By Kwesi Yankah

Butterfly is in the news again, this time ahead of 2024 elections. Suddenly then, despite the heavy rains and the charming flora brightening  the landscape, the butterfly has joined the zoology of political symbolism, making it the fly to watch. Drive it away from your garden, and a political faction may accuse you of intimidating its membership. Admire a butterfly invasion in your neighborhood today, and a NPP spy may report you, as having crossed the carpet to Alan Kyerematen.  Years ago, a cockerel in a kokurokoo wake up call, would be considered a signal for an early CPP congress (considering the CPP symbol).  Time aso. The situation got so bizarre that during the campaign of Limann’s PNP in 1979, the retinue of PFP’s Victor Owusu, would be careful about street foods they bought on their way to a rally. The unspoken directive was:  ‘Avoid Roasted Corn; or else you would be campaigning for our opponent, Limann’ (whose symbol was corn).

As for the opposition NDC’s umbrella, it may be having a field day this minor rainy season. Let NPP schedule a rally in Kumasi this month that coincides with an October drizzle; one of Ghana’s phoney pollsters, could consider all umbrella users that day as having put up a fierce fight against Breaking the 8. If these examples are only hypothetical, listen to this reality event when I visited South Africa a decade ago for a conference. We visited a game reserve in Sun City, where we had fun riding on elephants. One local game ranger told us how, a few months before, a former Ghanaian First Lady visiting the game reserve in a group, refused to join the elephant ride, for political reasons! 

As for the butterfly in the horizon, its bountiful numbers in our cities could put most voters in political trouble, but tickle Alan’s new Butterfly Movement.  The sad news being that the butterfly we know in Ghana’s political history, remained on the ground and never flew. That’s the story of Ghana’s most flamboyant politician ever: Dr Ackah Blay Miezah of the late 1970s.

I was a young man in my late 30s, wielding a restless pen under a pseudonym, to save my neck in turbulent military regimes: Pen at Risk. 

During the Kutu Acheampong regime 1972/73, a millionaire who turned up to be a swindler, emerged pleading for diplomatic cover from Ghana’s Head of State, Kutu Acheampong, to retrieve millions of dollars in Swiss banks, bequeathed by Kwame Nkrumah who whispered in his ears before Nkrumah died. If brought home the money, in gold bars, would overnight restore Ghana’s economic fortunes. Sounding too good to be true,  Acheampong sent a delegation to London to investigate and report back. The trip ended in a fiasco; and part of the delegation indeed ended up as converts, working for Blay in London.  On Kutu’s overthrow, it was the turn of General Akuffo in 1979, to manage Blay’s bizarre quest for diplomatic immunity. At the time, Ghana had also started a process of returning to civilian rule through multi-party elections. Blay Miezah then decided to blend his bizarre quest, with the quest to be president himself.

The number of political parties that rushed when the ban on parties was lifted could be described as an avalanche. Nigeria had whittled theirs to five; why wouldn’t Ghana follow suit, and reduce  the tall list? The list included John Bilson’s ‘Third Force Party,’ Imoru Ayarna’s SDP, Kwame Nyanteh’s, party that promised to restore the pound as currency;  De Graft Johnson’s Social Democratic Front, Imoru Ayarna’s People Action party, but also heavy weights like Victor Owusu’s PFP, William Ofori Attah’s UNC, and PNP led by Imoru Egala, and later by Limann. 

Several others, including Headmaster Diamond Addy’s New Nations did not fly. 

But the non-flying list also included People’s Vanguard Party, led by trickster Dr Ackah Blay Miezah. Late 1978, he had hinted that his Oman Ghana Trust Holding Company may go into politics, to restore a stable political climate which would guarantee the safety of its huge economic investment. He presented himself as  a frustrated man, being discouraged from bringing cash desperately needed by the poor man. Why should Ghana suffer an economic crisis  while he had millions of dollars, stashed in banks abroad. It was not surprising then when Blay’s People’s Vanguard Party was formed early 1979; it was said to be the only party to end poverty if voted to power.  His symbol?  The butterfly.

Unfortunately, Ackah Blay’s was not one of the 12 that survived the scrutiny of Kingsley Nyinah, the Electoral Commissioner. Miezah among others, was disqualified or rather crucified ahead of Easter 1979. The reason? He and others could not satisfy EC’s pre-requisites including offices in various districts, spread of membership, etc. Blay blatantly denied all this, saying membership of his party was countrywide, and that the real cause of his disqualification was EC’s sheer envy for his riches. The question however, arose, whether one needed political cover to bring millions to Ghana. Blay-Miezah had an answer.   He feared he would be obstructed even by envious eyes abroad.

Later the story was blown across the globe: an African trickster  who had successfully conned business moguls around the  World. At home though, Blay Miezah remained a wet butterfly.

If Alan’s new Butterfly Movement should be taken seriously, let it break from its forerunner  and fly high as a butterfly. Not a sitter-fly. 

We have a peculiar case on hand, where our friend Alan is the only one on record, to have resigned twice from the same party. Can he fly? Blay Miezah will tell.

kwyankah@yahoo.com

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