[ 2014-10-31 ]

The Gh₵1.5m question for Alan Kyerematen: Will you put your money where your heart is?”
Defeated NPP flagbearer aspirant Alan Kwadwo
Kyerematen ran a campaign that made it clear in
the words of Ghanaian rapper Sarkodie – ‘Money
no be the problem’.

Unprecedentedly promising to put footsoldiers and
polling station executives on payroll, Alan
‘Cash’ even added a ground-breaking promise to
pay cashless – using mobile money accounts for
those party cadres far from the reach of Ghana’s
crowded banking systems.

Conservative estimates by close sources put his
campaign war chest at 1.5million Ghana cedis –
ready for battle if he saw confident signs that a
third shot at the post was viable.

Apparently it was not. Alan lost. And lost in a
way that explaining will only bring up unnecessary
feelings of hurt for those who believed in him and
gloating for those who dismissed him.

The man has said, re-emphasized, reiterated and
resolved that he will rally around the third-time
winner, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

In fact an NDC spokesperson, Abraham Amaliba had
even predicted that this same political niceties
of congratulating winners, pledging support and
smiling away his defeat standing next to Nana Addo
will definitely crown the NPP delegates congress.

But deep inside Alan’s camp, deep inside Alan,
he will never campaign for Nana Addo, the NDC man
said.

Now it is easy to dismiss this view from Amaliba
as mischievous. In fact when a Nana Addo-tattooed
loyalist Kweku Baako sitting on the same panel as
Amaliba on Joy FM’s Newsfile heard this, he did
exactly that by branding Amaliba’s analysis as
‘self-serving’ coming from an NDC member who
had shown all signs of supporting Alan
Kyerematen’s bid to lead the NPP.

But even if we dismiss it, the heart of the
controversy surrounding Alan’s ill-fated
campaign was his level of contribution to Nana
Akufo-Addo in particular and the NPP in general
during that hard-fought 2012 presidential
elections that consigned Nana Addo to defeat for
the second time against the NDC. A defeat which
the court upheld after the NPP disputed the
Electoral Commission’s verdict.

Alan’s campaign has had to fight off the
perception that he is a political deserter in the
democratic warfare to unseat the NDC using the
common anatomical weapon of – the thumb.

In real war, deserters are shot. In democratic
wars, deserters are shunned. Perhaps that explains
Alan’s 4.75% - a remarkable fall from grace
within the party for a man many Ghanaians grew to
like in 2007.

Let’s not even add how he resigned or virtually
resigned from the party claiming he and his
supporters were being targeted and unwelcomed in
internal party elections.

We can even forget that. But if perceptions are
truth, the truth is Alan’s heart does not appear
to have all the three NPP colours. Maybe two of
them – the white and blue. But the red- that
colour of dangerous desperation to help win power
from the NDC appears to be missing.

Well, Alan has the chance to change all that. A
fat chance. Maybe not a fat chance in his eyes
because if a candidate could dedicate Ghc1.5
million to his personal campaign, then dedicating
that or around that to a national campaign may not
be that fat.

Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder so then
expensive lies in the pen of the signatory to an
account.

So simply put it this way: Alan, it is time to put
your money where your heart is. It is redemption
time. Alan should know how to metamorphose himself
from a deserter to a darling. And in politics,
money is the red colour in the NPP logo. No wonder
the NDC has red in its party colours too. In fact,
everybody has red in its party colours. CPP, PNC
and PPP has a red sun in its logo.

Red is money not blood when it comes to politics.
Even the Electoral Commission's emblem sits on
what looks like red grass.

And with Mahama’s grip on the presidency waning
according to some political commentators, another
third push to kick out an incompetent NDC must
muster every resource available against this
deficit-incurring government.

Mahama as weak as he is, won’t go without a
fight as he showed in 2012 after he managed to win
after three and odd days campaigning. Everybody
knows his victory worsened this 3 years old
deficit.

As for party cadres and foot soldiers, shouting,
walking and mobilizing will always be what they
can do for the party. Their best will be on
display again. Their heart is in their energy.
But Alan’s heart is in his cash. Infact
‘Cash’ became his surname in 2007. He managed
to turn around a term meant to make his financial
power look offensive into a term of endearment.

Now that same term of endearment –cash- will be
what he could use to his advantage. And Alan knows
this.

So Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen has a real opportunity.

“Regardless of the scoreline, we always make
sure that we give our fans something to cheer
about,” the Former Ghana Ambassador to the
United States of America (USA) said concerning the
campaigns leading to Saturday's elections.

Alan said within the NPP, competition always
precedes cooperation, insinuating that he will
“stand solidly behind Nana Addo to ensure that
in 2016 NPP comes to power".

Now the Ghc1.5m question is “will you put your
money, where your heart is?”

Source - Martin Akwasi Awuah

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