Nkrumahist Parties Must Move To Form An Alliance Of Equals Now

Despite the odds seemingly being stacked against it, it is actually possible that a candidate fielded by an alliance of all the Nkrumahist political parties, could win the 2016 presidential election in Ghana.

We are at a juncture in our history, when many discerning and patriotic Ghanaians, constantly worry about the polarised nature of Ghanaian society.

The question one often ponders over is: Do Nkrumah's followers realise, that the chances of their movement returning to power again, have seldom been greater at any time, than today -  since the tragic overthrow of President Hilla Limann in December 1982?

In light of that, what precisely are Nkrumahists doing to regain power in 2016, one wonders?

It is obvious that the vast majority of ordinary people in Ghana are tired of the intense and divisive rivalry between the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC),  and the country's main opposition party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

It is that rivalry between the two parties that has resulted in the polarisation of Ghanaian society. Yet, we cannot continue to remain a divided people, and possibly succeed as a nation.

Luckily, many ordinary Ghanaians also understand the importance of the nation coming together, to confront the challenges that they realise the country will have to face, after the 2016 presidential election.

That presents Nkrumahists with an unparalleled opportunity. The question then is: what should their strategy be? The short answer is that they must leverage Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom's 2012 presidential election campaign's transparency-track-record.

He demonstrated that in practical terms by: publicly publishing his filed tax returns; openly revealing the sources of the Progressive People's Party's (PPP) funding to the public; and publicly publishing the results of his medical check up - which proved that he was physically fit to shoulder the burdens of the office of President of the Republic of Ghana.

That is what Ghana desperately needs: a leader genuinely committed to transparent and accountable governance  -  by deeds, not by making platitudinous speeches about fighting corruption at public  functions across the country.

The Nkrumahist alliance's members must assure Ghanaians that as an anti-corruption measure, all their government's appointees - from the president down to the last district chief executive, and their spouses - will publicly publish their assets, before the beginning of their tenures, and immediately after they leave office.

And they must also publicly publish the sources of funding for all their parties before the elections.

They must form an alliance of all the Nkrumahist parties - which will form a government of national unity if their candidate wins the presidential election.

That administration ought to include some of the most honest, brilliant and patriotic members of the NDC and NPP, who are one-nation politicians genuinely committed to protecting the national interest at all material times - which is whatever promotes the welfare of all the people of Ghana: and ensures the well-being of our homeland Ghana.

The question then is: What sort of individual should the next president of Ghana be? The next president of Ghana must be someone who knows what kind of conditions are necessary for businesses of all sizes to thrive in Ghana - because he or she has made a success of his or her own business.

That leader must also be someone who knows how to create jobs - because he or she owns businesses that have successfully created thousands of jobs as they have expanded and thrived.

Above all, the next president of Ghana must be someone who despite the odds, has risen  from the same background as Ghana's struggling masses, and can therefore empathise with their plight, and fashion policies that will create opportunities for them to succeed too.

Both President Mahama and the main opposition party's presidential candidate for the 2016 presidential election, Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo, come from privileged backgrounds. But it is important that we do not hold that against them - as none of us also chose our parents. And as we all know, they are both essentially good and decent human beings, too.

However, as a result of their privileged backgrounds, they can never truly understand what poverty is - and what it does to the individuals who have the misfortune to suffer from it.

The self-made-man-narrative about Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom's rise from humble beginings to great wealth is a powerful and compelling one - and will resonate with millions of ordinary Ghanaians, once they get to hear the details of his achievements in the world of business: and the thousands of jobs he has created through his businesses.

The alliance of Nkrumahist parties would be wise to select him as their presidential candidate for the 2016 election - with Samia Yaabah Nkrumah as his running mate, to whom he will hand over the baton of leadership, after serving one term as president, in a generational shift of our nation's leadership.

In return, in addition to funding the PPP he founded, he must also fund all the other Nkrumahist parties: the Convention People's Party, the Great Consolidated Popular Party and the People's National Convention.

Such transparent funding of the Nkrumahist parties, will contrast sharply with that of the opaqueness  of the NDC/NPP duopoly's funding. As we all know, they are partly funded by the vested interests that profit mightily from Ghana's corrupt system.

Nduom's wealth will insulate him and the Nkrumahist parties from the blandishments of the vested interests milking our country dry - and to which the NDC/NPP duopoly are beholden.

Nduom will make a splendid president for a nation which needs to finally understand that creating the conditions that will enable Ghanaian  businesses to grow and prosper, should be its core business - and that the machinery of government should be used to support Ghanaian businesses: so that they can thrive and create jobs for Ghana's  teeming unemployed youth.

For all the above reasons, as soon as it is practicable to do so, the Nkrumahist parties must form their alliance - in which each party maintains its identity -  and begin their joint campaign for their presidential candidate to win power that will be used for the betterment of all Ghanaians (not just to enrich a powerful few with greedy ambitions - to paraphrase Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah) in 2016.