The future looks bleak for Alan Kyerematen�s hopes of becoming a president and especially so as a member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP). Among other things, there have been hard feelings that he has tried to deal with lately.
As I see it, if Akufo-Addo wins in 2016, Alan Kyerematen will have at least an eight-year wait unless some unfortunate event removes Akufo-Addo from office or from contention in 2020.
Akufo-Addo cannot have Bawumia or someone else as a vice-president or vice-presidential running mate to work with and turn around and endorse Alan. So, if Akufo-Addo wins the next two presidential elections, then Alan has to compete with a sitting vice-president for the nomination - a tall hill to climb indeed!
If, on the other hand, Akufo-Addo does not win, then Alan will likely run against an Akufo-Addo-endorsed candidate because Akufo-Addo cannot turn around and endorse Alan instead of his running mate of 2016. Akufo-Addo by his record just may himself be the person to beat if he doesn�t win in 2016, but Alan has so far not shown that he can beat him, nor his machine.
Options for Alan
I see one of three paths for Alan to take if he wants to be president of Ghana. One will be for him to leave the NPP and join the NDC. Overlooking the backlash from Akufo-Addo loyalists, this may be the easier path for him to tread. The most probable path, however, will be to elbow his way into the vice-presidential running mate spot, and I will explain how in a minute. The third path will be to just revolt and run as an independent candidate.
A three-way split may just offer him a chance to squeak through and become the president if he is more articulate than he has been thus far; come up with solid ideas that people will see as something they can hang their hats on and be able to sell the ideas very well. Alan did not come up with ideas that would have afforded the NPP the opportunity to take a second look at him. I do not see how he will do it at this time, so even though it is not impossible, I believe it will be hard for him to do so.
The easiest path for Alan�s future as a possible president of Ghana as I said earlier is to elbow his way into the running mate spot now. The way he can do this is to have a press conference and plant someone among the reporters who will ask him if he will run as an independent candidate. He will answer that he still has a contribution to make to the country and whether it is going to be at the presidential level or not is up in the air.
He will say he has some thinking to do on the matter and decisions to make. He will add that he will take time to make a deliberate decision and that at this time he is not ruling anything out.
If something like this does not send chills up Akufo-Addo�s spine, I will show an overconfident man who leaves his aspirations to chance. With the country split almost 50-50, Akufo-Addo cannot risk losing even one per cent of NPP vote. He will at the very least want to seek clarification from Mr. Kyerematen.
Mr Kyerematen will then let Akufo-Addo know that he, Alan, believes he has contributions to make to the country and he is going to think seriously about how to proceed and that he is open to any suggestions that Akufo-Addo may have. The latter, if he is a wise man, may promise some government position to Alan if he wins. Alan can then make it clear that it is the running mate spot or an independent candidacy that is on the table.
I wholeheartedly admit that this is a gamble that may not work, but at this time I do not see much else for Alan. He can fold up and give it all up or he can settle for whatever Nana Akufo-Addo may throw his way if he wins, or he can take the gamble. If Alan does a real tangible and honest assessment, he may see how bleak things look for him at this time. I wish him luck.
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