
By Joseph Dwamena
Whew! It has been well over three years since I last wrote something like this due to pressing responsibilities and a change of environment, but my itchy fingers kept drawing me closer to my laptop. And man, it feels good to be back. Back to doing what we love most—speaking our minds.
On Tuesday, January 7, President John Dramani Mahama took the oath of office to lead the nation’s affairs for the next four years. Congratulations to His Excellency and the National Democratic Congress on their overwhelming win in the general elections held last month. Not to mention, congratulations to Efo Stan Dogbe for creating such a beautiful inaugural design.
NPP’s loss
Nobody anticipated the New Patriotic Party’s overwhelming loss in the elections; in fact, many were taken aback. But hey, it is what it is. We must all honor the voices of Ghanaians. Despite this, I believe the NPP needs to take a close look at itself, ask questions, search for answers where possible, and make good plans to ensure they don’t make the same mistakes twice.
However, as a party, we must wish the Mahama-Jane administration well and hope for their success because Ghana would greatly benefit from it. I’ve read some comments on social media, particularly Facebook, where NPP members appear to share a common sentiment, saying things like “y3 ma yenhwe,” which translates to “Let’s see if they can do it.”
Optimistic
Let’s all be optimistic, prioritize the needs of the country, and work together to build the Ghana we want. (I suppose that was the NDC’s snappy campaign slogan.) But to reiterate, the NDC appears to have pushed the self-destruct button during the campaign by disparaging some of the Akufo-Addo administration’s policies and making unfulfillable promises.
The NDC has stated that under their tenure, the price of a bag of cocoa will increase from the present GHC3,100 to GHC6,000. That’s good news. Ghanaian farmers eagerly await the fulfillment of this promise.
As previously said, a victory for President Mahama and the NDC is, in general, a victory for Ghana.
Now to my man, Addo Showboy, Addo Preman. Despite some avoidable flaws in his government, I believe former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will go down as one of this nation’s greatest Presidents. However, I respectfully disagree with the unofficial designation of him as “The Greatest Ghanaian of Our Time.”
Do you know why I don’t agree? The accolade should have been reserved for honoring those who had worked exceptionally hard. Most likely, Nana Addo would have another opportunity to receive such recognition elsewhere, as posterity will undoubtedly be kind to him.
Free SHS
If for nothing else, his bold decision to implement the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy will go down in history as one of this country’s greatest social interventions. The free SHS program does have some issues, but they will eventually be resolved. Millions of Ghanaian youngsters, who would have been denied senior high school education due to financial constraints, now have hope because of it. Mo ne adwuma, Addo D. I strongly suspect that wherever you choose to spend your retirement—most likely in Kyebi’s lush surroundings—you’ll always pat yourself on the back and mutter to yourself, “Yes, I did it.”
For the millions of NPP supporters out there: we are down, but not out. We’ll recover. This was probably the wake-up call we needed to tighten our belts and cross our t’s while dotting our i’s. Taking Ghanaian voters for granted is a thing of the past. We must restore the NPP’s strength, mend any strained ties within the party, garner the support of all key stakeholders, and trust me when I say that 2028 will be ours.
I’ll be back next week to discuss something different—most likely unrelated to politics—as we grant President Mahama the honeymoon he requested during the campaign. Enjoy your honeymoon, Mr. President, while we wait for the e-levy, betting taxes, and other levies you said were unnecessary to be eliminated.