Is there a constitutional crisis in the NPP? Not yet. But there can soon be. The stakes for influence in the Party have gone so high up that ‘business as usual’ cannot be effective. Moreover, many eminent credible members risk losing their shine whilst the formal decision making Party structures are also under attack for perceptions of alignment with one side or other of the fierce ongoing argument for the soul of the Party.

Last night, I received a call from a very angry young man who threatened-on behalf of our numerous frustrated youth-to help destroy the Party if the leadership refused to act. It is in that spirit that I believe extraordinary measures may be urgent. The singular most important step now, is a negotiated settlement of the political heat surrounding the leadership question.

Otherwise, taking entrenched positions on either side of the current thug of war with a stalemate in NEC and NC and a media war of words could surely lead to a crisis. So let us all take a deep breath and pull back from the brink.

First, we need to boldly confront and accept the fact that the issue of leadership succession, which is at the heart of the tussle, requires negotiated compromises, which in turn demands STATESMANSHIP. The NPP has come too far to be consumed by its historical hatreds. As long as we do not have ideological differences, it is the duty of the core leadership to subsume their personality differences and protect the larger legacy of NPP for the sake of good governance in Ghana in order to relieve the despairing youth who need political results.

Second, we need to accept in humility that there can be no winners in the ongoing struggle. The feuding groups must appreciate that the old quarrels driving the no holds barred new attempts at leadership have no meaning for the youthful political generations of social media. We are fighting ourselves into irrelevance. We owe it to upcoming political generations to leave a win/win legacy which means an innate ability to surmount most difficulties with minimum damage to our collective political image.

So in the name of political generations past, present and future, the extraordinary step is to get the following personalities to stand up and negotiate a sustainable framework to restore credibility to the Party structures to enable continuation of their important work. President Kufuor (because he has been a two term elected leader), assisted by Kojo Mpianim (because he is rightly or wrongly perceived to be Kufuor’s “man Friday”), Nana Akufo-Addo (as a two term Presidential Candidate and major third term aspirant), assisted by Yaw Osafo-Maafo (reputed to be Nana Addo’s closest confidante), the incumbent officers Chairman Paul Afoko and General Secretary Kwabena Agyepong, C.K Tedam (as head of the National Council of Elders), Osofo Asante Antwi (as incumbent head of the Disciplinary Committee), Ayikoi Otoo (as head of the Legal  Committee),  Maame Ama Busia (to project the voice of the female majority), Hon. Osei-Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, Minority Leader and Hon. Dan Botwe, Minority Chief Whip (representing the Parliamentary Caucus). Maame Ama Busia may be asked to nominate a youthful female to complement her as well as present a social media view of our internal struggle.

This group ought to be convened immediately either by the Party Chairman or the Chairman of the Council of Elders. Their remit would be to pre-empt the impending crisis and put the Party back on track. The first order of business would be to withdraw the matter in court and secondly, to restrict media commentary to the office of the Party Director of Communications, simply because no court resolution will satisfy political needs, whilst unrestrained free for all commentary, however informed, will only inflame passions and deepen entrenched positions.

To do nothing would amount to risking everything. Inflicting deadly internal wounds whilst talking about NDC corruption on radio does not win elections. We need credible Party structures to complement the Parliamentary Minority Caucus to fight for electoral reform, significant constitutional reform and demand good economic governance of national resources. This is what will put the Ghanaian voter firmly behind the NPP. 

 

Yaw Buaben Asamoa, Esq.

(A concerned NPP foot soldier)

ybgii@yahoo.com