It’s Alright to Pop a Coil

Is it plain cowardice? Political burnout? An ominous symptom of an incapacitating fatigue? Is it a manifestation of a collective mindset of timidity, or perhaps a terrifying streak of indecision? Whatever it is, I am perturbed by the shocking display of paralysis by the NPP and the other opposition political parties in articulating a tangible political alternative that inspires, motivates and gives opportunity to the majority of Ghanaians -- an alternative that forcefully speaks to the aspirations of millions of Ghanaians while exposing NDC’s political amateurism and the cruel reality of the politics bereft of intellectual heft.

I cannot bring myself to understand how a seasoned political party claimed to be populated with intellectual firepower, legal luminaries, reputable technocrats and men and women of noble qualities and excellence-- the very crème de la crème of Ghana’s best-- can be dodged by this uncertain hesitation to mount up a credible challenge against the current marauding pursuit of wanton dishonesty; the sort that is hell-bent on making Ghana a hostage of disastrous political adventurism and unbridled opportunism.

While the ever blundering, bumbling black-palm experimenter and his stuck-in-the-past brigade dramatize their gross incompetence on the national stage, the NPP, like a bunch of hibernating bears, seem to be possessed by a stubborn demon of slumber. In this self-imposed comatose suspense, the main opposition party is displaying classical signs of fatigue. The NPP can not, must not and should not fail to thrive particularly at a critical moment when Ghanaians are searching for a way out of the prevailing hopelessness.


As the NDC obtusely prances around hogging the limelight, and continues to ceaselessly sprout ignorance and superficiality, The NPP appears to have settled for the quintessential Ghanaian Kumbaya solace, from where they seem to view their impotent restraint as a dignified alternative to the NDC’s penchant for making unsubstantiated sweeping claims and wild accusations about every thing under the heaven.

The recent mess of the district assembly elections served by the Electoral commission (EC) is an example in context. Instead of the NPP demanding strongly that the EC keeps to the reasonably well-developed pattern they have practised over the years, the party said little to nothing about the fiasco. This lackadaisical defence of what is essentially a fundamental part of our democratic order says a lot about the misplaced priorities of the NPP. To me if the opposition is not able to mobilise and fight for what is right and proper at the local level then, their capacity to muster a bigger courage to do so at the national level is suspect.
The ruling party is clearly taking notes of these glaring weaknesses of the NPP and come 2012 they will very well know how to take advantage of these blunders and mount a political campaign that the NPP won’t be in a position to match.
It is plain and clear that without a well-defined strategy that enables the NPP brand to continuously project and position a unique political proposition in the minds and hearts of Ghanaians, the party should forget about winning the 2012 general elections. The NPP must disabuse their collective mind of the false view that the Mills regime amounts to a mere cheerleading interlude, a prelude, to the main expectations of Ghanaians -- NPP’s glorious victory in 2012.

It is my firm belief that the NPP can not dislodge the NDC in 2012 without an attack strategy. The party requires a sacred commitment to implementing a competitive strategy as a tool to capturing the largest share of minds, hearts and the electoral market. An encirclement attack or a flanking strategy which ensures that every segment of the electoral map is rigorously fought for is the trick. Intermittent press conferences and occasional speeches here and there will not do it. The mission must be “No territory should be left behind”.

Our political culture can only thrive through the injection of a strong dose of sanity in the form of strategic pursuits that captures the imagination of most Ghanaians. The opposition should be careful not to allow itself to be reduced to something that merely exists to react to the nauseating empty rhetoric emanating from the other corner.
To the NPP family and to Nana Akuffo Addo in particular, take the initiative. Let your forceful voice of reason sound across the land.

Ghana deserves better.

We Are Our Politics

What Ghanaians have come to regard and accept as politics is nothing more than a nauseating oddball of compulsive wishful thinking, neo-tribal conspiracies, delusional sycophancy and a sprinkling of deceitful religious narcosis.
Look over the horizon of over 50 years of our existence as a political entity and frankly decide for yourself whether Ghana has any real legacy indicative of masterstroke political brilliance or any historic landmark of economic ingenuity of any kind.
Ours has been a series of apologetic efforts and mediocre measures devoid of any discernible strategies.
Over the years, almost all the economic programmes initiated by successive governments in Ghana yielded little to no fruits because most of those so-called visions and policy documents were essentially a compilation of hopeless wishes and meaningless slogans jumbled together without any consideration of the prevailing economic reality.
Sadly, the expectations of many Ghanaians seem to be premised on the goodwill and generosity of fate and not on the quality of our decision making.
The whimsical utterances of some of our politicians do not inspire much confidence in their ability to provide solid leadership for the better Ghana that they promised to deliver.
The culture of utter disregard for quality scientific decision-making has reduced our national politics to a mere art of dishing out loads of empty promises to a population that sincerely thinks that a good wish is in itself sufficient for a good turn up of any event.
In this season of goodwill, my prayer is that our nation is released from this tendency of self-strangulating prevarication.
May 2010 bring a lasting change in the politics of our much endowed and beautiful land.

