Those who have read any of my past articles on Ghanaweb may have got the inkling that I like politics. Well, I do and I have had the chance to watch the best of them keenly. I watched the Jimmy Carter-Gerald Ford campaign. I watched the Jimmy Carter-Ronald-Reagan campaign. I watched the Ronald-Reagan-Walter Mondale; George H.W. Bush-Michael Dukakis; George H.W. Bush-Bill Clinton; Bill Clinton-Bob Dole campaigns (need I say more?) I think I am an astute observer and I will not take second seat to anyone. Having said that, I am very surprised that NPP has no one else besides Nana Akufo Addo, and they are not ashamed to flaunt it.
I will readily admit that I don’t know Nana Akufo Addo besides his campaign, seeing him in a BBC interview, and having watched the third debate of the last election. My impression of him is that Mr. Akufo Addo probably thinks that he speaks with a British accent. I hate to tell him that he doesn’t. He also does not speak any spectacular English to make him a cut above all. One thing I will give him is that he is good at bopping his head. Head bopping does not make for a good campaign nor does it substitute for campaigning on good well thought through policy ideas. President Kuffour exudes fatherly, elderly statesman qualities about him that may have helped him win. Nana Addo doesn’t. He comes across as someone who will slug it out in the gutter with anyone to get his way while thinking he is better than you and should not even be breathing the same air that others breathe. This does not make for a good candidate. I am amazed that NPP does not seem to be interested in having him prove himself if he is a good candidate.
If NPP has anyone besides Nana Akufo Addo, their official website does not show it. Their official website says it loud and clear that Nana Akufo Addo is their man. They splash everything Akufo Addo that I wonder why they bother having a “primary” at all. The party seems to have selected a flag bearer and everyone must fall in line. Nana Addo himself tamped down those who may even think of trying by quoting Ronald Reagan that, “…thou shall not speak ill of a fellow Republican” while forgetting that Ronald Reagan himself snapped at George H.W. Bush and said, “I am paying for that mic”. This type of selection is done in many places and we tend to call them anything but democratic. How in the world would NPP preach democracy?
NPP has a bigger problem than anointing Nana Akufo Addo. For those who will call me NDC, I have written in a past opinion article that Ghana needs a strong leader and President Mahama ain’t it. In the article, I said that President Mahama should not be re-elected unless things change. Though things haven’t changed in my view, Mr. Mahama has made moves that at this time I believe will make it easy for him to win and NPP need new ideas and a vigorous fight for the nomination to have a chance. That is not what they are doing.
Here is an example of things that President Mahama is doing that will make it harder for NPP to win. Before I left Ghana, Presidents were promising to build a new market for Cape Coast. Every President since then promised to build a new market for Cape Coast. Not only is the President building the new market, he is building a new stadium for Cape Coast. Considering that Nana Akufo Addo did not win Cape Coast the last time, and seems to have an adversarial relationship with the people of Cape Coast, does anyone think that he is going to win Cape Coast at this time? President Mahama seems to be on a construction binge. He is building schools everywhere. It can’t but get him votes. How is Akufo Addo going to counter that? How is NPP going to counter that?
NPP needs new ideas on the table and a vigorous fight for the nomination. If Nana Akufo Addo is going to be the nominee, he should earn it by presenting to the NPP voter how he will counter Mahama’s advantage. In my view, he can only do it with convincing ideas; ideas that have eluded him so far in the past two campaigns. NPP’s website does not give me any encouragement. Just as I said I could live through another 4 years of George W. Bush administration, I have resigned myself to the likelihood of living through another 4 years of President Mahama, and Ghana will be the worst for it. Sad.
Tony Pobee-Mensah
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