Politics, the activities associated with the governance of a country or area, especially the debate between parties having power. In the case of Nandom, it was more of an intra-party activity than inter-party. Up until the 2000 general elections, politics in the then Lawra-Nandom constituency and in particular the Nandom Zone, was one of a domineering National Democratic Congress ( NDC) with little or no activities of the People’s National Convention (PNC).
One was not recognized until one was a member of the NDC family. It was even extremely difficult to profess the ideology of any political party rather than the NDC. This monopoly of one party dominance was broken fast forward to 2002.
The night of political silence was over powered by the new dawn, that wave of change that came with the 2000 elections, like hurricanes, and made fortunes for the NPP.
The people of NANDOM resonated with that wind of change and shook off the shackles of silence to embrace a multiplicity of partisan politics and free speech. Fear was then a thing of the 1980s and the 1990s. No one was to be intimidated or maligned for an opinionated view.
Rallies were held in the open for the first time in 2002 in various village settlements and for the very very first time, a big rally was organized to host all polling stations’ executives in 2004. The NPP party quickly gained influence in Nandom politics with new entrance from NDC and PNC. Nandom Zongo by this time was bustling with diverse sociopolitical activities.
As a student activist and young teacher trainee from the Tumu college of Education, my enthusiasm and ambitiousness could not have allowed me to wait any longer. I immediately engrossed myself in the organization of the youth wing of the Nandom Zone beginning with the zango. This was the year 2003.
Convicted by the epochs of the time, I was of the conviction that it was about the time we broke that political monopoly and change the narrative. A narrative that would include the New Patriotic Party. A narrative that would include youths of Nandom. A narrative that would include all and sundry. It wasn’t an easy task though.
But my colleagues and I were high spirited to execute the agenda of the New Patriotic Party. We didn’t care how nor did we bother about the consequences and risks involved. We took it upon ourselves as a revolutionary quest to bring some form of political salvation in the Nandom political dispensation. At a point, we received threats on daily bases upon our lives. But we forged on and were the most focused.
These revolutionary sentiments were reaffirmed and reinvigorated in 2001 by the emergence of Lawyer Ambrose P. Der, aka ‘The Boss’.
Your appointment as a Deputy Attorney General in 2003 was refreshing and indeed emboldened our sacrifices, even more so was when you were nominated by the party as a parliamentary candidate for the Lawra-Nandom constituency NPP.
You were to be the New Hope to the Lawra-Nandom constituency, whether for NPP or NDC. I say so because you were deemed as a new breed of the leadership that was to replicate all inclusive leadership to serving the people. Thus, your coming heightened our spirit of partisan activism.
To this end, organizing the youths in the four zones of the Nandom Traditional Area was more activated with lively activities. We had youth groups in the Ko, Puffien, Basellebe and Nandom Zones. Executives were put in place and we reciprocated this with the election of the central executive committee most of whom resided in the Nandom Zone. I was elected General Secretary of the Nandom Youth Wing (NYW) and subsequently elected as the NPP Zonal Secretary, with Stanislaus Nasaal as Chairman, Nandom April 2003.
The euphoria was in great expectation and anticipation as young entrepreneurs, commercial drivers and the like would gracefully make donations in cash and kind to our activities.
We explored every nooks and crannies in the Nandom Zone to canvass for new membership in NPP. The result of our efforts were there to show in the 2004 election. We changed the narrative. NDC by the time of the 2004 election and after was subdued to just a party with no substance. This election was campaigned on the basis of personality-worth and not the political party one belongs to. We used the name of Ambrose Dery to our advantage in the villages to galvanize support for the New Patriotic Party.
With front-runners as Alhaji Baba, Hudu, Mohammad Seidu, Alhassani, Gazor, and the like, I was a lead campaigner for the youth fronts. I was the lead spokesperson wherever we went. With a good knowledge of our settlement history, the change story was easy telling.
We made impeccable impacts. Impacts which were to reflect hugely in future elections in Nandom.
Hon Ambrose P. Dery, on the occasion of your 63rd birthday, I wish to humbly and respectfully bring to mind the above activisms and reflect with you the good old days in the beginning of the year 2000 and the associated politicking from there on.
With a sober reflection on those years gone by, you would agree with me that things aren’t fairly going on well as far as cohesion and unity of purpose in the NPP are of prime significance. You’ve been taunted to be a unifier and one who knows no colours. But the former without any shred of doubts has proven to be the opposite.
Your actions and inactions in the years gone by are a prove of disunity in the rank and file of the NPP in Nandom. Over the years, you’ve unduly subjected some sections and individuals of your following to unjustified exclusion in the party’s activities in the Nandom area. With very extreme formlessness and subtlety, you have scared away many meaningful supporters of NPP in Nandom.
You failed to manage potentials around you. It’s obvious that in the event that you are no longer in active politics, there wouldn’t be NPP in Nandom. People who associate with you today, do so because you’re AMBROSE and not because you’re a member of the New Patriotic Party. In fact, NPP is not of prime considered count. It therefore bring shivers down our spines when we think of your possible retirement in the near future.
Nandom NPP, with such a foundation laid out in the early 2000s would have been a force to reckon with. But as it stands now you have people who are loyal to you than the NPP. Isn’t it therefore right to attribute this to the fact that these loyalists of yours would scatter like the Disciples of Christ did when Jesus was captured and subsequently crucified? You can put this to the test, ‘The Boss’.
With all due respect, NPP as a party is bigger than you and all individuals, so, as a close ally of you in the years enumerated above, I bring you this narrative to alert you of the spirit in you that brought everyone together for a common purpose. I am an optimist and not pessimist. All hope, I believe is not lost. At age 63, you are more than a father. You have fathered many sons and daughters, politically in the Upper West region and beyond. We love you, but we love NPP the most. Institute and/or constitute a mechanism to bring your lost sons and daughters close by for the love of the party. In this way, you would have left behind a strong and formidable force for the party’s victory in the Nandom constituency in the years ahead. This legacy would linger on even after you’re gone.
In concluding, the discerning electorates of Nandom constituency appreciate the good works you are doing and it is my hope that they would retain you as Member of Parliament, so as to continue your assignment, as you partner with H. E. The President, Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo, to bring more development to the people of Nandom.
You’re certainly our best foot forward and in consolidating your efforts in the development of the people of Nandom, teamwork is non-negotiable. Do well to reflect upon the future of NPP in your quite moments.
Long live NPP
Long live Nandom constituency
A native of Nandom.
Wilson Dabuo
Member, National Communication team, NPP
Source: A1radioonline.com | Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen | Ghana
