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More troubles for Arthur Kennedy
By Masahudu Ankiilu Kunateh, Ghanadot
Accra, Dec 14, Ghanadot - Editor of the
Ghanaian Observer News paper. Mr
Faibille, has launched a
stinging attack on the communications
director of the Nana Akufo-Addo campaign
team and author of the yet to be launched
but controversial book “Chasing the elephant
into the bush; the politics of
complacency,”.
Describing the book as a betrayal of the NPP
and the party’s flagbearer in particular, Mr
Faibille said the author must wean himself
of the student’s politics. “This is national
politics,” he yelled.
He was contributing to a discussion on Joy
FM’s News File on the fallouts of the book
which has received grave reviews and
generated heated discussions, attacks as
well as misquotations in the media.
Mr Faibille said he was greatly inspired by
the legendary contribution of Arthur Kennedy
to campus politics in the University of
Ghana, but said the terrain of national
politics is different and Mr Kennedy must
learn to adjust.
He argued the book is enough testimony that
Arthur Kennedy is not a team player,
alleging the real motive for the book’s
publication was to get back at the party’s
campaign team for not taking his advice hook
line and sinker.
In the book, Arthur Kennedy advised Nana
Akufo-Addo to put competence ahead of
loyalty in future appointments, but Mr
Faibille said the publication of the book
shows that loyalty is more important.
“In the end, by Arthur K’s own conduct I
realized that loyalty is more important,
because Nana Addo in appointing him, thought
him competent, but in the end he has proved
very disloyal.”
Even the title of the book, and the type of
elephant used on the book’s cover is
problematic, Faibille stressed.
“Who brought about the concept of chasing
the elephant into the bush? It is an NDC
creation and you Arthur Kennedy, forget
about his even been a member of Nana Akufo
Addo campaign team, he is a member of the
NPP, and the NDC has succeeded in chasing
the so-called elephant into the bush and you
go and write a book and the first thing you
do is to take the NDC’s campaign statement
and use it. It shows his disloyalty to his
own party,” he charged.
“Now even the elephant he uses at the back
of the book is not the NPP type of
elephant,” he sniped, provoking laughter
from other panelists, Stan Dogbe, Raymond
Archer and Kweku Baako Jnr.
According to him, Arthur K had the basic
facts of his book wrong. He made reference
to a part of the book which said Nana Addo
took over Victor Owusu’s chambers, an
assertion Faibille said was untrue should
not have been lost on the communications
director.
“One of the banes of Nana Addo’s campaign
was communication and Arthur Kennedy was
head of communication. Has he walked up to
go and tell Nana Addo that I let you down,
by the way I handled communication so I’m
sorry?”
Left to him, the book is only fit for
national archives, a book he would not
recommend to any student of history.
Editor of the Daily Dispatch news paper, Ben
Ephson who called into the show however
disagreed, saying the book will serve a
useful purpose for posterity.
Mr Baako predicted a harsh rebuttal from
Arthur Kennedy in the coming days against
Faibille for daring to make such comments
about the book. He, together with Ben Ephson,
the Chronicle have received their dosage of
harsh rejoinders already from the author.
Ghanadot
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