In all honesty, I have pondered over the conundrum of discussions and array of opinions from oniony suggestions to floral submissions about how to break the eight year jinx currently believed to be the status quo in Ghana’s political landscape where the biggest parties take eight years each. What people misconstrue is that this state of affairs is not a defacto political norm at all! On the contrary, it is not healthy for our democracy! This being the second term of Nana Akufo-Addo’s mandate, NPP must scout for that person with clout enough to lead us yet into another term, of course under a different President. Let’s say we need Lions not Hyenas!
I have skimmed through the personalities that may possibly contest for the position of National Chairman of the Party. All those who seem likely to make a debut for the upcoming contest are no strangers to failure. In fact, in spite of their unfortunate records, they are also my very good friends whom I love dearly. But then again, we do not want people who will win yet fail abysmally in their leadership roles as we have experienced latterly!
I do not need to mention names as I wish them all good luck. However, thinking out of the box and dispassionately, it cannot be called a Eureka moment to actually pick a personality like Honourable Stephen Asamoah Boateng, popularly called, “Asabee”! Stunned? Have I just spoken your mind? Well, I am sure I have! I will tell you why.
Asabee has a charisma not matched by any contender, and only trailed by that of the late Sir John. The latter has had such an impact on the grassroots that I continue to grieve his death until this day. We want someone who can deliver an offhand speech that can move mountains, and Asabee is that person! When he speaks he tells the pain of the footsoldiers; he tells the pain of the grassroots; he tells the story of the ordinary Ghanaian! If you ask me, those are the stories of people whose chairmen have not been seen except around young slayqueens, and whose executives leave a lot to be desired, and whose leadership strategy is nothing to write home about. So in routing for a chairman, we must go for a lion whose roar will protect the legacy of His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and cement his achievements, otherwise we risk eroding all that we have striven to achieve as the government with the most social intervention policies ever implemented.
The grassroots need to be counted and taken into consideration. Who can do that as chairman? Asabee can! Footsoldiers need to be fixed instead of given lip service. Who can do that as chairman? Asabee can! If you look around, the CEOs and Director Generals of the many institutions of State have been whipped in line and made to perform like the infallible hands of Britain’s Big Ben clock! In like manner, the new chairman must be able control the General Secretary and all other executives. Who can do that? Of course, Asabee can! As it is now, the current leadership is like the lice-infested hair of an abandoned beautiful queen left to her own plight in a wilderness of neglect!
So if Asabee has not considered the idea of running for the chairmanship of our great NPP, he should do so seriously. I am in absolute support, all for GOD, Country, and the NPP! Of course, I wish my other friends good luck, no doubt!
By Fadi Dabbousi