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| Who Lifts the NDC Flag(II): Spio Garbrah |
12/20/2006 |
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An analytical sketch of the NDC presidential candidates
Mr. Ekwow Spio Garbrah emerged as one of the new generation of politicians in the post 1992 election era. While he lays claim to Nkrumahism, the NDC presidential aspirant cut his political teeth when he was a young student at the University of Ghana . Not much was heard of this fine intellectual until the return to constitutional rule in 1993. He was one of the new faces lined-up to give the Rawlings-led government, which has transformed the basis of its power from military to constitutional, a new lease of life.
Spio Garbrah was nominated by then President Rawlings for the Information Minister portfolio. Exuding so much confidence, he went appeared before the Vetting Committee of Parliament, to do justice to the questions. He started to acute himself very well only to be dazed along the way by an innocuous question from Ewuraku Amofa of the Egle Party fame. ‘Mr. Garbrah, are you a registered voter?’, Amofa queried. ‘No, at the time of the registration I was outside the country’, Spio shot back. He had not read this vital provision in the 1992 Constitution. Amofa, became the nemesis which dealt a decisive blow to the ministerial ambitions of the young blazing intellectual.
The dejection of failing to ascend the new heights was compensated for when he was nominated and posted to the United States as Ghana ’s ambassador. He served in that capacity until 1997 when he realised his long term ambition of becoming a minister of state. Jerry Rawlings and the NDC had won a second term mandate. With a solid background in communication, public relations and marketing, the President nominated him for the Ministry of Communications, a re-designation of the information ministry.
Spio, ostensibly was sent to this ministry to repackage the government information delivery system to ensure a smooth policy implementation. He started very well, bringing his expertise to bear on the sector. Whether his corporate affairs role at the African Development Bank, and other prestigious international institutions could be replicated on the larger scale, for that matter at the political level or not, kept most communications industry watchers on the alert. Then came the infamous comment on the traditional ‘Soli’ or ‘item 13’, which sought to slight journalists for always demanding envelopes or drinks from organisers after attending programmes. For Spio, he thought he was creating a sense of humour but ended up being consumed by the anger and agitation for his replacement. He had to be shifted to the Education Ministry instead for tranquillity to prevail in the government information management front.
The NDC presidential contestant has been in the forefront of the NDC campaign strategy to hold on to power. He served in various capacities in the NDC since his emergence as a communications and marketing juggernaut. He was at a point the campaign manager of the Atta Mills’ 2000 campaign, then head of the communications committee among others. Tried as much as he did, the outcome of the 2000 elections proved beyond doubt that, a new approach is needed to confront the opponent.
Spio remained a solid part of the political process after the NDC defeat in 2000. His involvement in the so-called Obed Asamoah-led reorganisation exercise (later found to be a ruse and a calculated platform for Obed to cling to power), did little to revive the flagging fortunes of the NDC. However, what this fine brain would be remembered for is his ability to call Obed Asamoah’s bluff. He deserved commendation for exposing the deceit and fascist tendencies of the Likpe politician. In performing this noble role, Spio, shot himself in the foot when a document he authored as a riposte to the vile propaganda to the Obed’s claim to the chairmanship, using the reorganisation platform as the reflection of the wishes of the NDC supporters, in most part turned out to be a self-conceited and polemical document. About a third of the document recounted his own intellectual achievements and partly paid tribute to his father’s exploits as a leading member of Nkrumah’s CPP. This conduct raised a lot of eyebrows.
With the tribal gang firmly in control of the nation, Spio decided to eke out a living, jumping at the opportunity at the Commonwealth Telecommunication Organisation (CTO). He is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the outfit. He is firmly convinced of leading the NDC to wrest power from the thieving cabal ensconced in the old slave dungeon.
Unlike Kwesi Botchwey, who had never set foot at any NDC Congress or function since he resigned his post as Finance Minister in 1995, until he popped up his head at the 2002 Legon Congress to lead the NDC, Spio is very much at home with the internal dynamics of the party. Though much has not been seen of him since he joined the CTO, it is the belief of many that his commitment to the NDC remains stainless and pure in heart and deed.
A smart politician in the making, Spio prefaced his entry into the NDC presidential race with a tactical presence at the Koforidua Congress, where he supposedly belched contentedly after seeing the delegates slew the monstrous proportions out of Obed Asamoah. Of course, he graced the Koforidua Congress to have a first hand feel of the political temperature and weigh his own chances. Any shrewd political animal cannot fail to see Spio’s ambition as it radiates very clearly at the Congress. Therefore, the attempt to hide behind ‘Draft Spio for 2008’, his own handiwork has taken so much from an otherwise intrepid combatant.
Ekwow Spio Garbrah has a vast wealth of experience both in the corporate sector and in politics. There is no doubt that he possesses the required skills and experience to lead a resurgent NDC. However, whether his much touted international exposure is a substitute for political leadership is the million-dollar question to be answered and for which only the NDC delegates can provide a clue.
On his human relations, there are those who think he is lagging behind the others in this department. He is perceived to be arrogant and full of himself. Spio’s image comes across as someone who lays claim to absolute intellectualism. His intellectual posturing, which he flaunts at the slightest pretence does not endear him to many in our society who thinks that knowledge so possessed should not make the possessor become a hostage to self-righteousness. This is one of the major weaknesses Spio has to work on if he is to win the heart and minds of the larger population and not only the NDC support base.
This perceived arrogance is compensated for by his oratorical skills. A gifted orator, he hardly loses an argument. He shoots his mouth like lightening and articulates his points with remarkable fluency and command of the English Language.
On his chances, read the New Democrat opinion poll to be published before the Congress
Source:
GHP
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