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Opinions of Sunday, 27 July 2014

Columnist: Mohammed, Chief Obosu

RE: Boakye Agyarko Responds To Alan K's Claim

RE: Boakye Agyarko Responds To Alan K's Claim Of Being Sidelined



I have followed with interest a rebuttal from Boakye Agyarko, on a stated claim of Mr. Alan Kyerematen about being sidelined during the 2012 election.

In the opening statement of the rebuttal he defines Alan’s claim as “false claims in his attempt to discredit Nana Akufo-Addo and the 2012 NPP campaign team”. Then he further calls his own compulsion to set the record straight.

Similar to this position, I am compelled to call fellow readers to pay attention to the Machiavellian positioning and blatant display of narcissism evident in the sheer level hypocrisy shown in the said rebuttal, which is fantasy and cannot be sustained without propaganda.

Mr. Alan Kyeremanten made some fundamental statements which are still begging counter facts if any after 14 or so paragraphs of the said rebuttal;

1. Mr. Alan Kyerematen recounted travelling into the country at his own expense to help with the 2012 campaign. Did he?



2. He travelled extensively with Nana Akufo Addo across the country especially in the Greater Accra, Ashanti and Brong-Ahafo regions for the campaign albeit the refusal of the campaign team to recognize his presence and avoiding to grant him speaking opportunities. Did this happen?



3. He further stated that he was able to mobilize some businessmen to make huge financial and logistical donations to the party in the 2012 general elections as he has always done in the past. Is this true?





4. With regard to the famous election petition, he mentioned that he had to find his own accreditation to gain admission into the Supreme Court in all the instances he was present including the day the judgment was read. Did he?



Question & Answer sessions in basic school has made it easy to answer such questions; yet such were the responses Agyarko was able to provide;

To question 1(one); Agyarko answers

Ans: With respect to not being invited to join the campaign, the truth of the matter is, Mr. Kyerematen left town for an international job after losing the primaries. As he proudly boasts, he is an international man! As he had not returned by April, were we to wait twiddling our thumbs?

My comment is, the article did not dispute his call to campaign, the question to answer is whether he answered to the call and travelled back to Ghana to assist the campaign team. Check question 1(one) again, take another shot. As you have rightly observed, Alan is definitely the man with both local and international appeal owing to experience.



To question 2(two): Agyarko answers

Ans: In Mr. Kyerematen's mind, following Nana Addo around the country and speaking just before him was his idea of participation in the campaign. Unfortunately, there is much more to campaigning for an election than that.

My comment is, Really? Since you have shown your exceptional prowess to psychoanalyze, have you also thought about why these speaking opportunities were not granted if such, so to speak, was the nature of his thinking? Could it be because there was fear of him outshining the candidate? I will leave that to your very active mind to cogitate.



To question 3(three): Agyarko answers

Ans: What is it that Mr. Kyerematen wanted to offer the NPP in its presidential campaign that he was prevented from offering?

My comment is, his offerings were many, generous and very much accepted, the question is would you be honest enough to publish his contributions as much as you are willing to stake your claim as though there was none?

Did he in fact mobilize some businessmen to make huge financial and logistical donations to the party in the 2012 general elections as he has always done in the past?

Sadly I admit if this question will ever get a sufficient answer from you since your highest esteem seem to be bestowed on all other persons making unsolicited draft speeches to be included in the 2012 manifesto. In your own words “Those, in my estimation, were solid contributions!”



To question 4(four): Agyarko answers

Ans: Was Mr. Kyerematen, the ‘international man’, expecting the party to specially reserve a card out of the 25 for him so that on any day he felt like flying in, a card would be waiting for him? That would have been grossly unfair to those who hung around the court house daily, devising clever ways to enter.

With regards to the Supreme Court hearings, I am extremely surprised that he keeps going on about not being given accreditation. After all, aside from appearing at the Supreme Court to show one’s support, there were many other activities involved in putting the petition before the Supreme Court.

It is a matter of public record that the entire NPP received only 25 accreditation cards per sitting. Our one hundred and twenty-three Members of Parliament had to share 5 cards. They quickly devised a system where, on any given day they would select five Members who would attend. The party did not assign me accreditation I made arrangements with someone who could not attend on Thursdays and used his card as such.

My comment is, the man with both local and international appeal, rightly decided to remain proactive and work around your seemingly impossible-to-break-through card sharing system, to get accreditation for himself. If for nothing, this shows his zeal and commitment to all matters of party concern. He refused to let the obvious limit his options.

14 or so paragraph later, each of your thesis statement seemed to be laced with malice and directed at attacking the personality of a distinguished gentleman instead of providing counter facts to the stated claim.

Further wording and development to your argument remains emotional throughout and only seemed to represent a personal vendetta of some sort which leaves it bereft of objectivity and expose the spurious nature of it.

“When you call a spade a spoon, it does not make it any smaller to enter your mouth”. There is wisdom in our proverbs, I entreat you to take a cue.



Chief Obosu Mohammed

NPP Member, Mfantseman