body-container-line-1
Sat, 11 Jan 2025 Feature Article

Arrogance, Intransigence, Impunity and Opulence: Learn from the NPP’s defeat

Arrogance, Intransigence, Impunity and Opulence: Learn from the NPP’s defeat

If you learn from defeat, you haven’t really lost, the wisest always pass failure on their way to success and learning from others’ failure is another stepping stone to greatness. Undoubtedly, the past New Patriotic (NPP) government has failed in a manner that no one ever envisaged. Clearly, they dug their own grave.

It is in this regard that, the officials of this new National Democratic Congress (NDC) should use the factors that brought the NPP government to its knees as a yardstick of things not to do when given the mandate to govern.

Right from the executive to the legislature down to the party executives both at national, regional and constituency level, the entire Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government was characterised with arrogance, chicanery, intransigence and an open display of opulence. The then President Akufo-Addo who begged Ghanaians to vote for him in 2016 metamorphosed into a tyrant dictator who went about ordering chiefs to stand up on their feet before greeting him in their (the chiefs) own palaces. This is shocking and unprecedented.

The appointees of the previous government learnt from the president’s ways and were emboldened to also exhibit arrogance towards the same people who gave them power to serve them.

Dissenting voices were side-lined, men of courage were cowed into submission, the government unleashed its attack dogs on those who mustered the courage and dared to speak truth to power. Remember the plight of Sir Sam Jonah, he was vilified, eviscerated and exenterated for daring to speak up to the culture of silence under President Akufo-Addo and Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia. The president and his appointees were living beyond reproach, abusing human rights with impunity.

English historian Lord Acton said “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority, still more when you superadded the tendency or the certainty of corruption by authority”. Politicians are susceptible to act arrogantly when given power, but the wisest ones knows the consequences of arrogance, they therefore avoid it like a deadly virus, because arrogance destroys beyond repairs.

Ghanaians have reposed an unprecedented level of confidence in the NDC and president John Dramani Mahama, I believe with his experience and knowledge, the latter will not disappoint Ghanaians, and he will rise to the occasion and leave a lasting legacy. However, the appointees of this government must listen, be humble, moderate and be respectful to the citizenry in order to prolong if not perpetuate the NDC’s stay in power. There should not be room for arrogance, intolerance, chicanery and opulence. This NDC government should learn from the defaults of the recent past Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government and serve with respect and humility because it cannot afford to disappoint Ghanaians.

Razak Zampa
Razak Zampa, © 2025

This Author has 32 publications here on modernghana.comColumn: Razak Zampa

Disclaimer: "The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect ModernGhana official position. ModernGhana will not be responsible or liable for any inaccurate or incorrect statements in the contributions or columns here." Follow our WhatsApp channel for meaningful stories picked for your day.

Should the Free SHS policy be reviewed?

Started: 10-01-2025 | Ends: 31-03-2025

body-container-line