Ever since mailing one of my features titled 'Does the NPP need a compromise candidate'? in which I intimated that all was not well with the NPP and that it was only members who do not want to deal with the truth that are denying all is well with the party. I have received numerous calls and mails. One amazing comment was whether I was not blowing the factionalism in NPP out of proportion.
I repeat that the problem is real and some of us in the interest of the party will keep on hammering to the NPP hierarchy to awake their senses and work towards achieving absolute unity, for without unity never would the NPP come back to power.
Excuse me to say that the party is packed with intellectuals and discerning people who should know better. We need to immediately get to the surgeon table and remove this cancer in our party before it gets late. I am not a dooms monger but a concerned party member who would want to see NPP come to power in 2012.
Now those who doubt all what I said should look at this scenario:
I declared my attention to contest the position of National Youth Organizer of NPP this week. Since then many party members have asked me if I was contesting for Nana Akufo-Addo, Alan Kyeremanteng or someone else. My response has always been Jesus! In fact many questions has been ramming through my head. What is happening to my party? Are aspirants for executive position seeking to represent the NPP or individuals? Do I need to attach myself to an individual party member before I could contest? Do an aspirant need to declare who he supports before knowing his fate? Should the leadership qualities, track record, loyalty and commitment to the NPP be overlooked for factions? Have we learnt lessons from the1998, 2001 and 2005 National Executive Elections? Certainly no!
In fact when I tried to explain to one party member who asked me same question that, at age seventeen, I was the youngest delegate to have attended the 1992 Congress of NPP that elected the late Professor Albert Adu Boahen Presidential candidate, that I was a former Constituency Secretary of NPP for Bole-Bamboi, that I was a former General Secretary of NUGS and therefore experienced. My vision I told him was to build a corporation of dedicated NPP youth, made up of professionals, youth in the diaspora, students, the unemployed and the under privileged, who standing together and united in a common understanding and faith in the principles of the NPP'S liberal democratic philosophy would work to bring the party back to power.
I went on that I am from one of the rare mainstream Danquah-Busia families in Gonjaland of Northern Region because my grandfather Braimah Salifu was a contemporary of Chief Dombo and my father Alhaji Mahama Salifu was a former Youth Leader of the Progress Party in Gonja West, a former leader of the Popular Front Party in Bole and a former Chairman of NPP in Bole for many years and is credited with the setting up of NPP branches in Gonjaland when the party was formed and..... he would not just listen and cut me short. I was making noise he said. He was more interested in which camp I belong before he could tell me my chances.
Another friend told me that out of the seven names that have come up so far for the position of National Youth Organiser, only two are from Alan's camp- Michael Ampong and Stephen Amoah. But five of us- Nii Titus Glover, Pious Hadzide, Abu Jinapor and John Boadu, and I are pro- Nana Addo and so if we do not take care an Alan boy could win because we would split out votes. He urged me to rather contest the position of Northern Regional Secretary because the party needs loyal, intelligent, committed, effective and hardworking persons at the regions.
From the above, one would agree with me that the NPP need to start a genuine healing process to stop once and for the mentality of belonging to ‘personality cults'' and not 'a party'.
It is clear to all NPP sympathisers that Akufo-Addo and Alan Kyeremateng were the gurus of the day. They did I all they could to lead NPP but only one could be chosen and was indeed chosen by members of the party. It behoves on the party to go out and tell party members to unite and abide by the principles and fundamentals of the party. With this we can present a candidate who has the image to outclass President Mills or whoever they decide to present for election 2012. Many mistakes were committed and we need to correct them immediately.
President Lincoln of the USA did something many years ago. He stood up and said to his party far more divided than anything within the NPP. “We are not enemies but friends though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection”. To me that’s what the NPP leadership should do as a party to be very effective in terms of convincing party members and Ghanaian's about our preparedness to UNITE the party so as to be able to govern again.
It is clear today that the friction that erupted between President Obama and Rodham Clinton has come to an end just because the President showed he was not afraid to work with people who questioned his ability and experience in the hardest and ugliest manner. The choice of Clinton as Secretary of State showed his boldness to work with a someone who openly accuse of him of not having any experience and will be tested seriously in the first six months should he become a President. This is to show the nation that he wants to serve his party and country so as to achieve his agenda and if that means drawing from all walks of life in his party and nation he will. The President also clearly told party members he should be questioned if anybody did not agree with his plans and views. Believe me these people he brought to cabinet in the white house are men of tremendous experience who have been therefore far long before his appearance on the scene.
So my advice would be, be it Nana, be it Alan or be it any person who becomes an NPP candidate, the person should be an opened minded person who will have the heart of bringing on board the best the party has from whatever group they belonged to and together they should work and put aside any individual interest and petty politics. All it takes to make success is good judgment and the ability to tap and bring different people to work together despite their differences. Our leaders should concentrate on discussions and not debates.
Another example is the division within the Labour party in the United Kingdom. Ex-prime minister Tony Blair always had to deal with and accept proposal from the then Exchequers Chancellor, Gordon Brown who is now Prime Minister. It has always gone ugly but they come to reason after discussion and not debate. It has been going over for long and has not stopped and will never stop. Today there is still the Brown and Blair factions in the Labour party but they work together in the sole interest of the party and the nation for that is the only way they can preserve their power.
I urge NPP members to share open minded views in the interest of our nation first then that of the party and live any petty grievances to side. We will have to respond to all those who in their short memories and anticipations say that the NPP will never be stronger again because of its divisions that we are guided by the vision of our founding fathers spirit of 'yes we can'.
In conclusion it will be good for the leadership of NPP to know all sympathisers wants their children’s children say to their children that when the NPP was tested at this crucial period they refused to let any divisions end the journey they embarked upon, with eyes fixed on the horizon they held together this great gift for democracy and delivered it safely for future generations.
I will finish by saying that some of us are fired up to work for NPP! In fact we need to ambush the NDC, we need to stampede them into making political mistakes as they did to us and we need to seize every little opportunity to be critical of their stewardship.
But the first step is UNITY!
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