Why am I tempted to believe that among the people surprised by Samia Nkrumah’s decisive leadership of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) are those who only saw in her the beautiful daughter of a visionary past president with a free pass to political leadership in Ghana? Wholly attributing her relative success on the Ghanaian political landscape to her rich and privileged political roots rather than acknowledge her own distinct leadership mettle, integrity and charisma, they appear to have been completely taken unawares by the decisiveness which has seen her prioritizing grass roots mobilization to media grandstanding. The aftermath has been high on drama; resignation of the 2008 presidential candidate followed by many defections to his Progressive People’s Party (PPP) amid accusations that the Samia-led executive was proving tardy in organizing presidential primaries to elect the party’s 2012 candidate. For me, Nduom’s actions in the main only confirm concerns raised by some of his opponents in the CPP as far back as the 2008 elections, namely that in prosecuting the 2008 presidential campaign without necessarily reinforcing official party structures, he appeared to have an agenda of an unknown nature at the time. I also distinctly recall many concerned CPP members who made the point that the party’s apparent 2008 surge in the public sphere was superficial to the extent that it was far more attributable to astute media manipulation than to a real grassroots presence and mobilization. They talked about a presidential campaign team that was disconnected from the formal structures of the party. There were those that also questioned Nduom’s commitment to the Nkrumaist ideology and though I dismissed it at the time, I have subsequently been struck by the fact that throughout the formation of this new party, Nduom has been rather careful to wean the PPP of any links to Nkrumah or indeed to any particular ideology save to reach out to anyone interested in the progress of Ghana. Perhaps the greatest reflection of this disconnect was the rather abysmal performance of the party in 2008 which was a far cry from the significant media presence it appeared to enjoy and perhaps further cementing the theory that on today’s political landscape, it would take nothing short of a miracle for an independent presidential candidate to win without robust party machinery. Given the above, I had thought the decision of the Samia led executive to focus on building grassroots party structures to facilitate the 2012 agenda would be heralded and enjoy massive support. To the extent that Dr Nduom could not operate within this new paradigm and focus, his departure ought to be welcomed and the party encouraged to refocus and attract new members. What is more revealing amidst the ensuing drama is that those who thought and think that Samia and the rest of her team were going to crumble like a pack of cards completely misread the situation and perhaps underrated the leadership strength and focus. In any case, if delay in organizing the election to elect a presidential candidate was the real reason for Nduom’s resignation, I ask whether the PPP is any closer to organizing primaries than the CPP? Indeed, is it not the CPP that has opened nominations and looks set to electing their leader for the 2012 election? Was the CPP’s timeline for organizing its primaries going to be slower than the time required for the PPP to form a new party, get proper certification and organize primaries or had the agenda to form an Nduom party long been set, with Samia’s refusal to cede ground only coming in as a handy pretext? In any case, the point is moot given that the chips are down and fortunately, Samia’s mettle has been sufficiently demonstrated. Beyond this, where others have wavered in times past, Samia has vividly demonstrated enormous political appetite, fighting and staying power. By targeting a parliamentary seat in the Jomoro constituency and later contesting the party chair’s slot – plotting and executing political strategy to successfully annex both positions with the former making her the party’s only MP in parliament, Samia has stoutly positioned herself as a leader to watch; strategic, focused and charming. She is perhaps our brightest chance at a female presidency! Enter Sekou Nkrumah, another son of the same visionary past president and Samia’s brother. Where Samia is concerned however, Sekou’s most distinguished feature remains his recurrent baseless and ill-conceived attacks on the former. I would not argue that support for a successful sister should be a matter of course but I am convinced that repeated caustic statements that only seek to diminish the star of Samia, ridicule her success and undermine her leadership strengths are wholly unnecessary and ought to be ignored especially coming from someone with a far less convincing leadership track record. Where Samia has nursed and won a constituency as the only MP in parliament, Sekou has succeeded in making heavy weather of his tenure as coordinator of the National Youth Council. If Sekou is really convinced that Samia’s only claim to political leadership is her father’s legacy, he is advised to go into open electoral contest and see for himself if winning is automatic. In any case, what is wrong with leveraging an enviable family political legacy? It seems to be an observation most curious that of the two Nkrumah offspring, we have Samia who openly embraces her father’s rich legacy and is buoyed on by it to greater deeds and then we have the other, Sekou, who appears intimidated by the same legacy. Did I not hear Sekou lamenting during the course of his firing by the Board of the NYC that he had not been given enough resources to work with and that he didn’t know whether because he was Nkrumah’s son, they expected him to work magic?! I urge CPP members to stand firm and to support their leaders. This is the time for every member to commit themselves to a wo/man-hunt that will see them actively recruiting for the party and pooling resources to the cause of the party. This is also the time when so called party stalwarts should offer themselves as strong candidates for the parliamentary slots of the various constituencies in an attempt to shore up their members of Parliament and consolidate their membership. The challenge facing the CPP leadership is no fluke; growing the party’s electoral base to reflect in improved Parliamentary fortunes, creating a viable grassroots organization and perhaps above all, clinching congruence between the many who profess loyalty to Kwame Nkrumah and the significant few whose loyalty actually translates into CPP votes. Written by Sodzi Sodzi–Tettey www.sodzisodzi.com