The son of Ghana’s First President, Sekou Nkrumah is considering staging a comeback to the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC).
‘I don’t see myself working with the NPP. I can support them like I did in the 2012 elections but not work within the party,’ he told DAILY GUIDE in an interview yesterday.
This, he said, was because ‘I don’t share in their philosophy and ideology,’ referring to the NPP.
His major problem with the NDC, which led him to part ways with them, he said, had to do with the leadership of the party, accusing them of poor performance. ‘The performance has not been good enough under Prof and I’m not too sure much has changed under Mahama.
‘I resigned because I wasn’t happy with the leadership. I’m still not happy with the leadership but between the two, I can work with the NDC, I cannot work with the NPP,’ he emphasized.
He therefore stressed the need to overhaul the party to achieve its aim, insisting that the claim of change under Mahama was only superficial and nothing significant had happened.
Sekou said, ‘I’m not rejoining to be in bed with leadership; I’m rejoining to bring about the required leadership. So it’s not like going there to have a good time; it’s rather going there to struggle.
‘The thing is that we are stuck between the NDC and the NPP; I cannot be an NPP member but I can be an NDC,’ he noted.
This time around, the former National Youth Council boss said, ‘I’m not doing like I did in 2007; just walk into the party. This time there has to be a strategy and a plan; I have to position myself to work with like-minded people who want a change within the party in terms of leadership.
‘I think there are a lot of people in the NDC because that’s the option for them; but they would want a better leadership to represent the values of the left-wing party or the values of the party in it. I think that is where the leadership is falling short,’ he noted, describing it as a long term project.
His only problem now was how to put the idea in motion to get the maximum results, he said.
Asked whether he was rejoining the NDC for the sake of a political appointment, Sekou replied, ‘No, that’s why I’m saying that I’m not interested in joining the party to be in bed with the leadership because I have a problem with the leadership. It’s a question of just positioning myself in a viable political party.’
Apart from that, Sekou Nkrumah said, ‘I don’t use politics for my personal interest and gains; I take care of myself outside politics because a lot of people think politicians are self-seekers but I’m not in that category. I want to see what is good for Ghana; leadership that can best represent the people,’ he noted.
Deputy General Secretary of the NDC George Lawson, said like the prodigal son, Sekou was welcome to the party he left after taking a swipe at the Mills leadership.
Attacks Mahama
Sekou Nkrumah did not spare the Mahama administration either, asking the President to step down if his leadership did not provide alternatives to the challenges confronting the country.
According to him, President Mahama should ‘resign’ as Head of State if he could not step up his game to ensure a robust economy.
He noted that the Mahama-led NDC government had performed abysmally, calling on the President to axe Ministers in his government who would fail to execute their duties effectively.
Speaking on Mahama’s first reshuffle of ministers, Sekou Nkrumah told Peacefmonline.com that the President ‘seems not to know what he is about. He doesn’t make up his mind. Time is going and the performance is not good enough…That means the quality of life is rather becoming worse.’
He doubted the competence of the incumbent government, alluding to previous performances of the NDC since 1981 and therefore expressed disgust about political leaders who fail to fulfil their manifesto promises.
‘He, himself, if at some point the performance continues to be poor, then he should also resign…If you are given a job and you are not doing the job well, then you need to resign and let somebody go and do the job better. The Ghanaian electorate is becoming too lenient with the politicians. I think it’s time we all put pressure on them to perform. We vote them into power so that they serve our interest.
And if they are incapable of serving our interest, then they should be voted out,’ he said.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu