If the lecture halls of the school of life taught me anything, it is the fact that politics like history, is always the story of the winner and the powerful. One great example of this assertion is the history of Ghana’s democracy right from the very first republic as the narrators of our beloved country’s rather long tale would have it.

 

It is for this reason that it is difficult for a good majority of the Ghanaian people to associate with the less fortunate teams in our country’s politics. While people cry out about how quickly the security services shed their skin when political power changes hands, the same people doing the crying fail to point out how Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s Convention People’s party went from winning with “unreal” numbers to scoring decimal figures in major elections in just 6 decades. All of these happenings go a long way to confirm the assertion that politics is the story of the winner.

 

As the New Patriotic Party’s most crucial election in over two decades loom, the behaviour of a good majority of the members of Ghana’s ruling party seem to be affirming my earlier assertion. Two candidates; Dr. Mahamudu Alhaji Bawumia who is also the Vice president of the republic of Ghana and honorable Alan Kyeremanteng, the minister for trade and also a high ranking stalwart of the party are expected to face of for the position of the party’s flag bearer towards the December 2024 elections.

 

Dr. Bawumia whose economic prowess helped propel the New Patriotic Party to the Jubilee House in 2016, seem to be the one being tipped the most by media houses across the country to succeed. However, one may find this act bizarre considering the fact that honorable Alan Kyeremanteng has proven in the greater part of the last two decades to care more about party unity than his personal gains.

 

One unforgettable decision Alan made to keep an NPP that was at the verge of collapse together, was the decision to step down from a sure runoff election against Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo prior to the 2008 Ghanaian general elections.

 

Despite leading slightly in the first round of that election, even the current president of Ghana could have seen that the odds were not entirely in his favor and that a second round would not have been a walk in the park. Fortunately for him, Alan Kyeremanteng decided to not contest in the runoff and to concede defeat. This move kept the New Patriotic Party glued together till date.

As I stated earlier however, everyone seem to be projecting the one who has power the most at the moment.

While a good majority seem to be calling for a Dr. Bawumia leadership going into the 2024 general elections, one man dared to stand alone and profess his desire to have honorable Alan Kyeremanteng as the flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party in 2024.

King-David Norgbey, a known ‘Alan boy’ and a firebrand politician from the Ho Central Constituency in the Volta region of Ghana, remained steadfast in sticking to his ‘Alan roots’ since the showdown in 2008. The graduate of the University of Cape Coast who holds a Diploma in Mathematics and Science Education, B.Ed.

Agriculture and Master of Education (M.Ed.) Administration in Higher Education, recently picked up nomination forms and subsequently contested for the position of the New Patriotic Party’s organizer for the Ho central constituency.

 

Prior to the contest, the young ‘patriot’ was branded an ‘underdog’ and was mostly mocked for contesting against other political heavyweights within the constituency. His ties to honorable Alan Kyeremanteng also became the topic of interest on many occasions prior to the elections.

In the end however, the man who carved the slogan;

‘Amesiame Adunu’

which is Ewe for ‘everybody will dine’, carried the day. His win despite being a known ‘Alan boy’ in a constituency that is believed to be a ‘Bawumia’ stronghold is raising questions as to whether the grassroots really want Dr. Bawumia or if their loyalties are shackled to Mr. Kyeremanteng. Mr. King-David Norgbey however encouraged the young generation through his Facebook page to milk inspiration from his story which had a ‘fairy-tale ending’ and to keep working hard for whatever they believe in.

As the party prepares for their showdown to determine who occupies the position of flag-bearer, this may just be enough proof that the process will not be a walk in the past for either party.