Features
Steve Ntim: The irresistible choice (Final Part)
In the previous piece presented in this column, the columnist extolled the virtues of Mr. Steve Ntim as a worthy candidate for the National Chairman position of the New Patriotic Party(NPP) since he is the irresistible and obvious choice for that noble position.
Indeed, anyone coming in as National Chairman should stand for the principles that characterises a great party such as the NPP. The NPP is a centre-right and liberal political party that seeks to promote freedom among the people of Ghana. Its theme is: “Development in Freedom.”
Any person or candidate who, therefore, seeks to occupy the chairmanship position at the national level must be a person who is qualified by all standards. In the case of Chairman Stephen Ntim, he qualifies for the position because his traits as a heavyweight champion truly reflect the ideals of the NPP.
ROLE AS PRESIDING MEMBER
As National Chairman, he will be expected to act as a presiding member over the affairs of the party. In this capacity, he will be expected to preside over every member and bring them together for the common good of the party. There is no doubt that he will be able to play this role effectively.
Again, as National Chairman, he will act as a coordinator of all events within and outside the party. He has made it clear to some of the people who know him very well that, all issues affecting the party ought to be well coordinated in collaboration with other national executives within the party as well as all others operating from the regions.
SYMPATHY FOR HARDWORKING MEMBERS
One good thing about this incoming Chairman is that he is very sympathetic to the plight of every Ghanaian. His exceptional sympathy will no doubt influence and encourage him to show appreciation to all hardworking members within the party. He believes in ensuring the establishment of a scheme which will be used to attract and support the grassroot members of the party whether within the rural or urban areas.
This shows that he is the type of person who will provide positive direction to the party. His leadership qualities are unparalleled but without giving him the chance to become National Chairman, all these good things cannot be displayed extensively in an effective manner. He continues to support the party in various ways but he can perform better, if we give him the opportunity to lead the party in the position of Chairmanship.
Mr. Ntim is very humble by all standards. He is not the proud type who will trample upon the respect that must be accorded to other members of the party.
MAXIMUM MUTUAL RESPECT
There is no doubt that his role as National Chairman will generate, to the maximum mutual respect, for every person within the party. In line with his vision of breaking the eight, he is very purposeful in what he does and when voted into the position he is seeking, he will help to bring everybody together and give hope to all followers of the party. It is this hope that will encourage every person to work hard for victory in 2024. He is not the boastful type but very humble, acknowledging the unique importance of every person he comes in contact with.
There is no doubt that Mr. Steve Ayesu Ntim is the figure that must be encouraged to seek the position he is seeking, so that the NPP can be rekindled and strengthened further to achieve the ultimate, that is, to win the 2024 elections, difficult as it is, in grand style.
One admirable thing about this man is his readiness to accept every person who comes his way. In the course of the internal elections which began from the lowest level, he extended congratulatory messages to all the candidates who were vying for various positions at various levels. This is marvellous of him and goes to portray him as the all-embracing type of person who is not selfish by nature but very open and friendly to all contestants within the political family.
TRUE DEMOCRAT
He is a true democrat who understands what internal elections is about and would, therefore, want to embrace every person in that political family. This is the kind of person we need to occupy the important seat of National Chairman in order to bring honour, respect, unique integrity and progress to the party.
Such a bundle of good characteristics should not be made to go to waste but accepted to drive the party to greater heights. All delegates should, therefore, vote for him so as to bring his dreams into reality.
To say the least, Mr. Steve Ayesu Ntim, if given the opportunity to serve the party, will seek to reignite it and thereby energise it to perform far better and win the expected votes, in collaboration with other executive members and supporters of the party, to bring in the needed victory, so let each and everyone vote for him to bring in the desired results for the country in line with national interest.
BY DR. KOFI AMPONSAH-BEDIAKO
One of the issues we have been grappling with as a nation is corruption, and it has had such a devastating effect on our national development. I have been convinced that until morality becomes the foundation upon which our governance system is built, we can never go forward as a nation.
Our traditional practices, which have shaped our cultural beliefs, have always espoused values that have kept us along the straight and the narrow and have preserved our societies since ancient times.
These are values that frown on negative habits like stealing, cheating, greediness, selfishness, etc. Our grandparents have told us stories of societies where stealing was regarded as so shameful that offenders, when caught, have on a number of instances committed suicide.
In fact, my mother told me of a story where a man who was living in the same village as her mother (my grandmother), after having been caught stealing a neighbour’s cockerel, out of shame committed suicide on a mango tree. Those were the days that shameful acts were an abomination.
Tegare worship, a traditional spiritual worship during which the spirit possesses the Tegare Priest and begins to reveal secrets, was one of the means by which the society upheld African values in the days of my grandmother and the early childhood days of my mother.
Those were the days when the fear of being killed by Tegare prevented people from engaging in anti-social vices. These days, people sleeping with other people’s wives are not uncommon.
These wrongful behaviour was not countenanced at all by Tegare. One was likely going to lose his life on days that Tegare operates, and so unhealthy habits like coveting your neighbour’s wife was a taboo.
Stealing of other people’s farm produce, for instance, could mean certain death or incapacitation of the whole or part of the body in the full glare of everybody. People realised that there were consequences for wrongdoing, and this went a long way to motivate the society to adhere to right values.
Imagine a President being sworn into office and whoever administers the oath says, “Please say this after me: I, Mr. …., do solemnly swear by God, the spirits of my ancestors and the spirits ruling in Ghana, that should I engage in corrupt acts, may I and my family become crippled, may madness become entrenched in my family, may incurable sicknesses and diseases be my portion and that of my family, both immediate and extended.”
Can you imagine a situation where a few weeks afterwards the President goes to engage in corrupt acts and we hear of his sudden demise or incapacitation and confessing that he engaged in corrupt acts before passing or before the incapacitation—and the effect it will have on his successor? I believe we have to critically examine this option to curb corruption.
My grandmother gave me an eyewitness account of one such encounter where a woman died instantly after the Tegare Priest had revealed a wrong attitude she had displayed during the performance on one of the days scheduled for Tegare spirit manifestation.
According to her story, the Priest, after he had been possessed by the spirit, declared that for what the woman had done, he would not forgive her and that he would kill. Instantly, according to my grandmother, the lady fell down suddenly and she died—just like what happened to Ananias and his wife Sapphira in Acts Chapter 5.
NB: ‘CHANGE KOTOKA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO KOFI BAAKO
By Laud Kissi-Mensah
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BY ROBERT EKOW GRIMMOND-THOMPSON