From Nkrumah to Professor Do-Little

Last month we celebrated Heritage Day here in South Africa.
A popular holiday also known as braai day. The day is spent by millions of South Africans consuming tonnes of jolly good braai ( that is roasted meat for those of you who have no southern African connection) and drinking generous amounts of beer, wine and various derivatives of alcohol in homes and gatherings across the land.
I must add though that the link between heritage and braai remains evasive to me though. Perhaps one day I need to do some research on this quintessential South African thing.
However, instead of hovering around chunks of roasted meat and liquor, my day was spent quietly in and around the bedroom drifting between reading, sleeping and reflecting on life.
A pretty decent and daintily choice it was, if you ask me.
So here I was reflecting on my own heritage as a Ghanaian in South Africa. After all who will not grasp such an opportunity to reflect on the issues of heritage with both heart and mind?
So I did or should I say I was doing in between bouts of idyllic naps. Naps that came only when I tried to reflect on the question of the Ghanaian heritage. Lol. Perhaps, those recurring naps were an indication of boredom or probably an 'allergy' to the very idea of reflecting on something as banal as national heritage. I don't know.

One thing which was far from boring though was the passionate discourse that took place in many Ghanaian communities regarding the centenary anniversary of Kwame Nkrumah's birthday.
It was an opportunity for Ghanaians to reminiscent about the life and times of one of our own, probably the greatest Pan-Africanist that ever lived.
In the firmament of Africa's political superstars, the name of Osagyefo will continue to shine very brightly. So far no other Ghanaian politician has come close to the exploits of the man.
One question though. Why is it that almost always politicians are the only ones we attach greatness to in our national discourse? Where are our great industrialists, farmers, economists, businessmen, educationists, scientists?
Probably, as a people, our cultural heritage as a whole is skewed towards the overestimation of politics and politicians. Until our focus is shifted from politics to economics, science, business, technology and education we will continue to be dogged by underdevelopment.
Apart from Kwame Nkrumah and perhaps two other individuals, our long-suffering Ghana has been (mis)ruled by political and military chancers. And with those misfits, the nation has become increasingly polarised along tribal lines. It is sad to see successive leaders continue to ignore the issue of national cohesion. Today many Ghanaians view their heritage exclusively through the experience of their tribal affiliations. The tribe is being gradually pushed ahead of the nation. I wonder if today's Ghanaianness does have any grand nationally ubiquitous underpinnings. Yes we sing the same anthem and carry one flag. But that is all there is to our unity. Is the Ghanaian heritage a congregation of deeply relating tribal identities or a set of clusters of different tribal identities ever moving apart? Where is the centre of the Ghanaian heritage? What has damaged any meaningful prospects of a grand national heritage is the intentional and mischievous gravitation towards tribal clusters in our body politic and the adherence and promotion of such by political parties.
The question is can this unfortunate tendency be reversed? I thinks so. The best way to bring about a "better Ghana" is to unleash the forces that will create economic growth and development across all the regions of our land. This brings my attention to what is happening in Ghana at the present moment. NDC is playing the same old political game. Having promised to put money in every pocket and chicken in every pot, the reality they are facing is that they are inadequately prepared for the challenges. Ghanaians believed their tall tales and then oops! Don't we always learn after the fact. Now we have quickly come to the shocking realisation that at the 'tortoise' rate the Atta Mills' administration is crawling, our pockets and pots will be long gone by the time, if ever, the clueless bunch finally figure out where the switch of the economic engine is.
For the past nine months the government has been searching for the elusive switch to no avail. They are now pinning their impotent hope on the windfall from our oil, thinking that spending money is the essence of governance. Wait for the oil to start flowing and see the spenders wake up from their bewildering comatose state.
For goodness sake, let the clueless bunch admit that the " better Ghana" mantra was a cheap propaganda. They do not have the capacity nor the means to deliver on the tall promises.
Shame.