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Opinions of Thursday, 20 August 2015

Columnist: Edusei, Eric

Pride, complacency and prejudice destroyed NPP top guns

When Sir John remarked that delegates must be feared, there were people who did not understand the full merits of his submission. However, after going through the full regimentation of the intricacies in our local and national politics, it is evident that many of our delegates have wised up and become very sophisticated. They have grown in detail to understand the issues better which are dangerous for some of our leaders who believe that money is the only indicator. As to be expected, delegates by default have become ‘Heads of Family’ in the respective constituencies who decides who should be the party’s parliamentarian. As Heads of Family, they can conveniently take “drink” from any contestant seeking to become the Chief (Member of Parliament) during their visits; they will honor their calls, smile with them and give them promises. In other words, since one person will emerge as the Chief (Parliamentarian), it is only logical to vote for one candidate of your choice based on their doctrines so nobody should blame any delegate during the parliamentarian primaries.
The truth about the primaries is that most delegates decided the fate of their prospective MPs long before the parliamentary primaries began because of the ‘relationship clause’. It is unfortunate but the affiliation between some MPs and certain delegates in some areas is not the best. In certain areas, the cry for votes, the touch of kindness and concern by MPs ends when they are voted into office; they always withdraw and scorn delegates like puppets, the base degree from where they ascended. How can one dream and expect loyalty from his/her subordinates when he/she feels so proud to even interface with them? How can we expect people to fight and die for us when we are so withdrawn from them? In truth, most of our losing MPs lost not because they lacked the requite capabilities but because of their personal failings which hanged on pride, arrogance and complacency. The same reasons account for complaints by those who assert that the flag bearer, Nana Addo Danquah, has surrounded himself with people with immense pride and infectious negated characteristics. We need to change our manners to be able to measure up to the task ahead in 2016. It is about vote harvesting for Nana Addo and the NPP from people who have minds of their own based on public perception and prejudice.
Today, the delegates of the NPP Party have redefined and changed the course of history of the party with the emergence of new and vibrant faces in lieu of certain great minds and thinkers. In all, 16 (sixteen) incumbent Parliamentarians lost their bid for re-election in Ashanti Region alone because of reasons like lack of commitment for the party and fortitude towards the leadership. Many Parliamentarians have become complacent, thinking about themselves and their personal well-being alone; they have lost touch with the party faithful and the determination to pursue the party’s agenda after spending so many years in the parliament. Many among the list of losers were those who left the collation centres having won their seats without taken care of the Presidential votes and this affected the party’s fortunes. If you sum up the total votes of Parliamentarians, you will realize that the NPP figure supersedes that of the NDC by 121,191(one hundred and twenty one thousand one hundred and ninety one) although they have many Parliamentarian seats. Granting the fact that the difference was very huge, how come that Nana Addo lost the Presidency? As we speak, there is no site where you can access the data on the elections to compare notes including the Electoral Commission itself. Ghana is a strange nation with dangerous people and we need serious minded people who are tough to unplug the battery of these tricksters.
I do want to mentioned names to muddy the waters but the lack of goodwill and apathy generally accounted for the loss of certain great personalities in the primaries. It is very strange to know that the few delegates I talked to understood their mandate and mission; they knew their MPs whose demeanor and activities undermined the fortunes of the party for power. There were others who confided in me that their MPs were very disrespectful and extremely arrogant, qualities which are unmerited in the political arena. Accordingly, by use of the thump, they decided to punish some of the old MPs they found wanting.
Some delegates I sampled from 4(four) constituencies including Tepa told me that some of the MPs are very complacent and accordingly lost touch with reality on the ground; many have become dormant when it comes to the party’s activities in their localities. Shockingly, I was amazed at the level of consciousness of some of the delegates, many of who emphasized that some of our MPs have compromised their positions allowing the NDC to mismanage our economy. I was shocked by their level of understanding and felt that, going forward, the MPs may have to be very careful and truthful to their mandate or get removed under their watch in shock.
It is true that loneliness is young ambition’s ladder; people climb to the top and forget the base degree from where they ascended and this attitude of our leaders should stop to ensure that we build a formidable party to defend Mother Ghana. Our delegates, no matter how you classify them are saying that the people you meet on your way up are the same people you meet on your way down. Besides, those in electable positions should be careful and remember that humility, courtesy, fairness are not competing ends but essential determinants of a good leader.
The NPP institution has reached the cross roads, a time which calls for sacrifices and fortitude. It is time for all peace-loving people who have interest in the general good of Mother Ghana to forget about their personal interest and fight to redeem us from hopelessness, poverty, servitude and economic decadence. Those talents and great minds who have lost the primaries should always remember that there are many positions to be filled which are relatively important then the MP position. The most important responsibility of the positions we occupy is good governance that reduces dependency ratio, crime, sickness while enhancing good and healthy life.

MANSA MUSA THE GREAT KING, VA, USA.