Nana Addo's Prophecy On Alan Kyeremanten Must Come To Pass

President Bill Clinton once said that there will always be a place in our collective memory for those who willingly gave up their lives so we can live ours. In 2007 at the National Delegates Congress of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) at the University of Ghana (UG), Legon to elect its flagbearer for the 2008 general elections, After the first round of voting, no candidate got the required number of votes needed to lead the party, that is fifty plus one. So they were to have a second round of voting, between Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo, who came first and Alan Kwadwo Kyeremanten, the runner-up, but Alan Kyeremanten, a gentleman�s gentleman, a lover of peace, a good sportsman, a true compatriot, a man of his words, conceded defeat and threw in the towel for Nana Addo to be the flagbearer. This is what Nana Addo told him after the concession, �Alan, you will follow me�� The tradition goes on. Because Nana Addo recalled that when he lost to Ex-President John Agyekum Kufuor in the 1997 primaries, Kufuor said same to him. Now that the time has come for Nana Akufo-Addo to make good his promise, he does not want to redeem the promise he made to Alan Kyeremanten, as he is considering contesting again, for the third time, when Ghanaians on two occasions, both in 2008 and 2012 have made it unequivocally clear that they do not want him as their President. He is trying to use the back door because of his perceived popularity after the election petition case, the show of solidarity and calls for him to contest again by executives of the party from some regions, was stage managed. That popularity is short lived, as Nana Addo has overstayed his welcome and relevance. The question that NPP need to answer is that, who made Nana Addo popular? Anybody provided he or she is well marketed and managed as they did to Nana Addo in 2008, with giant billboards across the length and breadth of this country, can assume the same popularity and prominence that Nana Addo enjoys today. The airwaves were dominated by Nana Addo�s adverts and commercials, so they should not fool themselves that nobody can be better than him. I don�t think popularity is all one needs to win elections, if not Nana Addo will have been a former President instead of John Agyekum Kufuor. Nana Addo was more popular than John Kufuor, in the run-up to NPP�s national Delegates Congress in 1997. The NPP controls about forty percent of the voting population, so anybody who is elected as its flagbearer would automatically have the support of all these people, so if anybody thinks that because Nana Addo is popular he is the right person for the party does not understand politics. Nana Addo can fool everybody in the party but not me. He can take everybody for a ride, throw dust in their eyes, and pretend that he is leaving his political future in the hands of God, when in fact, he himself organized the people to his house, with the help of Jake Obetsebi Lamptey, the National Chairman. Ex-president John Agyekum Kufuor, won the elections after two attempts, Nana Addo has equally had his chance and in his case on four occasions. In 2008, he lost in Tein, this was after the December 7 election. In 2012 he lost at the Supreme Court, which to me was like a run-off. How many times does he want to contest again before he realizes that man proposes but God disposes? Why is it difficult for him to accept what fate has thrown at him. He can contest as many times as his party wants him to, but it won�t make any difference. Ghanaians don�t think he has the capacity to confront the problems of the 21st Century. He has to be grateful to his party for reposing such confidence in him on two occasions. Times have changed, the challenges of today need someone who understands and can relate to them. We cannot drive a car forward by looking at the rear view mirror. We cannot move forward as a nation by electing people who do not belong to the future. In life, the wise always know when they have lost the battle and when to call it quit. Nana Addo must learn to accept reality. His dream of leading this country was dimmed when we lost President John Evans Atta Mills. The NPP, indeed Ghana will have a place for Nana Addo in our text books, but not as the President of this great nation. The time has come for him to sit back and see how it is done. His counsel is very important as we chart a path as a nation. He must throw his weight behind Alan Kyeremanten who he said will follow him. The time has come to do the honourable thing, delaying his fate will not change anything. These empty philosophies and sounds of nonsense that has characterized the future prospects of the party are all being orchestrated to give Nana Addo undue advantage. Thank God the voice of reason in the party has spoken and thrown out the proposed �Top to Down� approach to elect party officers. Are they afraid of fair contest or they still want to pamper Nana Addo, because they perceive he is old and cannot go through the hurdle of campaigning. If Nana Addo can�t be trusted to honour this simple promise that is logical, how can he be trusted with the destiny of this country? I hope by close of next week, I will read in the tabloids that he has called Alan and given him (Alan) his unflinching support to lead the party and the country. The seat at the presidency does not have space for someone his age. We now live in a global village and we are all learning from each other, no country worth mentioning will elect somebody his age to lead them. We cannot be bothered again with the health of the President. God values our tears and will not let what happened to us on that fateful day of July 24 2012, repeat itself.