Calculations in politics are very admissible and permissible. But you need to get it right. The biggest permutation in Ghanaian politics have always been geographical distribution and how the choices made by parties suit any given geographical area. The absence of deep-seated ethnicity and tribalism in our politics, most Ghanaians believe have been achieved because of the choices we make in our regional settings and patterns.
So, the degree of successes we have achieved in ethnic, religious and religious cohesiveness are largely due to how correct we have selected people to manage party offices through regional balance. If effect, we have successfully perfected politico-geographical distribution against the ills stated, in our body-politic. And so, although not stated, in the majority of the cases, we have elected presidents/presidential candidates consciously or unconsciously to fit such regional balance.
President Jerry John Rawlings, an Ewe from the Volta Region had two persons from the Central Region—Nenyi Kow Nkensen Arkaah and Prof. John Evans Atta Mills as his Vice Presidents. President John Agyekum Kufuor, an Asante, had Alhaji Aliu Mahama as his running mate and subsequently, his Vice President. Aliu is from the Northern part of the country. In fact, Veep Aliu was of the Dagomba extraction from Northern Region. John Evans Atta Mills had John Dramani Mahama, as his Vice President; while Mahama did the reversal by picking Papa Kwesi Amisah-Arthur, a Fante from the Central Region, as his Vice President.
On the partisan political party front, such permutations are even stronger than that of the presidential ticket. And already, the murmurings from NPP circles suggest the nomination of Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Torkornoo as Chief Justice, pending approval by Parliament is a calculate attempt by the President to blunt the candidature of Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, the fast-rising presidential aspirant of the NPP who also hails from the Central Region. Soon the conspiracy theory will unfold. Remember, Hon Agyapong was in Western North recently to meet delegates of the NPP to push for his presidential pursuit.
It was at the said meeting that the Hon. Assin Central MP, lamented on a matter, although an open secret, most of the party’s chieftains fear commenting on. Trust the vociferous Ken Agyepong who has assumed the voice of regular NPP members to hit the nail right on the head. His disclosure that key-appointments in the Akufo Addo administration had been preserved for people of Northern extraction at a time that many analysts believe, the Central and Western Regions hold key in the election of Ghanaian Presidents has been hailed everywhere by many NPP folks. Indeed, he spoke the truth without mincing words. It didn’t also mean he had anything untoward against Northerners.
Therefore, in the estimation of many political pundits, the appointment of Justice Torkornoo as potential Chief Justice, may be a direct response to the Hon. Agyapong’s concerns. But beyond that is the grand agenda to snuff out the outspoken MP’s quest to lead the NPP for the 2024 presidential election. It’s as if by design, many NPP chairmen in the past have been people from the Ga State. Peter Ala Adjetey, Odoi-Sykes and Jake Obetsebi Lamptey, all past chairmen of the NPP were of Ga leanings. In-between, a Fante, B.J. da Rocha; Peter Mac Manu, as Asante; and Freddie Blay, an Nzema, have run through.
By order of importance, the President of the Republic of Ghana is closely followed by the Vice President; the next in command is the Speaker of Parliament, then the Chief Justice. Of course, in the case of the individual political parties, as the case may be for a ruling party, they may consider that, after producing a President and the Vice, the next person on their order of importance should be their party chairman. And so, if a Region like the Central Region has been rewarded with the third most powerful person of the land, the assumption is that the Region has adequately been rewarded; and should therefore not look beyond for a position as high as presidential candidate.
And that is what many think is the spirit behind all but concluded decision by the President to choose someone from the Central Region to be the Chief Justice. Although the President has all liberties to choose anyone of the 13 Supreme Court judges to replace the out—going Chief Justice, Kwasi Annin, the selection of Justice Torkornoo, according to Martin Amidu, the immediate past Special Prosecutor is one of the political trickeries of telling the people of the Central Region that they’ve been adequately compensated, so perhaps, they should forget about Ken Agyapong’s candidature.
This is parts of Martin’s latest epistle on his project Ghana agenda. It’s no secret the candidature of Vice President Bawumia, as stated earlier, is the preferred choice of the President and many others in his administration. Until Akom Preko’s sudden burst off the seams of the NPP presidential nomination, the race had been reduced to a two-horse race between the Vice President and former Trade Minister, Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen.
Now none, can wish away the candidature of Ken Agyapong, hence the Machiavellian tactics by the President and his assigns. And they only way to retain the Alan-Bawumia horse trading is to keep out Ken Agyapong. However, that will be a very difficult preposition at a time that many Ghanaian youths from all shades of the political divide have made up their minds about the candidature of Akom Preko.
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