My
personal view of some events, how they played out and are likely to influence
the upcoming elections and future events is the subject matter of this piece.
 |
| When the voter dictates the tune |
The
next turn on our right and we are in 2016, the year most of our politicians are
dreading. That is the year in which they
virtually dance to any tune you call as a voter especially when you flag your
voters’ ID in their faces. The government and all persons in positions of
authority gained through the ballot box tremble at the mention of election
year.
As
we approach the election year, I am reminded of a virtual noose around our neck.
Much as many Ghanaians wish for the emergence of a third potent and marketable
force that will widen the options and possibly take our necks out of this NPP-NDC
albatross, there is something called reality which is difficult to escape,
especially for people who house objective minds in their skull. It is sad but
the fact is, “No such dependable force seems to show in the horizon, at least
none I have seen yet.
The
situation at hand is like a coin; it is two sided. You turn left and you are
facing the spine-tingling devil, you turn right and you have the deep blue sea
to contend with. The politicians are retreating to the drawing board to craft
and execute workable strategies if the hope of “occupying their seats” (and the flagstaff) house from 2017 is to be
achieved. Active campaign will start in earnest and will gradually hit third to
fifth gear as December 7, 2016
inches closer.
But
like cars which run on fuel, political campaigns revolve mainly around messaging.
The more relevant and appealing your message is, the more your chances of
making disciples which could eventually translate into the much needed thumbprints
that vest you with the mandate of the people.
Tactically
perching here on my rooftop, armed with my quill (pen) and old-fashioned
telescope, I see two “buga buga” type
of messages that promise to appeal to electorates in the Krobo region, one each
for the two leading parties, the NPP and NDC and I can bet my bottom cedi that
these messages will feature prominently during the peak campaign season. Any attentive politician down there should
long have spotted these hot messages that could easily work on the minds of my
people.
Tasty hamburger for NDC communicators and propagandists
A
few days ago, Krobo youth sprang up in a near spontaneous outburst against the
minority in parliament and the NPP in particular for its plan to frustrate the
passage of a bill that will cause the establishment of a university in the
Krobo area. According to the minority side, championed by the NPP, they were dissatisfied
with and disappointed in government’s perceived politically-informed choice of
Somanya and Donkorkrom for the siting of the university.
From
the look of things, if they had their way, they would have scooped the palm
wine out of the “Krobo calabash” and given it to the people of Koforidua in the
New Juaben municipality, riding on the argument of precedents which have shown
that most of the public universities took off in the regional capitals, and so
must this new one.
If
you ask me, the NPP created some disaffection of a sort for itself among a
section of the Krobo citizenry. For a party which is still struggling and
hoping to break the dominance of the NDC
in that zone, (bare fact and not fiction) any sense of opposition (which is the
unfortunate signal sent to many) to a project like this that has the prospects
of developing the area is sure to affect its fortunes, and for a long time to
come, the party would struggle to explain its action and intention to the
people.
Whether
the Elephant folks like it or not, their rather unfortunate last minute actions
and utterance on the project was a free tasty hamburger for NDC communicators and propagandists who are surely
going to package and trumpet that to the Krobo community come 2016. May be the
NPP must start thinking about a response.
The Umbrella’s weak point, a counter message for the NPP
 |
| I have a message |
The
NDC has an Achilles heel too and any smart shooter in the NPP would aim nowhere
but that weak spot, at least it will appeal to a number of Krobos. It is common
knowledge that the Manya Krobo state has, over the past years, reduced in size under
PNDC/NDC government-made laws. As if Manya Krobo was too big to be administered as one
traditional area and two constituencies, its communities were always the target
any time government (under the NDC) thought of creating or adding onto a district,
not new in Manya, but outside.
At different points in time, government cut well
known Krobo communities like Asedja, Meryiwa, Osubeng, Kakama SK, Miaso and
Klumhe Akontaa to help create the Fanteakwa district and followed in a rapid
succession with similar acts that saw known Krobo villages like Adjina Dornor,
Sapor, Manya Yoyim, Sedorm, Yerniama and Dawa Toklo (the last two of which are
prominently featured in some Klama/Dipo songs) cut away and aligned to the then
newly created Asuogyaman district.
Who said Manya Krobo too should not have three
or four districts and constituencies and, for that matter, three or four MPs if
its land size and population permit that? Wouldn’t that have increased our
share of voice in parliament and influence in the corridor of power, if for
nothing at all?
First
it was Manya Krobo losing lands to Fanteakwa and then Asuogyaman and now Shai-Osudoku. And
who said government will ever cut another district (if it is the practice) and
add to Manya to help meet the requirement for a third district/constituency? It
can only suggest that the NDC, after all, is not as caring as it portrays. Could this be a deliberate (wicked and if you like anti-Manya) policy to reduce its size and influence as is wildly perceived?
Till
date, the dust that was stirred by that veiled government-back exercise at
Akuse is yet to settle and in fact may even be stirred again as we approach the
September assembly election during which the two sides (Manya and Osudoku) are
sure to lock horns again over Natriku, the last of the seven electoral areas
yet to be returned to the former.
I am
not moving an inch from my current position just so I can have a good view of
the drama that will unfold between now and the elections. I shall return
but until I do so, be reminded that these are my thoughts and not
yours. Let the objective reader make meaning of this piece.
The
writer is a journalist (an activist writer) and a blogger and can be reached
via klonobi2007@gmail.com.
You can follow him on twitter with the handle @henkingklonobi
