinks that how all beings behave. Maybe because Mr. Ben Ephson would put aside all considerations of competence and performance, and rush to support his fellow tribesman for the mere reason of being of the same tribal extraction, as he is doing now; he thinks that is how all Ewes, Ashantis, Akyems, Fantis, Dagombas and Gonjas would behave.
The NPP went to congress on August 7th and elected a flagbearer overwhelmingly, Nana Akufo-Addo won every single region in this country. In terms of votes cast, he won more votes in the Ashanti Region than in any other region. It should be noted that out of the five people who contested, all except Nana Akufo-Addo had links in terms of tribal affiliation to the Ashanti Region. I hope that the loud message sent by the delegates of the NPP and in effect the NPP fraternity as a whole gets to Mr. Ben Ephson but I doubt if it would; he simply is doing a paid job.

Kwabena Owusu Peprah
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