As the New Patriotic Party (NPP) prepares to elect its new national executives and eventually a flag bearer for the 2012 presidential elections, party activists and foot soldiers have expressed doubts about the party’s readiness to begin another intense flag bearer ship race.
According to reports from recent regional survey, a large section of the party faithful believe the party is rushing into what is likely to be another hotly contested race without addressing one major issue: Why did the NPP Lose Election 2008?
We publish below some of most popular views expressed by the party’s faithful during The Independent’s encounter with them during the survey. From Kumasi: Akwasi Agyei is a foot soldier, who plies his trade as a mechanic at Suame. He told The Independent that, “we have not discussed why we lost and yet we are talking about another campaign. Nobody wants to talk about the concerns of the food soldiers. It is always about what the executives want. They just sit in their offices and want to think for us. That is what they did during the 2008.
In Somanya: Martha Odonkor trades in tomatoes at the market in Somanya. She says; “we lost because the campaign strategy was wrong. They think it is all about adverts on radio and TV. NDC was on the ground, we were not. Our people were just wasting money.” At Weija: Ato is a carpenter who had this to say; “NPP should not have lost that election.
The big men did not use all the plenty money they had properly to win. They were just chopping the money and we the foot soldiers were left out and nobody wants to talk about that.”
From Denu: Kosi Agbeti is unemployed. According to him, “we lost because the people who run the party’s electioneering campaign were not down-to-earth with the foot soldiers. We once came to Accra, during the campaign to collect posters and T-Shirts; you should have seen how the staff at party’s headquarters treated us. These people were snubbing us and I was wondering if they had forgotten us, we will be the same people to vote for them.”
From Sunyani: Kwabena Mensah is a taxi driver. In his opinion, “we lost because the party’s campaign team was too arrogant and greedy. Look at how some of them used to talk on TV and on radio. Every time they spoke, Nana Addo and the party lost votes.”
From Tamale: Muniru is a khebab seller. He says, “As for the 2008 elections, it was the members of the party’s campaign team who made us lose. They think campaigning is riding in posh cars and speaking big English on Accra-based radio stations only.”
From Takoradi: Emma Cobbinah is a school teacher. In her opinion, “NPP lost because we did not do our homework well.” Asked to identify what she meant by homework, she said: “They were misusing money on useless things when we the foot soldiers were hungry. Now we are angry that we lost. When they come here, they sit in their air conditioned cars with tainted windows and wave at us. I don’t even want to talk about the information we have about those close to the campaign machinery who bought houses and expensive cars from this campaign.”
Auntie Akowuah is a retired public relations officer and a resident of New Town in Accra. She claims that during the campaign she shuttled between all the various NPP campaigns-related offices in Accra. She had this to say; “the arrogance and flamboyance is a major part of what killed us. It made the tag of corruption from the NDC stick. Imagine that, during the campaign and even as we speak, disappointed and agitated foot soldiers can look around in their despair and see a former senior campaign team member in an US$75,000 BMW 7 series; another comes and goes in a US$75,000 Audi TT Roadster; another one uses a US$40,000 Chrysler 300C; and another senior and respected member also uses an US$85,000 Toyota Land cruiser V8.
I am always scratching my head as to whether these people know what damage their perceived lavish lifestyles have done to Nana Addo and the party? What does it say to the hungry and angry foot soldiers? Ironically, highly placed sources within the NPP leadership have told The Independent that, the party is actually working hard to address the findings contained in a committee report on why it lost the 2008 elections.
According to our sources, the findings of the report were so damning on the naïve assumptions made by the campaign team during the campaign. Dr. Arthur Kennedy’s recent book has also brought to the public’s attention the serious mistakes made by the campaign team of the NPP.
