The Faith And Fate Of Nana Konadu

Thought to be weird by so many stalwarts of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) for her willingness to contest the incumbent leader of the party in the Sunyani Congress 2011. Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings a product of both Achimota Senior High school and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has braced all odds to throw a challenge to President Attah Mills of the party founded by her husband. The former first lady who is also the President of the 31st December Movement turned a deaf ear to calls by some ministers of state and party functionaries to step down from contesting the President. This led to all manner of names labeled against her. Among which were; master of mischief, an anguish lady, destroyer, and a loner. This is one of the cheapest propaganda ever advanced against Nana Konadu who is not an ordinary individual in the ruling party. I cannot help but to disagree with some ministers in the Mills administration who alleged that, Nana Konadu being in the race is unhealthy for the NDC party. This is a woman who has been the first lady of the party, the President of the 31st December Movement (a women group behind the so called PNDC revolution), and also the Vice Chairperson of the NDC party. The inability of the Mills poodles to appreciate the faith and fate of Nana Konadu�s strength marred the beauty of the Sunyani Congress. Kofi Adams, a man who speaks for the Rawlings� and a deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress claimed that, Nana Konadu was in the race because the Mills administration has seen so many of party faithful disengaged and disillusioned. He continued that, Nana Konadu will re-unify the party which is bubbling with division because of the lack of �toughness� of President Mills � a man alleged to be under the dictates of the Ahwoi�s. Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings is the champion of rejected NDC members. She represents the over million party faithful who have been relegated to the shadow cabin. Fact is, there were so many first in the race for the NDC Flagbearer. First, this is the first time an incumbent President is being challenged for the flagbearership in his own party. Rawlings after 1992 was given a smoother space in the 1996 General Election in the National Democratic Congress. Ex. President John Agyekum Kufour did not face such a contest even though his strongest opponent Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo was bubbling with venom to capture the Presidency of the country. Kufour was allowed in 2004 which gave him a two year term of eight years. Second, the hearts of the country�s history books is replete with male Presidents and flag bearers but not females. So clearly, this is the first time a woman is contesting for a party leader in the over fifty-four years since Ghana gained independence. It is alleged in some quarters that, the late Madam Hawa Yakubu would have contested for the leader of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) had it not been her untimely death. This cannot be contested but Nana Konadu is the first to put our democracy to a huge test. The NDC party should, instead of crying foul, be appreciative to Nana Konadu for her challenge because it will put President Mills on his toes most especially when his own party members call him an underperformer. Again, believe it or not, the challenge from Nana Konadu has unified the party more than they have been ever since Mills ascended the seat of Presidency. I may not agree but political commentators and some ace journalists believed that, the defeat of Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings signifies the lowering of Rawlings influence in the party. According to Kweku Baako on an Accra based radio station on Saturday 9 July, 2011, he claimed that, the defeat of Nana Konadu is symbolizes the decimation of the Rawlings influence in the party. This observation and remark is disagreeable noting the grounded nature of the Rawlings� influence not only in Ghana but also in his hand-weaved party. Whatever the outcome was, I wish Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings the best of all luck in her political ambition.