In a democratic dispensation, the freedom that accompanies it are so numerous that today, that is what the whole world is yearning for.Freedom of expressing,freedom to vote, freedom to be voted etc.One does not impose his will on others like in a jungle or a dictatorial era.Maturity is the order of the day.That is why I find very disturbing to hear that a group of so called supporters of Prof MILLS are trying to impose their will on others by wanting their candidate or favourite to stand unopposed on the ticket of the NDC.My first question to them is that,haven?t they learnt their lessons yet? We were all witnesses to the mockery NDC went through after the unforgetable Swedru declaration.
Prof Mills is a fine intelligent man,no doubt about that, but that does not mean that he is the only qualified candidate in the NDC.Even if he is,that does not mean that others should not stand up and challenge him else,where is the beauty of the democracy we all yearn for?We all saw the pattern the recent passed elections took.Even though a candidate should be chosen by the qualities he possesses and not on tribal lines,if these so called supporters of Mills continue making such derogative comments against others, one may be tempted to say that as far as the candidacy of theNDC is concerned,only the northerners and voltarians have the right to decide which candidate they prefer since in any case,they will as usual vote for the party in bulk.That,he who pays the piper calls for the tune.If upon the northerners and voltarians knowing very well that Mills?own people rejected him and knowing that if they risk to vote for him and he wins,he will think of his people first before thinking of those who put him on the seat(cos ?efie ne fie?)being the usual Ghanaian tribalistic that he will be by then,they still don?t object to his candidacy,how dare his followers want to prevent others from standing?If Mills is so a marketable and an already known face with all sorts of degrees,what are they afraid of again? Or are they themselves not all that sure of their candidate?
By the way since when did they realise Hon John Mahama?s father to be a CPP man?Where were they when this gentleman stood on theNDC ticket on three consecutive occasions and won the Bole seat against all odds for the NDC?Yes,John?s father was a CPP man but does it definitely mean that John is or should also be a CPP man?On the other hand,everybody knows Mills himself to have been a strong CPP man during the Young Pioneer days.So the two, who deserves to be referred to the CPP camp?I know John has so much respect for Prof Mills being his senior in all field.If he decides to stand for the primaries,it is not because of some hatred for the Prof,neither is it because he is so eager to become the Prez of the country (afterall he is still very young)but because he wants the whole primaries to look very democratic being the democrat that he is.
To the fanatic supporters of Mills,they should know that they can hate the horse but they cannot deny its running ability.They can choose to say John is even himself a CPP man.They can even choose to play the tribal card by saying they don?t want a northerner as their candidate but they cannot deny the superb qualities he has.In my personal opinion,John will make a better and winnable candidate than Prof Mills, with all due respect to him.Here are some few examples to support my view starting with the voltarians;
The voltarians don?t care whether it is John or Mills,they will still vote for the NDC,the party they see as theirs.Remember they always voted for the NDC because of Rawlings and not Mills and so will still vote for John if he happens to be the candidate.
Now to the northerners.If northerners(one of the backbone of NDC)could vote for Mills,why won?t they vote in their numbers for John,their own man?As for John?s own people unlike Prof Mills?s,who rejected him,the least said about them,the better.God knows if John wouldn?t get a 99% vote there.You can call that primitiveness, that?s your own problem. Next come the fantes or akans.Does it make any difference if they don?t vote for John?Afterall they never voted even for Mills their own man and will still not vote for him today or tomorrow.The few that voted for him rather voted for the party and not Mills per se. Added to the above, are the following additional points John has over Mills; 1.John can win the hearts of a chunk of the 10% floating votes that Mills failed to win.How? Because he connects with all the various parties followers.
2.John can win the hearts of both the Rawlings and Obed camp since he belongs to neither of the two sides but just a normal NDC man 3.He can win the hearts of the disillusioned Goose Tannoh group back who left the party because of many reasons including the Swedru declaration.
4.He can win the hearts of a significant percentage of NPP voters who admire him very much and are disappointed with their own party but have still vowed never to vote for Mills because they don?t see him to be his own man or appealing enough.
5.The people want a different cook altogether.We have already tasted the soup of Rawlings, Mills,Kufuor and Aliu We now want a different cook to also exhibit his talent in cooking. Who knows if his wouldn?t be the best since the other ones were not so tasteful.
Having said all that,let no one make the mistake to think this wrter is antiMills.Mills is a nice guy this writer wouldn?t mind leading the party again.All what I?m trying to say is that, we are now in a democratic dispensation so everything should be done democratically.We are either in it or out of it.If Mills is the annointed one,he will definitely win the primaries but his followers have no right whatsoever(not even the founder of the party if he believes in democracy)to impose their will on others.Just as they see their favourite to be the most qualified person,so also do others think of theirs.So as matured civilised people,the only option left for the opposing views is the primaries.Whoever comes out as the winner,the loser congratulates him and the party moves on.As the saying goes,let the kite perch and let the egret perch too.
Views expressed by the author(s) do not necessarily reflect those of GhanaHomePage.