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Where are the men? true men Kufour assembled, who commanded respect – Fuseini Iddrisu writes

After the NPP’s obliterating and shocking defeat in the 2024 general elections, it became clear to the party’s leadership that they were living outside the realities on the ground. The historic bloodbath revealed the leadership’s disconnect from the people and the simmering anger within the party’s support base.

In a quick and desperate attempt to salvage their credibility, the leadership hurriedly put together a fact-finding committee to ascertain why they lost the elections, a loss they never foresaw. Yet, this move lacked a broader and clearer strategic plan to REORGANISE, REBRAND, REBUILD, RE-ENERGISE, and REUNITE the party for a possible comeback in the 2028 elections.

Among the flaws of their strategies is that, rather than creating space for open expression and collective healing, the leadership chose to gag members from speaking out about their frustrations. This attempt to suppress genuine grievances will only postpone the inevitable explosion of anger and agony. Nobody knows when this bottled-up resentment will burst, and it could happen at the worst possible time for the party.

When individuals are restrained from expressing their hurt today, they may express it tomorrow in far more damaging ways than if it had been allowed to come out now. This growing undercurrent of resentment is further compounded by a lack of a genuine strategic plan to systematically organise and rebuild the party. The cracks are already showing in some self-destructive comments from the former Vice President and 2024 standard bearer of the party, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, in his thank-you tour. His current strategy appears clear but problematic: sing the popular chorus of party criticisms and detach himself from the government’s many failures he once championed.

Unlike Kennedy Agyapong, who consistently maintained his independent critique even during the most challenging times, Dr. Bawumia now identifies problems he blatantly denied only a few months ago. This sudden shift seriously damages his credibility and raises the question of how he intends to defend this gaffe against the NDC in 2028.

It is evident that when party leadership fails to anchor the party’s future around its base and instead revolves it around an individual, such challenges become inevitable. I had hoped the party would have adopted a simple yet effective framework, such as the one I have outlined below, to guide its growth in phases

Phase 1: Reflections and Introspection (January to March 2025)

The first three months should have been dedicated to honest reflection. Leadership should have guaranteed immunity to anyone willing to speak out, allowing members to express their hurts, disappointments, and betrayals without fear of reprisal. Special attention should have been paid to the party’s veterans, those who contributed to President Kufuor’s success, but later became enraged due to pain and mistreatment.

Simultaneously, the Prof. Acquaye Committee could have conducted its data-gathering exercise, informed and corroborated by the sentiments aired during the speak-out period. This effort would have ensured that the committee’s findings were robust and grounded in the real experiences of the party’s grassroots and elders.

Phase 2: Strategic Communication and Forward Planning (March to June)

After the speak-out period, leadership should have advised party members to move forward and refrain from reopening old wounds, a call that would be respected because members would have felt the party had listened to them during the speak-out period.

The committee’s report should have been presented in two versions:

A detailed internal report, which is meant for a few decision-makers. A public version prepared for the party base. It did not make sense to withhold the findings from the party’s grassroots. On what basis would the base reform, realign, and re-energise if they were kept in the dark about what went wrong? Communication demands that people know what is expected of them; otherwise, calls for change or renewal become hollow. This phase was a clear missed opportunity to rally the base with knowledge and a sense of shared mission.

Failing to communicate openly, the leadership created a dangerous vacuum. Predictably, the NDC has begun serialising so-called “leaked portions” of the report that do not reflect any credible or comprehensive version of the findings. Yet, who is to blame for this confusion? It is the NPP itself.

In communication principles, if you leave a vacuum of what you like, it will be filled with what you don’t like. The party’s failure to proactively communicate its findings has handed its opponents a propaganda weapon, undermining trust and demoralising the base even further.

Meanwhile, during the phase 2 period, the party’s MPs should have been left to focus on their constitutional duty of holding the NDC government to account, while the party leadership concentrated fully on rebuilding, rebranding, re-energising, and reuniting the party.

Phase 3: A Unity Tour, Not a Thank You Tour (June to September)

Instead of embarking on a “thank you” tour (thanking whom and for what?), the party should have launched a Unity Tour.

This tour should have included all the flag-bearer candidates who contested, especially Kennedy Agyapong and Dr. Bawumia, standing together to preach unity and the party’s future. Rather than projecting individuals, the emphasis should have been on the NPP’s collective strength and future.

This initiative would have rekindled the spirit of the base, fostered reconciliation, and reignited enthusiasm for the party’s mission.

Phase 4: Rebuilding, Rebranding, Re-Energising, and Reuniting (September to December)

Finally, the focus should have been rebuilding, rebranding, re-energising, and reuniting the party, not necessarily by changing its name or logo unless necessary. However, restoring the NPP to the intellectual, disciplined movement it once was will make it attractive to its base and floating voters alike.

In the fourth phase, efforts should have been made to reconcile with and bring back former stalwarts who had been driven away. By this stage, talks initiated during Phase 1 would have matured, making it possible for many of these old warriors to return.

Furthermore, individuals whose actions consistently alienated members would have either been reformed or sidelined, positioning the party to come back stronger.

Conclusion:

Had this four-phase strategy been followed, the NPP could have entered 2026 looking prepared, united, re-energised, and determined to forge ahead toward a victorious 2028.