The battle lines have been drawn and the race for the Osono flagbearership position is getting fiercer by the day.
Many have joined the race but any true observer would agree with me that the main contest is between Alan Kyeremanten and Dr. Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia.
It may eventually end up being a one-sided contest because one of the camps seems to be shooting itself in the foot. But that is a discussion for another day.
As a columnist, political analyst and sympathizer of the Great Elephant, I’ve noted with dismay how members of the eagle-headed Umbrella always support Alan anytime there is a flagbearership contest.
They did it in the 2007 contest, which candidate Nana Dee won, and repeated the dose in the 2010 and 2014 flagbearership contests, where Alan polled 19% and 4% respectively. Predictably, those under the eagle-headed Umbrella are not hiding the fact that Alan is their preferred choice for the Osono flagbearership contest for the 2024 electoral battle.
Following the inflammatory commentary by Director of Operations of Alan 2024 Campaign, Hopeson Adorye, that Northern politicians in the Great Elephant fraternity were only fit for the running mate slot, implying that Dr. Bawumia was not fit to become president, many were those who tongue-lashed him for the divisive comment.
Only known Zu-za social media communicators were those who openly came to the rescue of the tribal bigot. Same was replicated by Zu-za communicators on mainstream media.
Indeed, Zu-za executives, MPs and party communicators continue to profess their admiration for Alan and openly declare that he is a better candidate for the Elephant than the Vice President. “Chief Alan is our choice” is the chorus on all pro-NDC media platforms.
I chanced upon a video of Massa Kwesi Pee and his ilk on ‘Alhaji and Alhaji’ touting Alan’s credentials and lampooning the Vice President.
Watching him ridicule the Vice President and speak as if he possessed all the wisdom in the world made me wonder if he was not the same Kwesi Pee who woefully failed to win the Ayawaso Central seat in 1996.
Was he not the same Kwesi Pee who said Nana Dee could never be president? And what makes him delude himself into believing that the Elephant’s current economic woes will automatically translate into a Zu-za victory?
I’m sure you’ve heard the name Dr Kofi Mensah before? He is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS) and an avowed critic of the Nana Dee government.
He was on Twitter describing the political gains awaiting the Elephant in the Volta Region should Alan’s bid to lead the party gets endorsed by delegates.
In other words, he is indirectly telling delegates to vote for Alan because he could bring the party some gains in the Volta Region.
Come to think of it, why is it that all non-Elephant supporters of Alan are either Zu-za folks or so-called independent commentators aligned with Zu-za? Is it not curious that Zu-za prefers facing Alan in the 2024 electoral battle to facing Dr Bawumia?
Could their preference for Alan be because of some phobia for Dr Bawumia? These and more are the questions delegates would ask themselves before making a decision.
Frankly, I would be worried if I were a member of the Alan 2024 Campaign. Zu-za, Osono’s main political opponent, supporting my candidate in an Osono internal contest is a big negative many Osono delegates cannot ignore. Not to talk of the negatives of tribal bigotry and the anti-party NATO slogan.
For sure, Alan has a big mountain to climb. Let’s just keep our fingers crossed and see what happens on August 26 and November 4.
See you next week for another interesting konkonsa, Deo volente!