It’s 2020, the year of our Lord, and the location is the bustling city of Elmina in the Central Region of Ghana.

The chorus chant that greeted the vice presidential candidate for the NDC as she walked through the expectant durbar of men, women and children was “Maamio denden”, to wit, welcome our mother! Prof Naana was the running mate to the former president, John Dramani Mahama, and this was her ‘first coming’ after decades of excellent and impactful leadership in corporate, academia and politico.

On the other hand, in 2019, I found in my 179-page master's dissertation titled “The Elephant Vs. The Umbrella: Accounting for the major communication frames deployed by the NPP & the NDC ahead of Elections 2016 & 2020.” That, the vice presidential candidate to the then Candidate Akufo Addo, Dr Mahamadou Bawumia was the “wonder boy” of the 2016 presidential election. He mesmerised Ghana with his signature economic lectures. He was a new entrant who had little or zero political leadership background therefore Ghanaians had nothing to measure him by. Clean slate!

But in the lead-up to the 2020 elections, the credibility of the former governor of the Bank of Ghana had been put under sharp, strict and wise scrutiny. I found on page 110 of my study that Ghanaians and independent watchers had unrivalled what perhaps made him a wonder boy - he was flagged for notoriously churning out wrong economic figures and warped analysis between the macro and micro situations in the country that he led as Veep:

“…However, in an attempt to replicate this same strategy in 2020 ( at the time this study was done), it proved very difficult because as an incumbent government, Dr.Bawumia who doubled as the vice presidential running mate to Candidate Akufo-Addo had suffered some level of counter-debates, exposès and accusations of corruption… hence there were records of falsehoods and lies he spoke…”

It is four years already. It marks the end of the second term for the NPP and Vice President Bawumia. The explosive revelations and scandals under his government have stirred up a general feeling of regret among voters who believed in the Nana Addo-Bawumia reign. Even more interesting yet serious, he has become the Flag-bearer to the NPP and he and the NPP are desperate to achieve an impossible third-termism. Many have called this an insult to the intelligence of Ghanaians since the present economic mess should deter anyone from coming back to ask for another opportunity, especially for someone who was involved in managing the economy.

A simple search on Google about who is the least credible Ghanaian politician in Ghana present would reveal several debates of allegations and counter-allegations about the Flag-bearer of the NPP, Dr Bawumia. This affirms that the so-called Wonder Boy circa 2016 had become the leading villain blamed for the ineptitude of the current government.

The new parlance in Ghanaian political discourse is that the bus conductor who did not act like a mere conductor but gave leading lectures and churned out controversial economic data, was the driver de facto, and the president, de jurie. Consequently, the successes and failures of a government they led, are inextricably tied to him (veep ). No amount of face-saving or data churning will suffice. It is instructive that many researchers including mine have confirmed that the corruption and incompetence frames on incumbent politicians who seek re-election have accounted for the leading, if not a major cause of disaffection among voters who in turn, show them the exit.

When the debate is reduced to hard economic data and macro indexes such as GDP; as well as IMF bailouts, it blurs the decisions of the ordinary voters who get dazed by the analysis. It breeds politics of equalization allowing even the most abysmal regimes to find a defence for their sheer incompetence. However, when reduced to the micro level it paints a more realistic picture of the mess created by the current government.

Ghanaians are struggling amid an increase in food prices, high cost of living, basic healthcare and continuous years of unbearable pain and hardship under Bawumia’s leadership. Thus, Ghanaians feel the need for an urgent change. The economics of our pockets and the homes of the average Ghanaian must be the true measurement of who becomes our next president and vice.

The solution to this mess is to restore hope at the basic level of society, the micro level. Widespread media reports show Ghanaians are suffering from food inflation; businesses are struggling; many remain unpaid and therefore their dependents are feeling the brunt; robberies are on the rise and many youths continue to be disgruntled. This has been one of the reality disconnects between the macro level and the micro. For instance, on page 89, paragraph 2 of my 2020 research, I demystified how dumsor became a humane issue as far back as 2016 and continues to be a basis for voting out leaders who deliberately decide to confuse people with macro indexes:

“The effect of dumsor was purely a debate of the humane effect of the power crisis on families, businesses, healthcare and education;… the majority of the electorates were not interested in the achievements of the incumbent ( NDC) albeit there were still some gaunt strides made in the area of social amenities and social interventions. Remember the economic and general frustration that prevailed at the time were enough graphic in the minds of many Ghanaians.”

Needless to say today, the same “dumsor” prevails under both president and vice presidential candidates of the NPP, Dr Bawumia and Dr Mattthew Opoku Prempeh. A hungry man is an angry voter! Matthew Opoku Prempeh was announced the running mate to Candidate Bawumia, a move many argue is just to consolidate the NPP’s gains in the Ashanti Region to increase the chances of the party. However the roles played in his capacity as Minister for Energy and Minister for Education, is one that is likened to the fate of Bawumia. He cannot be absorbed by the present shambolic performance of the NPP, and already, there are exposed (s) about major scandals he supervised, directly or indirectly. His credibility, just like Bawumia is sharply questioned.

