Last week when I observed in a commentary that there is never a dull moment in our politics little did I know that a local political event was going to provide an excellent example of my innocuous assertion.
The event in question was the implosion of the Tamale branch of the ruling NPP before our very eyes. The pulsating drama and the vicious infighting pitted the Metropolitan Chief Executive, Mr. Musah Iddrisu Superior against two local executives of the Tamale South and Tamale Central constituencies of the party.
At a hurriedly organized press conference, the two local party chieftains issued a bizarre ultimatum to President Nana Akuffo Addo. Either he fires Mr. Superior or risks losing their support in the 2020 general elections.
They went on to warn Mr. Addo that Mr. Superior was a poor choice for the mayor’s office and a danger to the party’s electoral fortunes and vowed to work tirelessly to get him thrown out.
Judging from their anger and demeanor at the press conference, there was little doubt that the two executives wanted above everything else the political decapitation of Mr. Superior. To this end, they accused him of massive corruption.
Without mincing words, they listed his alleged crimes which run the gamut from his unbridled arrogance and snobbish outlook, his contemptuous attitude towards party elders, his diversion of resources meant for the development of Tamale to Mion where he is contemplating a run in the party’s primaries to his surrounding himself with friends, family members and sycophants.
Predictably the mayor reacted to the charges of corruption and nepotism, despite earlier refusals to comment on the issue. On his Facebook page, Mr. Superior sternly dismissed the accusations, describing them as unfounded and baseless.
The mayor said: “I couldn’t get away with those acts of corruption. The country is governed by a set of laws.”
Given the bitterness, scorn and hatred on display, one can surmise that the Tamale branch of the NPP is in a serious crisis. And all can be attributed to a combination of the mayor’s intransigence and the abject failure of the rest of the party to throw its support behind him.
Yes, there have been times when Mr. Superior has acted as if the entire world of Tamale revolves around him. He has taken certain decisions that have proven ineffective and offended many city residents, besides costing the city tons of money.
But there have been times, too, when the rank and file of the party behaved like spoiled brats/children who should be pampered and given everything they request. Witness their complaint about not been the beneficiaries of city contracts.
The losers in this bewildering blood feud are the residents of Tamale and not the mayor or the two party operatives. At the end of the day when it is all said and done, the fate of the NPP in the north rides on the unity that the two warring factions can forge before the general elections in 2020.
A lot is at stake here; the mayor should put all pretensions, particularly his immense ego aside and offer the olive branch to the dissenters. After all, he is the political leader and all eyes will be on him to set a good example.
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