Alan Kyerematen, has lobbed three successive Molotov cocktails into the political turmoil of our country in two weeks and appears to seize the ‘commanding heights’ in contesting the ‘’2024-NPP’s Ticket’’ in pursuit.
He had until two weeks ago been the Trade Minister. He quit the position, the first hand grenade which reeled the nation. Then, in asserting he meant it, sprayed in it’s a fuselage comparison that could be costly, irrespective of lose or triumph to head the party and probably the presidency ultimately. I bear in mind ‘politics is the art of the possible’.
Thirdly, he called for time for action to switch the country’s driving gear inclined to actions rather than wasteful time of talking –‘’Ghana is gradually becoming’’ a passive nation.
The perhaps wake up, is in parallel complicated by another two jaw lowering—his former cabinet colleague at Finance is concurrently in charge, presumably ad interim; and his chief challenger, the Vice-President’s sister in a viral social media clip rails at the government for both pawning the country’s security and individual freedoms to a foreign Tech system in a manner likely to seem to warrant a loaned description of Soviet’s ‘’everywhere Big Brother is watching you’’. There is galore of interchangeable intriguing thoughts in that not just per se; but within the wider context of [i] government, under siege as regards the finance portfolio and consequently, [ii] the stand-off between government and the divided country over the presidency’s apparently dogged mindset not to let go this very Chancellor of the exchequer, blamed for the state of the economy, as House leader Osei Mensah Bonsu leaves.
It is a package that prompts or indeed compels kept in front of delicate issues as the country trudges, seemingly without focus towards next national ballot. And that occurs ultimately and from the apron results of party presidential ‘’Ticket’’ as would pertain to the heavyweights: the ruling NPP and opposition NDC. Both are not ‘shonn’(long) from now. I should bring back alive to this, that time is not that there because again, ‘a day in politics is a long time indeed.’ The period between is for the government normally taken up with mopping up and shaping to go forward to the country with the successes; much as the other side tooth-picks and advance policy-formulation-counters for the current shadow-boxing. By the way, any real new initiatives are described as window dressings.
Upshots in Alan’s step down are: is it new; and in which direction(s)—‘qui bono’, kind of. In the course of the last year and the sort of continuing deteriorations and with particular reference to Alan, I find it puzzling that this country has sunk or was diving into amnesia. For instances that the leaving the job is not unprecedented—P.K. K. Quaidoo, K.A.Gbedemah and the mass resignations of 19 office holders (majority Ministers of State)in the Kuffuor-term.
They were asked; but that is not distinct because it was inevitably coming for fairness to the persons concerned and the interest of governance to run with ‘no half shut eyes.’ The earlier cases were protests. The averagely acceptable excuse could be the problem of today’s text, video and self-talk and twitter generation. Or, the largely unawareness of the same also through the bareness of written clean history and the grave neither will nor apparent intent to learn, at all generally.
The smugness of successive authorities’ actually taken-for-granted attitudes are, or may be partly cause. The more harmful is the politics relegating all into some quasi-extinction.
However, every successive political era would want to be mentioned in posterity. But scholars too don’t appear to have pressed the point exemplarily. And top it up with the publishing community. That is the danger futurely for this country because ‘a country without history does not exist’, the Elders say.
Anyway, the complacency does not block but impels something might be gained from the pulls inside the NPP, specifically to do with the ‘’Ticket’’, speculate the unity of the NPP—now and after; and repercussions on the body politic of the country. Or, just something gaining on us but has split dynamics,1979 and 2020-1-2 when the proliferation of political parties showed signs of emaciating. And that shall in the same or reverse order re-ignite whether government by political party-led.
Throughout four post-coups, the record had stubbornly opted for the ballot box. That return scenario of any is either UNIGOV, or TINAGOV. Getting down to brass tacks: the public has a common knowledge that suggests a serious in-fighting—worse than the Kwaku Baah and Owusu Acheampong, the ‘’Flag’’ uncompromised debate that led the PP into UNC and PFP and the post-loss Charles Amankwaah’s exit voluntarily. He represented Subin, just as the present House leader Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu. It adds to developments in a thickening of internal NPP rancor over the choice between Alan Kyerematen and Vice President Dr Mamadou Bawumia.
