The March 2010 issue of �Africawatch�, a Pan African magazine, currently on sale, has a lot of interesting articles and analysis on political, economic and social issues in Ghana.
It also has such write up on countries like Nigeria, Liberia, Niger, Sudan and South Africa.
On Ghana, a Special Report on Ghanaian churches ask the question - Men of God or mere charlatans? What is likely to attract more Ghanaians is its cover story on the main opposition party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) � Akufo-Addo�s Final Political Battle: Do Or Die Affair�.
The introduction of the five-page analysis states in part, �for hardline conservative Asantes, the current power struggle between Nana Akufo Addo and Alan Kyeremanteng within the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) is a continuation of the fight between Victor Owusu and William Ofori-Atta in the 1979 general elections, and by extension, a battle between the Asantes and Akyems for control of the Party.
The analysis said Nana Akufo-Addo had �always had his eyes on the Ghanaian presidency and has spent most of his career that spans 30 years planning � if not scheming � for it. When he got a chance to capture the presidency in the 2008 general elections, Akufo-Addo spent heavily on his campaign but was held back by a margin of less than one percent in a run-off, after winning the first round vote but fell just short of the required 50%.
It was a loss that dazed the man for a while. He also revealed how the NPP 2008 flagbearer was led on by some members of his campaign team, �but perhaps what made the loss so painful was the fact that after the first round, Akufo-Addo was deceived by some of his top campaign officials into thinking that he had in fact won, with just about 51% of the vote. Akufo-Addo was terribly disappointed when he learnt his men had calculated the results based only on the numbers between him and his main opponent, the now-President John Atta Mills of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), without including those of the six also-run candidates in the tally. That sunk the man.
Towards 2010, �Africawatch� believes that it will be a re-match between Akufo-Addo and Alan Kyeremanteng, that it will be the fiercest fight the NPP has ever seen. �The acrimonious nature of their fight during the last primaries in 2007 left deep wounds in the Party, and some have yet to heal� The intense wrangling divided the party into the Akufo-Addo and Alan Factions. Incidentally, President Kufuor did not help matters when he decided to back Alan. His support for Alan created more tension and widened the division in the Party�, the article added.
The long article draws the attention of its readers, �interestingly, not much has been heard from the party�s Council of Elders on the crisis in their Party. Like ostriches, they have buried their heads in the sand and pretend not to see what is happening around them � a party teetering on the brink of disintegration.
Which begs two important questions: Can the unity of the NPP survive the latest bout of infighting? Or will the Asantes and Akyems go their separate ways as in 1979?�
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