Political phrases: existing work of arts

Ghana's elections have always been special. Beyond the violence, name calling, begging for votes, plantain eating by the roadside and hopping into trotro, literary works featured prominently in the elections. At least, politicians made extensive use of phrases to push their message down the throats of voters. They came in different forms and kept growing at every turn.

Both the NDC & CPP went by the same phrase; Change. The difference between the two is that the NDC's 'Yesesamu' is Asante while the CPP's 'Yeresesamu' is Fante. However, the two equalled change. Supporters of the two parties could be seen on campaign trails ringing their fingers around each other or turning the full length of their arms respectively to signify change.

The PNC also kept faith with their "Two Direct, Two Sure" phrase. But that did not make any difference in the political fortunes of the party. The party did not add anything new to its campaign slogans. For all the three times that he's attempted to be elected president, the party has kept the "Two Sure, Two Direct" campaign phrase but voters were never enthused. They wanted something different, something progressive and something sexier.

The NPP came up with several phrases but the most popular was the one credited to I.C. Quaye. His 'Agbenaa' (Ga word for finished) phrase was spot on. But that was not the official catchphrase of the party. The party's own swinging call for supporters was "We Are Moving Forward" and "Believe in Ghana." These went with the Kangaroo dance and party supporters bought into it. The smell and sign of 'moving forward' was everywhere across the country, and party wigs, ordinary Ghanaians and observers were caught in the bug. Even those with little campaign experience could be seen standing by the road side doing the 'moving forward' dance.

"Believe in Ghana" was not really popular. It remained a mere rhetoric with little attention paid to it. The only time it received publicity was during an open air concert dubbed "Believe in Ghana" by the NPP at the Independence Square. The NPP had another one called "Go High" also adopted by the NPP. It was an added on to the party's wooing words from the "Go, Go High" song by gospel songstress Philippa Barfi. The song incidentally became one of the moving tracks for the campaign. That would be another story for someday.

However, none was as sensual and seductive as "Agbenaa." It sat well with members of the NPP. They relegated the rest of their campaign themes to the background and kept I.C. Quaye's "Agbenaa." as the main dish on the political menu. He also came up with the "Naa Nana, Naa Shuor" phrase. It meant see Nana, see the elephant. It was also spot on and he became the centre of attraction at party rallies. He is a genius when it comes to political clowning. His "It is Big oooooh!" sermon some years ago when the Millennium challenge account from US was announced is still fresh in the minds of many people.

"Agbenaa." was the dish that drove the campaign and party members used that extensively to humble, politically, their opponents. They were certain victory was in sight and that, political opponents could do nothing to stop them. While both the NDC and CPP kept the 'Change' dish throughout the campaign hoping Ghanaians bought into it, the NPP chaps were overly confident of cruising to political victory.

Another one that came from the NPP camp was "ONETOUCH." It was also spot on. I remember speaking to a local fisherman at Axim in the Western Region ahead of the elections. He was confident the elephant was going to cruise to victory "ONETOUCH." Incidentally he was using the Onetouch mobile service. The NPP was well sophisticated and went all the way to ensure that every literary word available that could give power to the campaign was pushed down to the people.

Both the "Onetouch" and "Agbenaa." were dropped when the party failed to secure a first round victory. I.C . Quaye's message became completely irrelevant to the campaign message of the party. The NPP's opponents turned the heat on them and came up with the "Naa Nana, Naa Shock" phrase. That was coined by the NDC's strongman Tony Aidoo and it caught on well with party supporters after the firsts round as they remained hopeful the second round would go their way. The NDC kept to their "Yesesamu" phrase till the very end of the race.

NDC supporters and sympathizers put a twist to the <"Naa Nana, Naa Shuor" to "Naa Nana, Naa Shock." They further added "Agbenaa" as the icing on the party's victory. Need I ask who had the last laugh?

Credit: Osabutey ANNY [[email protected]]