The Politics of Complacency

CHASING THE ELEPHANT INTO THE BUSH THE POLITCS OF COMPLACENCY Arthur Kennedy AuthorHouse™ 1663 Liberty Drive Bloomington, IN 47403 www.authorhouse.com Phone: 1-800-839-8640 © 2009 Arthur Kennedy. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author. First published by AuthorHouse 10/26/2009 ISBN: 978-1-4490-3705-5 (e) ISBN: 978-1-4490-3703-1 (sc) ISBN: 978-1-4490-3704-8 (hc) Library of Congress Control Number: 2009910731 Printed in the United States of America Bloomington, Indiana This book is printed on acid-free paper. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanking people is a pleasant but risky exercise. There is always the possibility that someone who deserves thanks may be overlooked. Let me begin by thanking my wife, Nana Ama, and my sons, Kwamina and Kofi , for their patience and support as I went through one of the most exciting periods in my life. I could not have done this without them. Next, I thank the teachers in my life, for all that they have taught me. As some of the experiences recounted in this book show, I have not always been easy to teach or direct. Of these teachers, none has touched my life more than the two Medical doctors, Dr. A.B.A. Prempeh of the Ghana Medical School and Dr. Osei Asibey, a member of Parliament in the Th ird Republic. Dr Prempeh encouraged me to contest for the Presidency of the National Union of Ghana Students, NUGS, in 1983 at a very diffi cult time in Ghana’s history and pledged his support when needed and he has been better than his word, through my many ups and downs. I cannot say enough about how signifi cant he has been to my political life. I spent a year living with Dr. Osei Asibey in Grande-Bassam, in the Ivory Coast before proceeding to America in 1988. Every evening, after work, he would recount his experiences during the Limann administration and point out where they went wrong and how things could have been done better as I listened attentively. My third teacher was Professor John McCracken of the University of Texas at Dallas, my main teacher for my Masters Program in Medical Management. He showed me how to apply the tools of Medical Diagnoses and post- mortems to management and leadership. As I watched events unfold v in the campaign, I could imagine my class putting these events under the microscope and Dr. McCracken asking repeatedly “But why did you do that?” Th is is an attempt to apply some of the skills I acquired to our campaign that was about leadership, change and communication. I owe a lot to those who gave so much of their time, their intellect and their money to my campaign. Despite all these, without the 2008 NPP Presidential Candidate, Nana Akufo-Addo, putting me on his team and giving me such a valuable perch from which to participate and to observe the campaign, this book would not be possible. I thank him. Many in the campaign, particularly Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey and Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, were very kind in helping me adapt to the campaign environment. Prof. Larry Gibson taught me a lot about polls and their signifi cance in politics. While I was locked into debate with myself as to whether to write this book or not, I met uncle Ebo White of “Frustrated wives-Confused husbands” fame, whom I had known at Legon. When he asked whether I would write a book, I cited cost as an obstacle. To my amazement, he said “If you write such a book and need help publishing it, let me know.” Th e next day, I started writing. Many have helped me with this book. Th ey include political analyst, Mr. Ben Ephson and Mr. Antwi Agyei, the NPP administrator, who made many useful suggestions and fi lled me in on historical details. Th ese two gentlemen have an inexhaustible fund of stories and they kept me off schedule with great political stories. Finally, I thank Mr. Boadu Ayeboafoh, the 1995 GJA Journalist of the year, who took time off his vacation to write the foreword and Mr. Bismarck Badu, the ever-present force who kept prodding everyone to keep moving. Despite all these contributions, the errors are mine. Arthur Kobina Kennedy vi FOREWORD Elections are fundamental and crucial to the sustainability and stability of democratic governance. It is therefore more than imperative that everything is done to safeguard and give meaning to the franchise and with that the choice of the people. In 1992, following allegations of fraud and irregularities in the November 7th presidential election, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) led a boycott of the parliamentary polls that year, resulting in a near one-party Parliament. Th e party equally published “Th e Stolen Verdict”, which chronicled the irregularities the party noted during the election. Having then accused the ruling government of rigging, the NPP as a government, had the responsibilities to ensure the December 2008 general elections was not only free and fair but peaceful and orderly. It is, therefore, heart-warming that the author decided to put his observations and developments during the process into perspective. What is important is that he was a participant in most of the issues and events he has chronicled, while in some others he was either an active or passive observer. Th e beauty of the work is that an attempt has been made from within to permanently preserve the factors that combined to aff ect the fortunes of the NPP. It is always better for people to tell their own stories. If they fail to do so, others will tell the story for them. But when you tell your own story, the approach is diff erent from when an outsider does that and purports to know and understand matters better than the participants themselves. For the fi rst time in the history of the NPP, the author has brought up crucial internal matters, some of which could have been vii glossed over and taken for granted, but which have serious consequences for the future of the party. Th e author, being Communications Director of the NPP campaign and before that an aspirant himself, had insight into events and issues as they unfolded. Although actively involved, he does not surrender to, but is able to objectively chronicle issues for the public and the party hierarchy. He equally manages to confi rm some of the rumours which made the rounds about the abuse of money “moneycracy” in our politics and admits that he too parted with money at some point in the process. He also tackled the “Kyebi Mafi a” and addressed it in such a measured and temperate manner that it does not cause off ense, the way it was made to look by those who were far from the process of the electioneering campaign by Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. For instance, on the so-called Mafi a, he writes that “it is very impressive that Nana Akufo-Addo has a large family and associates who are all eager to help him realize his political ambitions. Th ey should be commended for their interest in him and in politics…” “I have no doubt that the family has the best intentions in whatever they do. However, sometimes, in their eagerness to serve Nana’s interest, they ruffl e feathers, sometimes very badly and gratuitously.” Th ese are candid views which a person who wishes the other to progress would point out. For as it has been observed, “the best compliment that one can make to a friend is to be candid with him.” Th at is food for thought for the future. Another area worth noting is the observation that it appeared that most often, the local politicians with whom the voters identifi ed were not allowed to address them at the local rally, giving way to self- serving individuals who spoke to enhance their egos, rather than to help the cause of the party and the candidate. It is equally important that those who blamed certain individuals for the failure of the party to win power, on reading this book, will appreciate how these persons sacrifi ced for the cause of the party, especially the role of former President John Agyekum Kufuor. Th e admission that the party shot viii itself in the leg, particularly in the inability of layers of leadership to reconcile their diff erences, is interesting. So is the revelation that the spending committee’s activities remained a mystery, as individuals maneuvered to get funding while activities of the accredited committees were denied fi nancial resources. Another interesting development is the issue of the report of the consultant, Larry Gibson, which indicated that the National Democratic Congress could win the polls, and how and why the party failed to heed some of his recommendations on the nature and procedure for campaigning. Yet another insight is how Nana Akufo-Addo was denied the privilege of choosing the running mate he preferred, but had to settle for somebody who was never in the equation and did not appear ready at the time he was named. Arthur Kennedy has done something functional for the party and members should read the book with keen interest and readiness to learn from it so that “if we put our house in order, pick good parliamentary candidates, get our people to vote, get our votes counted so that we have each of the twenty-two thousand (22,000) polling station results signed and verifi ed on election day of 2012, nobody can steal it from us.” Whether the book will prick our conscience and enable us to act appropriately, time will tell.

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