Samuel P Huntington once said the success of democratic transitions depends on the ability of political parties to select candidates based on their qualifications and vision for the future, rather than their seniority or length of service.
The main contenders for the 2024 elections have selected their Presidential candidates, what is left to be done is the selection of a running mate that can perfectly complement the selected flagbearer. In this piece, my interest will be the New Patriotic Party.
This election is a crucial one, particularly for the ruling party, given that this is the second term of the government. It is trite knowledge that no political party has been able to go beyond the second term, as such for the ruling party to be able to break the eight, not only should we select a post-2008 ‘Bawumia-like running mate’, we must select one with a cross-appeal beyond the base of the party and can easily galvanize support from our world bank and importantly among the youth and middle class.
The running mate should also complement the leader of the party and they should have the Nana Addo-Bawumia kind of chemistry.
It is my considered opinion that Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh (Napo), MP for Manhyia South, is poles apart from all the other names that have so far come up. I will proceed to justify my assertion.
Competence All the names that have come up so far as possible running mates are competent men and women. However, Napo is exceptional. He was first appointed as the minister of education and tasked with introducing Free Senior High School education (FSHS) just under a year after assuming office.
Mind you this was a major campaign promise the NPP had made in consecutive elections, and it was, therefore, important that the government deploy its best brains to implement the policy and anticipate and deal with the initial policy hitches that will ensue. Napo excelled in this role. The president was so impressed with his delivery that he was maintained in the position throughout his first term to ensure that the policy was well implemented, and teething challenges addressed largely.
In the process, he won several awards as minister of education, some of which were minister of the year twice (2017 and 2019) in the 4 years he was at the education ministry and was also a recipient of the 2020 Harvard Ministerial Fellow. Napo has also been awarded by the Ghana Civil Service for his sterling leadership qualities.
The University of Education Winneba, which is known for its excellence in education, conferred an honorary doctorate on him. He has been exceptional at the energy ministry and once again was awarded Minister of the Year in 2023.
He was also named the overall Africa Role Model in Politics and Governance at the 14th MTN Pulse Africa Role Model Awards.
This award was previously won by distinguished personalities like former Presidents Jerry John Rawlings and John Agyekum Kufour. The citation accompanying the award reads in part “You are dexterous, tolerant, resolute and endowed with political far-sightedness, a virtue not lost on your constituents and the public at large. A golden fish cannot be hidden”. This demonstrates the calibre of person Napo is.
Communication
Communication is a vital skill in political campaigning and therefore anyone seeking political office should hone their communications skills. Napo’s communication prowess is not in doubt. In an era where most ministers of state prefer to conduct one-on-one media interviews and not do in-studio discussions with other panel members, he has been fearless in taking up the task of defending his stewardship in media encounters regardless of the format and the media house in question. In both ministries he has headed so far, he has engaged the media? both Akan-speaking stations and English-speaking stations. He has also engaged both friendly and hostile media houses in communicating the government’s achievements, challenges, and activities.
Background
Napo is a royal from the Ashanti region, a region that has been very instrumental in the electoral fortunes of the NPP. It is therefore important that the party selects someone who will be able to energise the region and get an above 80% turnout. Historically, the higher the voter turnout the higher the absolute votes the NPP gets.
Napo is not just popular within the region; he is very well respected. He vibes very well with the youth and the elderly as well. Being a royal, he has an excellent relationship with the chiefs and people of the region and has played a critical role in advocating for the region.
He is a proud son of the region and has shown that he is proud of his culture and heritage. Sometime in 2023, Napo organised a youth conference for the region and the attendance and excitement were massive. The way and manner he energises and interacts with the youth is just admirable.
I am therefore convinced that for the NPP to get a voter turnout of 80% and win 80% of the Ashanti region votes, our best bet will be Napo. He is hugely loved in the region. The region has been very good to the party and it is time for the party to show some appreciation by selecting a proud son who has shown dedication and competence to the course of the party and government.
Accessibility and youth development.
Napo is very accessible even to people whom he does not know, unlike some political appointees who after gaining power become inaccessible to even friends. I have seen a social media user testify on how easily accessible Napo is. He gives an account of his encounter with the Honourable Minister in his attempt to gather information on education for his studies.
Additionally, an aunty of mine recalls how she just walked into his office and had a request for furniture to be provided for a basic school in the Bawku municipality and the minister promised to have it taken care of. She did not hear from him again until she got a call from the headteacher of the school that indeed they had received furniture from the Ministry of Education.
Again, whilst I was studying in the UK, I got a call from someone who said he had been admitted to Cardiff University and a common friend asked that he contact me because I was studying in the same University. It turns out that indeed there were three of them coming to Cardiff University in particular but twelve of them in total were coming to the UK to study various courses that are important to the development of the nation. This program was facilitated by Napo, and most of them were not people he knew personally, and they were not from his constituency.
The 3 in Cardiff included 1 from the Eastern region, another from the Ashanti region and the last but not the least from the Northern region. These were just brilliant young chaps that had potential and Napo saw the need to help develop them for the good of the country. These young people have returned to Ghana and are working in various sectors of the economy and contributing to the development of the country. I am in no way suggesting that this is all he has done, but this is just what I encountered.
I am convinced there are many other such cases. Napo’s commitment towards developing the youth is unmatched. Some of the young people around him have been supported and we can at least talk of one such person already in parliament. He has also supported many other young people in different political journeys. It is a testament to the fact that he wants to see the young people around him grow politically. That is the hallmark of a leader who thinks about the welfare of future generations, and the future of his political party.
Napo is a hard worker, a great communicator and greatly loved across the party. Even the ‘showdown man’ has indicated he will campaign for the party if Napo is selected as the running mate. This is indicative of the massive support he enjoys from all sections of the party.
Napo is our best bet. The choice confronting the NPP, and its Flagbearer is thus a simple one: select the most appealing, hardworking and futuristic personality to partner the competent flagbearer. This choice will bring favourable electoral outcomes to enable the NPP to continue with its vision of transforming Ghana.
Dr Wuni Abdul Razak
[email protected]
The post Opinion: NAPO is the perfect running mate appeared first on Citinewsroom - Comprehensive News in Ghana.
Read Full Story
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram
Google+
YouTube
LinkedIn
RSS