The Shai-Osudoku constituency has been a safe seat for the NDC since the inception of the 4th Republic. This status has, understandably, bred complacency into the body politic of the NDC and has taken their focus off the development of both human capital and physical infrastructure. The focus of officers of the party is on internal contests that produce party officers and parliamentary candidate automatically becomes the next MP. Internal contests are therefore intensely contested and mostly acrimonious.
A section of mostly elderly leaders (past and current) of the party at both branch and constituency levels have been holding on to and propagating a certain ‘convention’ since the party was formed. This propaganda became more intense in the 2015 parliamentary primaries till date.
The proponents of this convention define it as ‘there should be a 3-term rotation of the parliamentary seat between the Shais and the Osus’. That is to say, Hon. Michael Aferdi Gizo has occupied it for 3 terms. Hon. David T. Assumeng has also occupied it for 3 terms. So in 2015 internal parliamentary primaries campaign, the major message from these proponents is that, it was time for the Shais. The definition has even evolved over the years to include those positions at Constituency Executive Committee (CEC) to be shared between the Shais and the Osus equally.
This convention was and is strongly propagated internally without any shred of respect for the preference of the general voting public. The NDC assumed that, whatever decision we take internally will be acceptable by the general public. You can imagine how disrespectful and insulting that sounds.
But one may ask, what makes one a Shai or an Osu to be eligible to benefit from that convention?
Is it being born to parents from these traditional areas?
Being born in these traditional areas?
Being domiciled in these traditional areas? So that even if you were born to Shai parents and you are now domiciled in Osudoku, you will be qualified to contest when it is the time of the Osus and vice versa?
Will persons of other tribes become Shais and Osus by where they live?
There need to be some clarity in this so-called convention.
In the formative years of the party, there were virtually no elections at the local levels (branch and constituency) of the party. Positions were given on consensus basis; some branch executives were even appointed in absentia. The founders and early leaders of the party appointed influential persons from various communities in the constituency to become leaders of the party. This was because; a lot do not show interest in political positions then than we see today.
Internal party democracy has evolved quickly that branch positions are now keenly contested with no consideration for tribe, religion or creed, just as the constituency positions. It therefore sounds quite unconscionable for a few to be still vehemently propagating a certain convention even in constituency elections in this time and age. Why don’t we return to the board room and choose these leaders instead of going to congress?
In their quest to advance this negative propaganda, they are preaching an even more dangerous message; that Ward Coordinators and branch executives should do everything possible to prevent others from contesting in the branch elections. I thought the NDC as a party has taken a lot of pain to navigate from a brutish image to a very enviable democratic party. Why will these dogmatic propagandists be allowed to be preaching such potentially chaotic message that can break the party.
Why won’t you open the door for more people to contest to even test the level of interest people have in your party at the local level, remember that is where general elections are won.
For the convention propagandists, merit, competence and development is never part of the equation, it is solely your location or place of birth that is the standard.
But is there any such convention? Or it is a creation of a section of party folks to advance their selfish interest and keep a stranglehold on the party. It is well known that Hon. Gizo never willingly stepped down after his 3rd term for someone from Osu to contest, he was willing to go for a 4th term until the party hierarchy impressed on him to step down due to his uncomfortable close proximity to the NPP and not because he is from Shai. In the parliamentary primaries for a 2nd term of Hon. David, there were candidates from Shai who contested him, the leadership did not invoke a convention to disqualify the candidates from Shai.
Again, hon David Assumeng, after his 3rd term in parliament contested the next primaries held in 2015, for a possible 4th term. Although he failed, he again contested in the 2019 primaries for a comeback for a 4rd term. The spot light is on hon. David Assumeng because he was a founding executive of the party and has been in the saddles with these propagandists since 1992 and rose to become the constituency Organizer and then the MP on the party’s ticket. If there is any such convention, Hon. David Assumeng should be the biggest proponent.
It is therefore very obvious that there was nothing like a convention. The reason the current propagandists or proponents could not enforce same when they were in the helm of the constituency.
This is a selfish and cowardice strategy of some elements in the party to evade the real issues going into the internal party contests. They are only seeking to saturate the contest with dangerous tribal, sentimental discussions that will only breed hatred, tribal competitions and unhealthy discourse instead of a contest of ideas.
I therefore call on the Shai-Osudoku NDC Constituency Executive Committee, led by Hon. Benjamin Manyeh to call these divisionists, Mr. Seth Ogborjor, the immediate past constituency chairman and one Mr. J.W.K. Tetteh, to order. These two, without the permission of the CEC have called meetings of Ward Coordinators to propagate these dangerous ideas.
We have a district to develop, not to divide. We therefore need leaders who will unite us and bring their ideas to bear on the development of our district/constituency to appeal to floating voters.
We are watching keenly.
Benjamin Kofiwayo, Branch Organizer – Local Council, Agave ‘A’ Branch
Shai-Osudoku (bkofiwayo@gmail.com)
