Word of advice to Ghanaian youth in a political season

As the political campaign season begins, I thought it imperative to offer a word of advice to Ghanaian youth.

If there is a demographic that deserves better in Ghana today, it is our youth. 

We need only to look at overcrowded dormitories, halls of residence and lecture halls for those who manage to gain admission. Not to mention the unspeakably high level of unemployment among our graduates. 

To be clear, these issues did not come about in the last four or eight years. They are a result of years of bad governance.

My simple advice to the youth of Ghana is to stop complaining like victims and stop looking to others for solutions. It is high time you took your destiny into your own hands. I will suggest three ways of doing so.

Don’t Vote for a party. 
Vote for a person

First, stop voting for political parties and start voting for persons of integrity with a track record. In other words, don’t vote for a party. Vote for a person.

Vote for persons with established track record of career accomplishments prior to vying for political office. I was stunned a few years ago when one of my staff told me that even if a particular party put up a donkey for election in their constituency, her mother will vote for the donkey!

This made me wonder how many “donkeys” have served and are currently serving as MPs, some of whom end up as ministers of state, and even may be, presidents of the nation. 

This mindset of “for better for worse” with political parties is the root cause of our woes as a nation, with “donkeys” running vital state institutions. 

Parties change

Political parties change over time because people and leadership do change. The Republican Party in America, under Abraham Lincoln, abolished slavery for millions of African Americans in 1865.

In the 2022 congressional elections, only five per cent of African Americans voted Republican. The ANC fought for the end of Apartheid in South Africa under the leadership of Nelson Mandela and won about 87 per of the votes in 1994.

In the 2024 elections, the ANC got just over 40 per cent of the votes. The truth is that political parties change! The CPP today is not the CPP of Nkrumah. The NPP today is not the UP-NPP of the 1960s/70s.

The NDC of today is not the NDC of Jerry John Rawlings. Parties change and the youth must change if they are to take their destiny into their own hands.  Another truth is that it does not really matter who is at the head of the table. What matters most is who represents you at the table.

There are 275 parliamentarians, each of whom is supposed to fight and lobby for their constituents and if you vote for a “donkey” to represent you at the table, you only have yourself to blame. 

Make your own footprints

Second, stop voting by proxy for your parents. Vote for your present. Don’t vote for a political party or politician simply because your parents voted for that party in the past.

Political parties should not be viewed as an inheritance passed from parents to children or from one generation to another. Neither should political parties be viewed as religions that one must forever remain faithful to.

Your vote should be based on your present condition, not that of your parents. It should be about what a particular political party or politician is doing for your generation, rather than what they’ve done for your parents’ generation. In other words, don’t follow your parent’s or other people’s footsteps. Make your own footprints. 

Stop voting for the past. 
Start voting for your future

Third, your vote should not be based on history or the past. Vote for your future. For example, the CPP led Ghana out of the shackles of colonialism. And we are grateful for that. But we cannot continue to vote based on the past.

Don’t allow yourselves to be blackmailed with claims such as this politician or that political party did this for our people, and therefore, we owe a particular party in perpetuity.  

One way of breaking this cycle is for your vote to be about the next generation, your children and grandchildren.

To move our nation forward, our vote must be forward looking, not backwards looking. Your vote should not be about paying past bills. Remember that whichever party or politician you cast your vote for, you are mortgaging four years of your life to them. Therefore, think critically, reflect analytically and vote wisely. 

The writer is Executive Director,
The Sanneh Institute – Legon.