When Kennedy Agyapong speaks with bad faith

If the National Democratic Congress’ operatives are banking on the nihilistic – or self-destructive – tendencies and statements being made by a livid Mr. Kennedy Ohene Agyapong to put up a spirited electioneering campaign against the Akufo-Addo-led New Patriotic Party (NPP) government, then they had better kiss their luck goodbye (See “We’ll Use Ken Agyapong’s Accusations Against NPP in 2020 – Appiah Stadium” Peacefmonline.com / Ghanaweb.com 7/7/17).

It will not wash because like Election 2016, the 2020 general election will be squarely won or lost on the basis of the performance records of the country’s two major political parties.

But what is even more significant is the fact that Mr. Agyapong’s statements and flippant remarks have extremely limited capacity to hurt the NPP’s chances at the polls, because the internal dissenter or critic has clearly, publicly and damningly exposed his motive for maligning the leadership of his own party as one that is squarely based on greed and selfishness.

The outspoken but not necessarily honest and wise Assin-Central Member of Parliament, has made it crystal clear that he has decided to come out against the leadership of the party on whose ticket he has stood for election for nearly two decades, because he has woefully failed to have his own way, in terms of being awarded the juiciest of contracts ahead of virtually every other party financier.

In other words, for the owner of the Accra-based Oman-Fm Radio, the New Patriotic Party is a veritable cash-cow, or piggybank, whose vintage milk he has undeservedly been denied by the movers-and-shakers of the party, even as some whom Mr. Agyapong deems to be virulent political opponents and inveterate detractors are being given carte-blanche to milk this pachydermous party cash-cow.

In his latest grievance, Mr. Agyapong claims that many significant contractual awards are being offered known operatives of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) at the expense of party stalwarts and investors.

As well, Mr. Agyapong claims that a fairly remarkable number of very juicy contracts are being ceded Nigerian nationals at the expense of bona fide Ghanaian-born operatives and prime financiers of the New Patriotic Party.

There is an obvious catch, or problem, here; and it is the fact that the “whistle-blower” is not telling us, the general public, the fact of whether these allegedly undeserving Nigerian contract awardees are legally resident in the country and have been legally licensed to operate businesses in the country.

Indeed, for all anyone cares to know, these so-called Nigerians who have caught the brunt of the ire of Mr. Agyapong could be either Ghanaian-born bona fide citizens with Nigerian parentage or of Nigerian descent, or even permanent residents with permits that authorize them to conduct business and other related undertakings in the country, just like many other resident aliens or bona fide Ghanaian citizens.

You see, merely sporting a Nigerian name does not necessarily make a person a foreigner or an alien, just as being called or named Mr. Sydney Casely-Hayford does not, in any way, make one less of a Ghanaian citizen than being named or called Mr. Kennedy Ohene Agyapong.

Mr. Agyapong has been widely reported to have claimed that the New Patriotic Party may have won Election 2016 by foul means. If, indeed, he were that much of a straight-shooting arrow, as he claims to be, the rambunctious Assin-Central NPP-MP would not have waited for 7 months post his party’s electoral victory to spill the proverbial beans; and then only after he was miffed for being denied some juicy contracts to which he felt exclusively entitled.

Now, the man who boastfully claims to have built himself at least 100 houses is also alleging that he is having a hard time feeding, clothing and paying school fees for his dozen, or so, children, merely because he has been denied one or two juicy contracts that he firmly believed he deserved more than anybody else.

This is precisely where his inordinate greed comes in, because in the past, Mr. Agyapong was widely known to have been awarded several juicy contracts by the Kufuor-led New Patriotic Party government. Ironically, Mr. Agyapong has in the past also accused the former President of hating his guts.

He once even claimed that the then-President Kufuor had ordered some of his security guards to turn away Mr. Agyapong who had shown up at a festive gathering at the former’s Airport Residential Area residence.

Back then, many of us were even tempted to side with Mr. Agyapong. Now, my good, old Uncle Kofi Diawuo turns out to have been all the more clairvoyant and wiser for such purported dislike. This also largely explains why Mr. Agyapong continues to truck with the NPP constabulary, even while caustically badmouthing the party’s leadership. The man is a veritable leech, and not nearly half the Santa Claus, or Father Christmas, that he pretends to be.