POLITICS AND LOYALTY – POST BURIAL TRIBUTE TO PROF MILLS

The 40th President of the United States Ronald Reagan, coined one of the most memorable quotes on loyalty in politics. He called it the eleventh commandment during his 1966 campaign for Governor of California.

It reads : THOU SHALT NOT SPEAK ILL OF ANY FELLOW REPUBLICAN…Dr Mahathir of Malaysia as Prime Minister between 1981 and 2003, demanded absolute loyalty, insisting that it was the price of good government. He expected one to stay loyal to him, even if he himself acted wrongly. The General perception among Zimbabweans was that Dr Joice Mujuru was a loyal deputy to Mugabe. She always credited and still credits Mugabe with fatherly role of monitoring her from 25 year old semi illiterate. Not long after backstabbing and toppling Kevin Rudd in Australia in 2010, Julia Gillard boldly declared that she had been a loyal deputy to the ousted Prime Minister, shocking many in the process. In 44 B.C, Julius Caeser was assassinated by fatal stabbing, and the murderous act was an outcome of the scheming of a cabal of 60 conspirators, led by Brutus and Cassius. The assassination took place at a Senate meeting on the infamous Ides of March,marking the end of the Roman Republic and beginning of the Roman Empire, led by the sole power of Octavian, otherwise later known as Augustus. Political parties are subject to hierarchies. The leader of the party sets policy direction after listening to all voices and reaches a decision that is forged via consensus.

The prefect must not be the enemy of the good. Compromise in politics must not be seen as a dirty word and in search of that elusive prefect solution that is often very lopsided given that people like things their way, we find ourselves at odds with a good decision that works and is forged by compelling all the competing forces to coalesce around a compromise.

Supporting the leadership of the party and also defending the decisions taken by the party and by extension the government is a fundamental concept of good governance. One cannot govern effectively if there is no singular voice. The people do not like to see their leaders warring constantly and spinning one another. The Labour party is currently facing few challenges because of the unending war between Jeremy Corbyn and his parliamentary party.

So who are the loyal comrades in the NDC? Who are the older saints and the latter day saints? Do we need this primitive description at this point? Is loyalty to party measured by one’s years in a political party? Those who have started preaching the latter days saints sermon are the very people who vigorously attacked persons who raised same primitive point against Prof Mills. Prof proved those who expressed reservations about his endorsement when he got the opportunity to serve as President. His critics and attackers did not look at the impact his demeanor as a person, had on the fortunes of the party, how his image attracted people who hitherto didn’t want to have anything do with the NDC, to the party. Some disagreed with him just because he will not shout revolutionary slogans.

By the way on loyalty, Mr Peter Kwasi Wiafe who was a leading member of the NDC and also served as deputy minister of Trade and Industry, resigned just after the party’s defeat in 2000. He surprised his colleagues when he expressed in his resignation letter his intention to work with the Kufour administration via the private sector. Six months after the NDC defeat in 2000, the party’s former Press Secretary Vincent Assiseh resigned from the party. Mr Austin Gamey also stated in a press release that he was quitting politics, Madam Emma Mitchell a former trade and Industry minister also resigned and was appointed by Kufour to serve in his administration. That is politics for you.

The leadership of the NDC suspended its ex general secretary Dr Josiah Aryeh prior to the 2004 elections due to his alleged relationship with the main opposition (Npp). Dr Josiah Aryeh was alleged to have compromised his official position by collecting $3,000 from officials of Npp after he had complained over his state of insolvency.

Many supporters of the NDC including the founder believe that the NDC won the 2004 election. Dr Josiah and few others made things difficult for the party. Investigations conducted by the party revealed that some persons in the NDC furnished the Npp with plans and strategies of the Npp. When JH Mensah said they will wipe away the NDC from the political map of Ghana, he knew the pillars he was standing on and plans they had laid ahead to cripple the NDC.

The positions of party Chairman, General Secretary and youth organizer are very very sensitive and important to parties development and survival. The President, Nana Akufo-Addo addressing Npp delegates in Cape Coast and on the floor of Parliament during his state of the nation address, made the NDC aware that he is determined to create divisions in the NDC.

Some NDC aspirants are being sponsored by Npp stalwarts. They’ve been allocated pickups imported from South Africa and other campaign logistics. These are the critical issues we must give critical attention to going forward. The fact that corrupt and overambitious members of the Npp conspired with some of these aspirants to weaken the NDC confirms the contention of many that there is a grand conspiracy to sabotage the NDC 2020 victory agenda and saving the Ghanaian people from economic and political slavery. It is this clique that has constituted itself into bottleneck in the party.