What’s rife accuses President Nana Akufo-Addo for campaigning for his Vice. Proof limps except credence of hearsay ‘’ntoa, ntoah’’ at glib-talk stadium, with tendency to credible, generally. Yet, it is at that market where no one can’t help but feel gutted for Alan; or, in any contest for high point as such as leadership of national political party—discounting momentarily, the potential for leading a great country though awkwardly shut in doldrums, hopefully temporarily, probably.
The second double plausible arguing factors are it gives Alan Kyerematen ample space to pursue his agenda and show how sustainable his strategy to bring back the country which he has charged as overly-talkative, citing it as a ‘’NATO country’’ quotes in that social media reportage. That content makes him diplomatically un-with-it—expensive for self and country later relating to NATO.
The country relies co-operatively with them for the least via INTERPOL. A bit more depth would be expected to clarify that reference as in the up-coming amplification. Domestically though, the same makes him as an example, free openly dodging criticism for subtly abusing incumbency in our politics here over past years.
A more underlying factor is clearly a ominous or disliked opening fierce ethnic internal discords. Designedly or accidentally, the NPP’s ‘’world bank’’ electorally had been the Ashanti . Added are the Akyem with the Northern sector block initially roped in historically the Northern Peoples Party, headed by Tolon Naa Alhaj Yakubu Tali] and a break away from mainstream CPP for more of parochial reasons than ideological and merged in 1956 with Southern amalgam in Ashanti — secessionist NLM in Ashanti predominantly to form the United Party [NPP’s forebear] with rotating trio leadership—of Dr J.B.Danquah, Prof K.A.Busia and S.D.Dombo.
There is no conspiracy theory in the nitty-gritty portfolio of the case, unfortunately relative to the clearly determined ideal of the Ashanti will to wrest back ‘their party’ as you often heard since 1979.
That is important to highlight despite loathsome for unity of this country. It otherwise, is the true motivation—no savvy needed, despite fudges. It is on hindsight that the party had not quietly addressed to close the chapter with inference to the original ‘’rotating trio 1956-MOU’’and massaged it into less grumbles camouflaging the reality, since as Paa Willie had stated 1985 in his ‘Dr J.B.Danquah Memorial Lectures’ that : ‘’It was only recently –in 1957—that the people we now call Ghanaians came under one homogeneous rule. In a real sense it was then that we seriously started to build one nation.’’ [I believe that it can now be added as an emphatic- cornerstone in one of the fundamental forced-protest reasons that caused breakaway of a Brong Busia’s PP into UNC (the party he, an Akyem, led) and the PFP (Victor Owusu—Ashanti). Yet, the complexions of both were a mix.
The electoral defeat-lesson by the Dr Hilla Limann’s PNP, was not the only explanation for the re-union. There were the legal ban —ref the military Decree; which advocated conscientiously the sheer realization of strength in unity. The UGM -Dr Charles Wereko Brobbey’s, Dr Obed Asamoah’s DCP and the CPP’s into splinters in the first parliament of this Fourth Republic up to recently as Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom’s PPP plus others currently, show the challenges of shot-gun politics for survival, imports and impacts in our political narrative and going back as pre-independence including a religion-based MAP and parochials –the NLM and the Ga-Shifimokpe — all as if like football clubs and or indeed ‘’Kokomba’’ choral groups which entertained at funerals in particularly Cape Coast :’’Volo’’ and railway Location in Sekondi /Takoradi the ‘’Doo-daa’’ singing pure locally-composed but insinuating lyrics and slightly profaned verses of Christian hymns. Musically, these are antecedent by Kolomashi and Gome kpehe, both in Accra.
Not alarmingly but for currency, Russian strong man Vladimir Putin is reported to have asked his frustrated bogged down Ukraine adventure, his military Generals to prepare for a Third World War. Expectantly, without coolness, what looms, looks like an NPP’s Ashanti-Akyem bust-up for power in the imminent Presidential ‘’Ticket election’’, a virus re-brewed from a malignant residue of ancient hostilities—those years of tribal internecine. And candidate Vice President, an incidental and coincidental in the middle. But as quite negative, much now depends on utterances to avert.
Were it possible, kindly let’s re-construct the final paragraph as follows extending the sentence as “… to quarantine it into perpetuity for assurance of the peace of country and credibility of the party as a national rather than tribal.”
By Prof. Nana Esselfie-Conduah
