NPP Flagbearer Race: How a light-hearted joke became a political ambition- the case of Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto

In October, 2021 when President Akufo-Addo told the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II that the then Agriculture Minister wanted to be president, it seemed a light-hearted joke.

However, it set the scene for the presidential ambition of the President’s childhood friend, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto. This ambition had long been rumored, and what a place to do this than the Palace of all places.

The Manhyia Palace hold tremendous significance for Dr Afriyie and his political forebears. It is within the confines of that hallowed ground that his father, the Otumfuo’s linguist, the celebrated Okyeame Baffour Osei Akoto announced the formation of the National Liberation Movement, one of the foundational parties for the current NPP.

With such ancestry, it was only a matter of course that Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto will take to politics. As a young man, he copped a doctorate degree in Agricultural Economics from renowned University of Cambridge and spent years putting his academic training to practice at the International Coffee Organisation.

When academics and practice come full circle, a foray into public life is somewhat inevitable. Hence,  in 2008, Dr Akoto Afriyie entered Parliament and represented the people of Kwadaso Constituency for two terms.

But before his career as a legislator, Dr Afriyie recounts proudly his pioneering role in the formation of the external branches of the NPP “We initiated this concept of foreign branches of the NPP from the UK at the time, the ban on politics was going to be lifted in 1992. Giant figures in our tradition like the Late Mr JH Mensah who acted as the Chairman and I as the Secretary. We inaugurated the UK and Ireland Branch which was the first and has now spread with 27 branches around the globe.”

He is promising delegates a strong party with him at the helm. A party in which activists will be duly rewarded for their sacrifices. After serving as the Minister of Food and Agriculture in Akufo-Addo’s administration and spearheading the Planting for Food and Jobs programme, he believes the time is right to climb up to the highest office of the land. But what really is his vision for his party and the country?

Under an Akoto presidency, Agriculture will be given its pride of place, “Given the importance of agriculture in terms of its potential to transform this country, we should give it special attention, making sure that we reach the AU target of allocating 10 percent of our budget to Agriculture. To do that, I will set up an Agricultural Management team just like the Economic Management team. The President will be presiding over the Agricultural Management Team to ensure that the budget required for transformation is provided,” he says.

Not everyone buys into that vision. Political Scientist, Dr Kwame Asah-Asante says leading a country like Ghana with its hydra-headed challenges goes beyond promising an agricultural revolution. His focus on agricultural revolution, that most of the things that need to be fixed in this country, Agric can fix them all, it is true but for me we need a more complex and superior argument relative to this. You cannot discount the fact that Agric is the mainstay of this economy, but there are so many sectors that ought to be looked at from their own perspectives.”

He beat 5 others in the super delegates election in August and is banking his hopes on another dose from a much-expanded electoral base to clinch the ultimate. But does the data support his hopes?

Musa Dankwa leads data and research firm, Global Info Analytics. “Just like Addai-Nimoh, he is not performing. So far, he has 0.4 percent of the numbers polled.  Consistently in the polls that we have done, the numbers are not improving. The super delegates election is very different from the election on November 4, 2023.

Will the NPP Delegates invest in the Akoto legacy project? Will the Okyeame’s son gain blessings from his father’s sweat from a party he knows all too well. The early signs and research say no. Akoto’s hopes say yes. November 4 will provide definite answers.

Source: 3news