“At long last, the first battle has ended, and the NPP is free for the time being!”
In taking liberties with Dr Kwame Nkrumah’s famous independence declaration at the Accra Polo Grounds in March 1957, it is evident that it has been a long and bruising presidential primary for the party.
From the arguments about having the presidential primary ahead of the others, to howls of unfairness and bias against other candidates, the razzmatazz around the filing process, the social media fights among followers of the various candidates, among others, it has indeed been a colourful campaign.
After the dust had settled, each of the candidates realised his smoothness level, with Dr Bawumia emerging as the clear winner and the others dutifully lining up to concede and to pledge their loyalty.
It was a heart-warming moment to behold.
Of all the subtexts, sub-themes and dramas surrounding the NPP primary, what I found most fascinating was the various prophets who lined up behind the two leading candidates,
Dr Bawumia and Ken Agyapong, to declare with boldness and confidence that one or the other would win.
At a point, there seemed to be a live scorecard over who had garnered the most number of prophets behind him, with attendant revelations of an eventual win.
Multiple God’s voices
Suddenly, it appeared God was not speaking with one voice, or that HE could not make up his mind, revealing one outcome to one prophet and saying the opposite the next minute to another.
And yet, because they desperately needed validation of their hopes of a win by their candidates, many supporters excitedly parrotted these prophecies, blissfully unaware of the ironies of the array of prophecies that rendered their cheering ridiculous.
In all of this contradiction galore, it appeared that nobody, including the prophets, was paying attention to 1 Corinthians 14:33, which states that ‘For God is not a God of confusion but of peace’, emphasising that divine order brings clarity, not chaos.
Certainly, these contradictory prophecies brought anything but clarity.
But then, these prophecies appeared convenient depending on which prophet was singing the song one desperately wanted to hear.
Perhaps the fervent hope of the political disciples was that, given the deep religiousity of many and the hold that prophets, evangelists, and others hold in this country, delegates might be psychologically leaned upon by particular prophecies to vote in a particular way.
It appeared that contradiction was not limited to an intra-prophecy affair, with various prophets battling for public attention and claiming to have a hotline to the Almighty.
It went a step further to the level of prophecy, anchored in claimed divine conversations, versus hard, raw data by way of opinion polls and sampling.
In times past, Ben Ephson was the nation’s favourite pollster, and politicians liked to pay attention to him, especially when several of his polling predictions came to pass.
Of course, as it is with polling everywhere, sometimes the outcomes did not reflect the earlier polls, which caused many to mock him.
Over time, there seemed to be a gravitational pull away from him.
Musa Dankwa
Today, the nation’s leading and most credible pollster, without any doubt, is Musa Dankwa, who has had quite a string of successful outcomes tallying with his earlier polls.
Unsurprisingly, his polls have usually been dismissed by those who have not found them palatable, only to have to eat humble pie (even if quietly in their homes) when the dust eventually settled.
While Musa Dankwa boldly predicted a ‘one touch’ win for Dr Bawumia at 57 per cent and with 14 regions in the bag, armed with data, on the other hand, Prophet Bernard Elbernard Nelson-Eshun of Spiritlife Revival Ministries also proclaimed loudly, simply and emphatically that Hon. Kennedy Agyapong would win decisively.
Perhaps what brought him unto the blazing headlines was the fact that he not only prophesied from the pulpit but also turned up at radio stations to amplify his prophecy and defend it, thereby assuming, almost literally, the cloak of a campaigner.
He also launched a book on the matter, titled “Prophetic Conversations About the New Patriotic Party Flagbearership”.
The prophet had boldly staked his reputation and credibility on the outcome of the NPP’s presidential primaries, and in the process, he gave a huge boost to the confidence of many in the Ken Agyapong camp. I would not be surprised if some Bawumia supporters felt a bit nervous about this bold spiritual claim. The battle was on.
Prediction
When the smoke cleared, the polls decisively won over the claim of divinity. Musa Dankwa’s 57 per cent prediction for Dr Bawumia morphed into 56.48 per cent for him, and indeed he won 14 regions. And the prophet? He issued a long-winded statement and effectively went into hibernation mode.
In all of this, one cannot help but wonder why God would choose to prophesy about our elections in particular, both internal primaries and general elections.
Is he not also God in Europe, America and elsewhere? Why only Africa, and even then, with contradictory prophecies?
I think the answer is not too far away. In a continent where spirituality and religiousity run deep – whether in Christianity, Islam or traditional worship, where every misfortune and good fortune is largely attributed to spiritual forces, it is only a matter of course that people will rise to fit into that reality and feed into it.
It manifests itself not only in election prophecies but also in other prophecies relating to the death of public figures, business, childbirth, illness and a host of others, and our television and radio stations are awash with them.
On the other hand, for instance, a prophet who turned up on mainstream American media platforms to prophesy about the US mid-term elections later this year would be laughed off the screens – if he ever makes it there in the first place.
For as long as irrational spirituality persists, an assortment of religious figures will continue to emerge to feed on it, while data takes a back seat in the clamour ahead of our elections. Predictably, the prophets will resurface when the NDC begins its presidential primary, and again in the lead-up to the 2028 elections. Musa Dankwa, too, will release his data.
Battle ahead
It has been a fierce, brutal and, at times, acrimonious campaign, leaving many egos battered, bruised and fragile.
Yet this is precisely the moment when the NPP must close ranks and pursue genuine reconciliation ahead of the 2028 elections, to mobilise support both within and beyond the party.
Perhaps, after all, holding the presidential election this early was a wise decision, as it provides ample time to rebuild bridges and heal divisions.
On that March night at the Polo Grounds in Accra, Dr Nkrumah did not stop at Ghana being free forever following the long battle.
To that extent, again to take liberties with his speech, Dr Bawumia’s supporters in particular must remember that ‘the victory of Dr Bawumia is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total unity of the NPP!’
After a storm, there must come a calm. Let cool heads prevail.
Source:
www.graphic.com.gh
