One of the campaign tropes deployed by the NPP government and its communicators against JDM is the narrative that he is a former president and does not deserve another opportunity. Hence, urging voters not to return to the past but instead move forward by supporting the current Vice President, DMB. Kofi Bentil, a prominent policy activist and media influencer who has declared his support for DMB, boldly claimed that, “In life, we move forward, don’t go back!! especially to what you tried and failed when you have a fresh choice. For me, Even if I will make a mistake I will Make it going forward not backward.”
The desperate attempt to weaponize this narrative for campaign gain stems from a widespread consensus regarding the failure of the Nana Addo-Bawumia administration. This is evident from debates and public sentiments in both traditional and social media, even if unacknowledged by the NPP, that Nana Akufo-Addo’s administration has underperformed. This abysmal failure has made it difficult for the NPP to articulate a compelling campaign argument. The initial campaign strategy adopted sought to insulate Bawumia from taking shared responsibility for the dismal performance. However, since Bawumia has been a co-architect of the promise-and-fail regime and ringleader of most of the unfulfilled promises of Nana Addo’s administration, this strategy could not fly talk of falling flat! Afterall, he was at the forefront of all the mouthwatering campaign policies that won them power.
The truth is government is an administration. When the administration fails, it is the government that fails and the whole government must exit!
Returning to the main question, so does it always make sense to keep moving forward? Drawing on the indigenous Akan philosophy of “Sankofa,” which translates to “go back and get it” or “it is not taboo to go back and fetch what is lost,” the argument that we keep moving forward is untenable! This concept underscores the importance of learning from the past to guide and shape our future vison. It emphasizes the value of retrospection and realignment with past legacies, pausing to reflect, and learning from those mistakes. While progress is often associated with forward momentum, it is not always the most effective or most guaranteed pathway to success.
Therefore, the argument that DMB deserves a chance solely because JDM has been tried in the past, is not only flawed but worrying! This is not simply a choice of “moving forward and backward never”. We have practiced enough of this approach in the last 30 years of our multiparty democracy and that has often resulted in numerous failed outcomes. We cannot continue to run this country on pilot schemes. No! This approach of experimentation has led us to the current predicament, exemplified by the Nana Addo-Bawumia failed administration. In fact, a whole campaign song chanting “we are moving forward” was composed for Nana Addo but at the end his administration failed! The country is still somersaulting! That is the danger of moving forward in an unknown checkered direction!
My point is, even if we want to go by the repeated trial logic, let’s change another approach of trial!
The candidacy of JDM presents a unique opportunity to introduce a new dynamic in our political landscape, enabling us to assess in-out-in leadership. The Sankofa principle which manifests in almost all Ghanaian cultures suggests that we learn from past failures by reflecting on where we stumbled, allowing us to correct previous mistakes and prevent future missteps. The government of JDM will offer him the chance to leverage his huge, accumulated experience to reset the country. I believe that many Ghanaians would support Nkrumah’s return if he were to contest elections today.
In summary, I believe at this crucial juncture in our country’s political trajectory, embracing Sankofa is better than blindly moving forward into an uncertain future.
By Ghadafi Saibu, PhD
Associate Researcher, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), Bonn-Germany
