The Die Is Cast And The Rubicorn Has Been Crossed

. Mac Manu And Co Must Go.

In the Gospel according to St Luke, Chapter 19, vs. 12 to 28, Jesus told his disciples the parable of the rich man, who, before he traveled out called ten of his servants and gave each of them ten talents to be used wisely.

On his return, he asked each of them to give an account of his stewardship. The first had doubled the amount; the second had added five talents to the original. The rest came one after the other and gave satisfactory account of their stewardship. All of them were adequately rewarded

When it came to the turn of the tenth servant, he unleashed a bombshell. He told the master he (the servant) knew the master reaped where he had not sown. He therefore went and hid the talents and so it earned nothing. The master got offended and asked why he had not kept the talent in the bank for would have earned some dividend or profit. He directed that the money be taken from the tenth servant given to first servant. According to the master those who have, more will be added but those who do not have, even the little they have will be taken away from them.

The New Patriotic Party started as the Danquah- Busia club which metamorphosed into a political party after the ban on political parties had been lifted the first national chairman B. J. da Rocha took the party to greater heights. Under him the party boycotted the first parliamentary elections under the fourth republic. So the NPP was not represented in first parliament. Da Rocha handed the baton of leadership to Odoi Sykes and under him, the party managed to secure 66 seats or thereabout in the Second Parliament from a total of 200. The leadership position next fell to Haruna Esseku and under him our number shot to an unprecedented level of 128 out of 230.

Having been handed a whopping 128 parliamentary seats, one would have thought that the Mac Manu- led National Executive will adopt a pragmatic approach to issues and increase the number or at worst, maintain the figure of 128. But no, it couldn’t. From a majority we have become a minority. We are now orphans and have become the laughing stock of everybody. Not only did we lose the majority tag, we also lost control of the presidency. “Double Salansa” or double “joe-paddy” (jeopardy) one might say. I remember the period in the late 70’s when General I.K.Acheampong came up with his Union Government concept and the People’s Movement for Freedom and Justice was to hold a rally at Kejetia. (I have recounted this episode before and I would do it again). While we expected the leaders of the movement to emerge from the Ayigya end of Kumasi, we were surprised to see them coming from the Suame end in two rickety cars. That was the first time I set my eyes on Mr. K. A. Gbedemah, Johnny Hanson, Dr Jantua, Nana Akuffo Addo, Dr Sarfo Adu, Prof Adu Boahene and host of those opposed to the concept. These leaders had endeared themselves to the ordinary people. They came down to the level of the ordinary people. I had asked party leaders and campaign team members while they could not go to the campaign grounds in one big bus or take tro-tro. Was there any need to surround themselves with macho men who acted as bodyguards and sniffing dogs barring their fans on ordinary members of the party who wanted to get closer to the flag bearer and at least have a hug or handshake from him?

Infact, the top echelon of the party took members and Ghanaians for granted. What was the wisdom in Mr. Jake Obetsebi Lamptey wanting to buy Government Properly in an election year and was already aware of the way Gas felt about their land? Was there nobody in the party to admonish him that it was not in the interest of the party to do so. And Jake was the leader of the campaign team!

Earlier, in one of my write ups titled “Mr President, I beg to differ", I had appealed to the NPP members in Parliament not to make further appropriations for the completion of the Golden Jubilee House unless Dr Wireko Brobbey had rendered full accounts of the Ghana@ 50 ceremony. I ended with the caveat that if people should be prosecuted for causing financial loss to the state, Dr Wireko Brobbey’s name must be put on top. Let our party leadership be up and doing and just as Julius Caesar said, “Caesar’s wife must be above suspicion”. And as the Doyen of Politics, Dr. J. B. Danquah wrote. “I do the best I can under the circumstances. If the end brings me out all good, the accusations being leveled against me shall amount to nothing. But if the end brings me out all bad, then ten thousand angels saying I was right will make no difference”.

Let our party elders be shinning examples to everybody. Let them do things in a transparent manner. And this brings me to the issue of attempts by former government or party officials to effect change of ownership of vehicles. What was the need of rushing to effect the change of ownership? Couldn’t they have waited until the situation had settled a bit before doing so? If indeed they had bought, paid for and the purchases had been approved, such vehicles could be licensed two, three weeks after the new government had taken over. I am not in support of Victor Smiths' action. But all that I am saying here is that, we should not give room to our political opponents to humiliate us. The timing of an action is very important in politics. Unfortunately, this is one area the NDC is far ahead of the NPP.

Our party leaders including members of the campaign team had behaved like Caesar in the play "Julius Caesar". They behaved and acted like the whole country was in their hands. Some of us, who are ordinary members of the party, tried to cure them of this mental barrenness in order to avoid a catastrophe, but they still remained adamant. Infact, “their wisdom was consumed in confidence”. No positive response came because it appears the Mac Manu led executive and the 2008 campaign team had developed a mental hollowness which did not allow them to see anything serious in our fears or plight.

Over confidence, arrogance, pride and mental barrenness will not allow Mac Manu, the Executives and the National Campaign team to give weight to the concern of party members. They felt they were a force that could not be challenged. Some of us employed all possible means to avert the disaster which befell the party but Mac Manu, and his executives, together with members of the campaign team adopted every means to ensure that the party was defeated in the elections.

If Mac Manu and his team had been simple and accessible to party men, the first thing they would have done was to apologize to party members for sending us to no where. If they had been humble, the first thing they should have done was to tell us, “You gave us a task to perform. We are sorry, for we have failed you. We resign" Then we would say: How proud we are of you! We recognize your efforts and commitment. Please carry on"

This is what every sane leadership worth its salt would do. In the Bible, we read that anytime the state of Israel went to battle and lost, they put ashes on their heads and wept bitterly. What we expect the entire leadership to do is to ask all those who played an official role in the 2008 electioneering campaign to give and account of his/her stewardship. The finance Committee must explain how it spent the amount appropriated to it. That goes for every other committee. The leadership must also account for the filing fees of the many presidential aspirants who vied for the party's flag bearer ship. Then an extra-ordinary national congress must be called to deliberate on the report of the various committees/units, at the end of which a resolution to pass a vote of no confidence or a vote of confidence must be tabled. We should also be told of efforts being made to embark on membership drive of the party.

But Peter Mac Manu, Kofi Konadu Apraku, Arthur Kennedy, Jake Otanka Obetsebi-Lamptey and others will have a Herculean task of explaining to the large/teeming followers of disappointed Osono fraternity how we started from scratch with nothing to sixty six seats or thereabouts to an unprecedented 128 seats only to plummet or nosedive to just 107 seats. What happened? They have to explain to us why we, ordinary members of the party should still put our trust in them and ask them to continue to steer the affairs of the great party after they have disappointed us. The must give us reasons why we should not ask them to step aside now.

Genuine internal democracy can only be realized when elected leaders set examples through good stewardship. Such leaders must be proactive in thoughts and actions. If such qualities are lacking, the leaders must not wait for the people to push them aside. They should resign quietly and fade into the night “before their goose is cooked”.

Infact, the unremorseful manoeuvres by this inept and clueless party leadership is a testimony to the fact that they still have not accepted blame for the "poor show" by the party in both the Presidential and Parliamentary elections.