Before I tackle the main points that prompted the writing of this piece, I will want all readers and Ghanaians in general to know that, there will not be the mention of names to buttress a point. My belief and conviction is that, we were all healthy, open-minded, sane and well poised in the pre- and during election period. This then means that we all saw and heard what went on during these periods. This short piece seeks however to expose to the general Ghanaian populace some of the indecent and undemocratic happenings; what those happenings mean and teach the younger Ghanaians; and the general implications of those happenings to the development of the one Ghana that we all have. “Politics' is made up of two words, 'poli,' which is Greek for 'many,' and 'tics,' which are blood-sucking insects.” This remark by Gore Vida depicts very much the situation in the run-up to the December 7 elections and during the election period in Ghana. Prior to December 7, calls directed at politicians and political parties involved in the election was for them to be to circumspect, truthful, factual and decorous in their choice of language as they went about their campaigns. In fact no day passed without a prominent non-political member of this country calling on contending politicians to run a clean campaign-one devoid of insults and very much “issue based”. But is this what we saw and heard of our politicians-No! The two main political parties proved to Ghanaians that it is one thing saying that they would run a clean campaign and another thing putting it into action. Just like promises in political party manifestos and development plans, they are just mere promises and policies’; acting on them is always a mirage. As far as I am concerned there was nothing like “issue based” in the campaigns that the NDC and NPP ran especially during the second round (run off). The spectacle was one of insults being smeared at each other. This was a bad example considering the fact that the youth see most of them as role models and learn from their actions. I ask thus; is this the example we want our young ones to learn from us? Adverts on the electronic media in the country branded some politicians as ‘Saints” and others “Demons.” The annoying part of all those adverts is the use of the youth; who may not have had any personal interaction with these branded politicians before; to do the insulting. What do they think they are teaching these young ones? The polarization and division of the country that we are preaching against will only stop if these kinds of behaviour are abhorred by all. Another of the negatives that was exhibited by our politicians was LIES. On an everyday basis we heard pronouncements from politicians-both on the incumbent side and the opposition side-that were untrue. This was done to paint political opponents bad in the eyes of the electorate. Aside this was the show of inconsistencies and hypocrisy in language. A politician on one platform says their opponent did nothing when in power and on another says the opponent did something but could have done better. All these were aimed at winning votes. I ask thus; Is this the trait we would want to bequeath our children - the trait of inconsistencies and hypocrisy? As far as I know no body, inconsistent in behaviour and hypocritical in character succeeds in life. He or she lives a haphazard life. I don’t think what we want is for our young ones to govern this country haphazardly when their time comes. Pronouncements that were inciting in tone were also adopted by some prominent politicians in their campaign. This sent out a message to Ghanaians that they are ready to cause violence where the election did not favour them. Others also went about giving warnings and treats to the officials of the Electoral Commission (EC)-the body conducting the election. Why these should happen, I cannot tell. But it tells us that our politicians are not in politics for that general wellbeing of the populace but themselves. They do not care whether the nation is wrecked or not, all they want is to be controlling the executive arm of government where they can enrich themselves at the expense of the general populace. The formula is ‘if I do not get it, no other person gets it and this can only be done by causing violence’. Unfortunately, the future leaders are those to be used for the violence. What this means then is that, the youth are going to apply the same nation-wrecking formula when the future provides them the chance to run for the highest office of the nation. As for what will happen to the development of the nation in a situation like that, your guess is as good as mine. Politicking on tribal lines has been with us since the inception of the fourth republic even though on a small scale. However, the 2008 election brought to the fore the extent to which tribal politics had grown in our country. Politicians in this year’s election made very much use of the ‘tribal weapon’ and most of them were successful. The problem however is that it is a bad example that can easily be picked by the youth and employed when their time comes. Civil society groups and some well meaning Ghanaians try to play down the fact that tribal politics was at its best in this years elections but some of us who are with the people and hearing them talk know what we are talking about. Tribal politics is the last thing Ghanaians need especially at this time that we are preaching unity and togetherness for the development of the country. Development will be a mirage if tribal politics is allowed to persist. One other revelation was also the fact that politicians of this country and the whole of Africa for that matter see only themselves as the wielders of knowledge. They see the electorates as less intelligent. The tactics is that tell the electorates lies today to win their votes and when you win you change your stance and the electorates will not still be able to fathom that. This attitude was clear in this year’s election and thanks to the media we saw those people-some of them in power now and others in opposition. Our religious leaders have a daunting task in their hands because this attitude is gaining weight among our political leaders. If this negative is not wiped off the lives of our leaders then the youth are sure to pick it and use when the time comes for them to govern the country. These are but few of the revelations that accompanied the December election. There may be others noticed by other people. What we need to do as electorates is to let our politicians realize that we are not as unintelligent as they view us. Anything they say during the campaign period must come to pass or else we take power from them. We should make them know that we abhor violence and anytime they try pushing us toward that end, we resist. It is about time we actualize the fact that power is in the hands of the people and not individuals. Best wishes to all Ghanaians and I join all to pray to God to give the new administration the wisdom to fulfill all their campaign promises and where they fail we that he gives us the wisdom to change them peaceful for a different administration to take over. Credit: Sagito Musah Issakah [sagitom@yahoo.com]