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KUFUOR PREDICTED NPP’S DOOM -Under Belligerent Akufo-Addo in 2007

by GhanaPoliticsOnline.Com 1.9k Views

If there is anyone in the New Patriotic Party who foresaw the present sordid state of the biggest opposition party under the leadership of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as far back as 2007 and thus, qualify to be referred to as a ‘prophet’, then the most successful leader of the Danquah-Busia-Dombo tradition, former President John Agyekum Kufuor, must be that person.

Having worked closely with Nana Akufo-Addo when he served under his administration as Attorney General and Minister of Justice, and later Foreign Affairs Minister, former President Kufuor, perhaps, may have known “something” about the former Abuakwa South legislator than many Ghanaians thought.

Former President Kufuor, speaking to party folks in Kumasi ahead of the NPP primaries to elect his successor for the 2008 elections, warned the NPP risk losing the 2008 if they elect a violent and divisive person who would not be adored by ‘all’ Ghanaians.

A five minute, 11 seconds of over an hour video tape obtained by The aL-hAJJ captured former President Kufuor warning NPP faithful and chieftains to select a flag bearer who will unite the party rather than disintegrating it thus, keeping the party in opposition for long.

In the face of the then President’s wise counseling, delegates of the NPP at the Legon congress of the party in 2007 went ahead to crown the then former Foreign Affairs Minister and MP for Abuakwa South, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as the NPP 2008 flag bearer ahead of 15 other contestants, but who, eventually lost to his schoolmate, the late Prof John Evans Atta Mills, in the national elections.

After leading the NPP from a party in government into opposition even in the face of all the resources that was committed to his campaign, delegates of the NPP seemed not to see wisdom in former President Kufuor’s admonishment as they went ahead again to elect Nana Akufo-Addo for the 2012 elections which he once more lost to President John Mahama who had to use a little over three months to campaign following the tragic death of late President John Atta Mills on the 24^th of July 2012.

As if the NPP was destined to stay in opposition forever, the NPP delegates, late last year, 19 October 2014 to be precise and for the third time again; nominated Nana Akufo-Addo to lead them into the 2016 elections.

And as forecasted by former President John Kufuor as far back as 2007, Akufo Addo has since succeeded in dividing the party and making it unattractive to the floating voter. To the extent that his National Chairman, Paul Afoko, and General Secretary Kwabena Agyapong and other NPP bigwigs including ex-President Kufuor, former chief of staff, Kwadwo Mpiani among others are being hounded and treated like outcasts in the NPP.

Read below Transcript of former President Kufuor’s statement as captured on the recording

“…As I said, the national constitution provides for just two terms, you win one term like we won 2000, you stay in power for four years then you have to go back to the people if the people give you chance as president, you come in for another four years; 2008 you are finish…the state will thank you and say sit aside, just go off the field and allow for another person to come in.

So the party along this year will have to find a successor to Kufuor to use as candidate but I’m telling you already…because of the good works and good will we have built, we have already about 50 percent of the vote we need to go back to power.

We’ve put it aside. We are going to challenge our opponents for the next 50 but what we have to be careful about is that even as we search for a successor, we must look for somebody who will continue to hold the party together. We mustn’t go in for somebody who will divide us because we by ourselves alone cannot get the votes we need.

All the true NPP people will vote for us but then I don’t think we will make 50 percent plus one vote to win at one touch. This is why we need to stay together so that we will be attractive to draw other people to join us to go beyond the absolute majority. So anybody who is always full of tension and fighting and that sought of thing we have to be careful about him.

The party must stay together. Then when we’ve seen such a person we must also look and see when we present this person to the rest of the country, all of Ghana, he must be the type most people will look and say this man when we sleep on him, we will sleep; he is a good person, we will work with him. That is how to secure the majority.

So among the candidates or aspirants coming, listen to everybody, please it is not the money they will bring around, if they call you and give you ten million and you think because of that you’re going…and when you want to catch a chicken, what do you do? You give it a corn but then that corn might lead to its death so it is not about the money, listen, ask questions, see how their minds work, look at their nature and see whether the party, he will lead us all together like one family and then after the party, then the nation…the majority of the nation will accept this person for leader.

The third thing, you must again look for whether when the power is given to this person to lead us, he is the type with the experience, and with all due respect, wisdom to be able to keep the country united to secure the nation to gain the respect of the forces, the military, the police, the chiefs, look out for that because we know the history. Some people have been given power only to lose it just like that.

We don’t want that. With us, when the power is given to us, we must hold it and continue it till the last day and then as the people to continue to continue to vote us to stay in power. So when you are given…check this person that is asking; he may be a nice person, we may like him even perhaps most of the people may like him but is he the type that can hold the power when it comes to us?

That is another question. It is a difficult test but then governing is difficult but fortunately for us now the party has the tradition; we know opposition and we know government, we are matured, our men and women I believe are wise and Ghanaians trust us so we must go the hard way to say this because I too I have interest in who will succeed me. I want a man who will take the power so I can go into retirement, resting in dignity, I can sleep and enjoy. So when I talk like this some people say aaaah you want to impose, it’s not that. I’m entitled to want a good person to succeed me…”