I want to congratulate Dr. Arthur Kennedy for his seminal book on why the NPP lost the elections in 2008. ‘Chasing the Elephant into the Bush’ was launched in Accra yesterday. Of course, I don’t agree with everything he says in the book. But he deserves to be commended not just for the effort but for the courage to spill the beans.
It fascinates me that the book has drawn so much controversy –from NPP supporters and bigwigs who should know better. But it doesn’t surprise me. It’s one of the reasons why the NPP lost the elections in the first place – the elephant likes to behave like an ostrich.
In publishing the book, Arthur Kennedy has been criticized for placing his personal commercial interests above that of the party. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Arthur K’s book helps the NPP more than it hurts it. People who desire to lead this country should know this simple fact and welcome the book as a catalogue of prescriptions for the flailing party.
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Lacking an ability to visualize the future, however, it’s understandable that people like K. T. Hammond and some so-called social commentators will criticize Arthur K for betrayal of confidence, disloyalty and other silly infractions of little consequence. If washing the party’s dirty linen in public forces NPP to be honest with itself, so be it.
Those who don’t see the benefit of what Arthur Kennedy has done today are the very people who led the NPP into the jaws of defeat and didn’t even realize the harm they were causing. Those who decide to read the book and use it as a working document to make the NPP a better party will be victors again – someday. Then Arthur K will be hailed as the sensible hero he’s shaping up to be.