The micro level is where Prof Naana has no competition among all the candidates. She comes in with a rich experience in micro leadership, having led a non-political circus, as compared to a vice running mate of the NPP, Mathew Opoku Prempeh notwithstanding her deep understanding of macroeconomics.

With her rich human relations experience as a Vice Chancellor and as an accomplished female scholar and former minister and former veep running mate, she is certainly miles ahead of Dr. Prempeh, former Minster responsible for Education and Energy who has got to contend with his own fails, and not-so-good recent leadership records and more critically, the shambolic performance of his new boss and current Veep. Perhaps, to feed into the recent comical propaganda, I argue that “Grandma Naana Jane” by her vast accomplishments, colossal experience and deep love for her country and children, remains unmatched in terms of her competence and qualifications.

Even on her second coming, and having served in many positions, be it corporate and governance, there is little or no record of scandals, corruption or corruption-related activities linked to her, the reason her critics resort to a natural phenomenon like age which points to nothing negative but pure wisdom.

Our culture as Ghanaians has been deeply rooted in the compassion of a mother Ghana who cares about when and where the next meal is going to come (from). A mother who does not sleep knowing that her children are hungry, children are still studying under trees in this day and age; and the young working force is unpaid among others.

A grandmother whose experience is without competition and despite all the propaganda, she is filled with love for her grandchildren and more importantly, how the next government can put food on the table of Ghanaians and more jobs for the youths. Indeed the culture of Ghanaian voters is backed with data. I found and reported on page 107 of my study:

“[ On Possible EFFECT]… the people ended up choosing food over building…”

It is also instructive to note that when Ghanaian voters are tired of your abysmal reign, they show you the exit, and no amount of influencing can change this. In the latest Global InfoAnalytic survey, over 90 % of Ghanaians said they would take any money meant to influence their votes but will still vote for change!

Change in the economic narrative continues to be the greatest comparative advantage Prof Naana Jane brings to John Dramani Mahama.

Talking about John Mahama, it has become a resonating truth to all Ghanaians that Ghana had been unfair to him and the visionary dream he had for his country, despite the few and genuine fallouts. His vast experience is unmatched as compared to a bus conductor who is now trying to get Ghanaians to give him the steer. He seems to have great financial and economic acumen coupled with an Excellency leadership record to handle macroeconomics.

Unfortunately, the former president and his technocrats are not beyond reproach and as president and public officers, they shall not be without any, thus, it is important to have a strong, disciplined mother like Prof Naana who does not really preoccupy herself with the hard data but how all these are translating into putting food on the table of Ghanaians and keeping that smile lit all year round.

In 2020, she asked an important question anytime a team member was to carry out any initiative - How does this help to put food on the table of the ordinary Ghanaian? This question became a guide for the team throughout the campaign and is now a brand.

This is the true economics!

Published Paper:

For more critical findings on communications strategies deployed ahead of the 2016 and 2020 Elections, see the 179 research paper by the author, published by the Ghana Institute of Journalism here… content (gij.edu.gh)

About Author:

Kabu Nartey has been described by one of Ghana’s media as “One of Ghana’s fast-rising young leaders” with multiple awards in leadership, communication, law and legal advocacy. He is ranked among the 50 most Influential Youths in Ghana; among the 100 Most Promising Law Students in Ghana and among the World’s Top 200 Best Oralists in legal moot advocacy.

In Leadership and Activism, Kabu Nartey has served in many positions and exhibited stellar prowess and results including the Director of the Ghana University Debate Association (GUDA) from 2016-2017; Executive Assistant at the African Centre for International Criminal Justice, ACICJ, GIMPA from 2016-2020. He is a fellow of the prestigious John Agyekum Kufuor Scholars Program under the mentorship of the former president of the Republic, His Excellency John Agyekum Kufuor.

He was the Secretary of the largest youth movement in Ghana, the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) from 2017-2018 where he authored the first-ever memoir by a NUGS General Secretary aimed at addressing the partisan challenges confronting the movement. Two years later, he received of the NUGS Presidential Honourary Award for his outstanding contribution to the welfare of Ghanaian students, at home and abroad. He was celebrated as the Best Student Activist in 2017 by the Leadership, Governance and Accountability Platform (LeGAP).

In 2022, the Law Student Union of the University of Ghana celebrated him as the Most Versatile Law Student and in 2023, Most Influential Law Student due to his service to the faculty, university community and Ghana as a whole. In 2019, the Avance Media Africa ranked him among the 50 Most Influential Youths in Ghana emerging 1st in the category of Academic and Personal Development.

Read more about the author here….https://kabunartey.vercel.app