Since the crushing and unexpected defeat of president Mahama and 50 other MPs by no other person than Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, many reasons have been given as the causes of JM defeat. I would like to discuss briefly some of the claims. I write this piece with pain.
Accusation 1. That certain appointees and party executives should be blamed. In this regard Omane Boamah, Stan Dogbe, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, Kofi Adams, Sidii Abubakar, Tawiah Boateng (ER NDC Chairman) and many others have been cited as the possible cause of JM’s defeat. The president has been accused of shielding some of them despite them committing ‘wrong’. Stan Dogbe and Elvis fall within this category. Omane and Sidii have been accused of not fitting in their portfolio. Kofi Adams and Tawiah Boateng have been accused of diverting campaign funds into their personal pockets. Most of other appointees have been accused of neglecting the grassroots or people who helped them rose to where they are today.
Assessment 1. The accusation against Kofi Adams and Tawiah Boateng cannot be substantiated. Again even if true which I doubt in the first place, they are not enough to cause JM’s defeat. However, if monies meant to convey people in vehicles to their constituencies could not be used for such a purpose, then that might have contributed to the lower voter turnout the NDC experienced nationwide. I suggest these allegations be investigated to ascertain the truth as early as possible.
On Stan Dogbe and Elvis Afriyie, I doubt if those who wanted severe punishment for them would have voted for Mahama at all. However, their continues presence around the president made it look like the president was not capable of punishing people who close to him. Perhaps, few undecided voters might have voted against him for this hence affecting his chances.
On Omane and Sidii, the main allegations are that they don’t pick their calls and also they don’t fit in. I am yet to see a communication minister who is as innovative as Omane Boamah. Behind the scenes, he has paid school fees for many comrades and elevated some to an unexpected levels. Again, the campaign had spokespersons so why blame Doc? It was wrong for the campaign team not to include Sidii in the campaign team. The NPP did include Awuku in its campaign team. This shows how serious Nana Addo saw the youth. Did JM give the same seriousness to our youth?Why was he not included in the team? Instead we went for Hudu Yahaya, Totobi Kwakye, etc who were conspicuously absent throughout the campaign period. Respectfully, we ought to realise that there is time for everything.Omane and Sidii were among the most hardworking people in the campaign period. Their actions definitely contributed to the 44.4% success It might have been worse. The appointees, who did not campaign, those mentioned by Mugabe Maase should rather be blamed and not those who worked their ass out.
On neglect, this by far is the most mentioned accusation by core NDC supporters. In the last 2 years of Mahama government, it was as THOUGH A RABID DOG HAD INFECTED THESE APPOINTEES WITH A DISEASE. Some of them openly said the ordinary grassroot supporters would rather suffer if the NDC lose. There were even allegations that the first lady openly told people whether Mahama loses or not, they the first family would continue to enjoy certain privileges till their death. So who Cares? In my opinion these kinds of accusations did serious damage to the chances of NDC in 2016. The activists or call them the lieutenants were discouraged and most of them chose quietness or social media as forum to vent their anger and frustrations. Awal Mohammed would never had quit had serious attention been given to his complaints which he vent openly on WhatsApp platforms. Again, a list which included Awal’s name and many other communicators for jobs at the request of president Mahama never so the light of day. Thanks to Stan Dogbe and some of these ‘I don’t care appointees’.:Neglect, was the major cause of our internal apathy. There was no reason to fight and bring to power people who would come back to power to continue the process of neglect. ‘Papa ny3 whee a b)ne nso ny3 whee’ seemed to be the motto of people who felt neglected. The resulted is that key NDC activists sat on the fence and prayed for the appointees to be defeated but unfortunately, the appointees were not on the ballot. Our lovely JM lost sadly to a man whose only ambition is to be counted among Ghana’s heads of States.
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