Dr Jones Opoku-Ware, a lecturer and criminologist at KNUST
Dr Jones Opoku-Ware, a lecturer and criminologist at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), has criticised the New Patriotic Party (NPP) over its management, internal dynamics, and overall political strategy.
According to Dr Opoku-Ware, a social scientist and political observer, the party is currently at a low point, particularly when compared to the National Democratic Congress (NDC), which he views as being much stronger in party organization.
Dr Opoku-Ware drew parallels to the political landscape of 2000 and 2001, when the NPP, under former President John Agyekum Kufuor, came to power.
He noted that the NDC became very weak during that period and took more than eight years to reorganize and regain power.
He cited several by-elections during which the NPP won all seats, eventually leading the NDC to boycott some.
“It is, however, not surprising. An examination of the political era in 2000 and 2001, when former President John Agyekum Kufuor won, reveals a period where the NDC became very weak. It took them more than eight years to reorganize the party and regain power. During that time, there were about seven by-elections, and the NPP won all those seats, leading the NDC to eventually boycott some of them,” he said.
Dr Opoku-Ware argued that the NPP’s last four years in government disappointed Ghanaians, eroding the trust they had built during the 2016 elections.
In contrast, he believes the NDC still enjoys public goodwill, citing a sense of calm and renewed hope in the country since they won power nine months ago.
“In its last four years in government, they disappointed Ghanaians immensely and eroded whatever trust the people had in them, especially since 2016. That sentiment is still there.
“The NDC has been in power for just nine months, and the remnants of the anger against the NPP and its defeat are still there. The reasons why the people voted against the NPP are still fresh in their minds.
“Secondly, because of the way the NDC won power, they still enjoy the goodwill of the people. Let’s be honest, for the past eight months that the NDC has been in power, when you speak to people, you’ll get the feeling that the system is calm.
“There’s a sense of renewed hope. You can like them or hate them, but for the past eight months, the system has been calm and stable. People seem to have some level of confidence and this is giving the NPP less leverage. These are the things working against the NPP,” he stated.
According to him, the NPP has failed to self-assess and understand what went wrong with their organization and engagement with Ghanaians. He also expressed confusion over why the party mistreats its own sympathizers.
“They are so good at fighting themselves rather than fighting their political opponents,” he said, pointing to the internal primaries as an example of how they use “arsenals against each other.”
Dr Opoku-Ware advised the NPP to stop mistreating its members and to learn from the NDC’s approach.
“I love the NDC for one thing. They know their people; they protect their people no matter their disagreements.
“I am sure they will protect their people even in public and reprimand them in private. That is in contrast to what the NPP does. In the open, they will come after you and make it look as if you are a nobody in the party.”
He also noted that many academics who were sympathetic to the NPP were insulted and verbally attacked by party members for comments they made during a lecturers’ strike while the NPP was in power.
He said these individuals no longer want to be associated with the party.
Dr Opoku-Ware concluded by advising the NPP to assess these issues and find a way to reconnect with its sympathizers, echoing former President Kufuor’s advice for the party to close ranks.
“I can tell you, Kwabena (host), a number of people who I knew were NPP guys do not want to hear the party’s name at all because some of them were actually insulted and taken to the cleaners by political activists of the NPP, especially when lecturers were on strike.
“As of now, the NPP have not sat down to assess all those things, and now they must find a way to bridge that gap or be reminded of former President Kufuor’s advice for them to close their ranks,” he said.
