Winning or Leading?

President Mills

Winning is sweet! Definitely, when you are playing a game, you want to win. Politics may be considered a game, but unfortunately, this game affects real people and sometimes politicians lose sight of that. I love my country to death, I am 100% patriotic, but I am also the biggest critic when it comes to saying it as it is in order to put things in the right perspective. So do forgive me, but I mean no harm, I only want the best for my country. Let´s have some democracy and freedom of speech here, for in debating, we improve ourselves... This is not party politics, this is a Ghana-loving individual who wants nothing but the best for her country. My message should hopefully be applied continent-wide as this phenomenon is evident throughout the continent. We need solid leaders and not just winners at the game of politics!

Case in point: The National Democratic Congress was sworn into power on January 7, 2009. Transition takes time and therefore I understand that it will take a while before we can really praise or criticize this government. However, in a four-year political term, eight months is a very, very long time, and so I dare say that I have not seen very much leading in the last eight months, just a lot of noise about winning elections.

Listening to the ministerial vetting process some months ago, I must say that I was very disappointed in the caliber of several ministerial appointees. Their lack of knowledge about their pending ministries was nothing short of appalling. That was when I asked myself: "did the NDC work hard at winning without deliberating the prospect of leading?" Even further, after ministers were sworn in, I am yet to see very impressive processes and actions that show that they were ready to lead.

Ghana has been blessed and particularly lately, is on the tip of many lips around the globe. Finding our spot back on the map is due to strides we have made as a country and we cannot afford to give up this global respect. A search for reasons why President Obama chose Ghana for his first African visit includes good democratic governance and exploring oil prospects. Whichever one of these reasons is true; the whole world is watching Ghana now.

We may have passed the first test in democratic governance, but the country´s economy remains strained, corruption is still the order of the day, the everyday Ghanaian is still suffering, and the gap between the rich and the poor still exists and is widening by the day. These reasons, among many others, give me the cause to plead for preparing for leadership as the major underlying factor for running for elections, and not simply winning the game of politics. We will continue to be praised, but the praise will run out if we do not get our acts together and maintain the clout that we have achieved. We need to get to work, put away the bickering about all the economic and social woes being the fault of former governments, and concentrate on fixing and building things and thus continue to raise high the flag of Ghana, NOW.

Six months prior to the last presidential elections, most people would have said it was impossible for NPP to lose. Yet NPP lost in the closest contested races in the land. In my opinion, this happened because Ghanaians got tired of the corruption and the complacency that came with the NPP, so votes were used to remind the NPP that no one can take power for granted. NDC, you watched NPP sorely lose the election. These same Ghanaians are watching you, Mr. President and Ministers and we need to see some leadership; the winning part only solidifies your term for 4 years and we will quickly go back to the polls and judge how you led us not how you won!

I believe leading should have been the core tactic for running for the elections in the first place. This is not a charge directed at one party, but a charge to ALL politicians. And I charge all political parties to pay heed and listen.

Leadership starts at the top and involves a lot of planning. Mr. President, Ministerial heads, we need to see some leadership and we need it right now, not in 2010 or 2011! And we hope that if you decide to take a second stab at running for office, you will devote a significant amount of time to how you will lead and not simply how you will win the elections.

Finally, CPP, NPP, NDC, DPP, PNC, independent candidates, as you prepare for elections in 2012, start thinking strategically about leading and let your leadership strategies enable you to win subsequent elections, since your winning strategies will not necessarily result in the much needed leadership. Trust that we will be watching your manifestos closely and will not be impressed by generalized forecasts, but will delve into them and question every line to identify how you will lead the nation, rather than how you will win the elections. Ghana, and Africa, has no time to wait for playing and winning the game of politics. We have real problems to fix, and to forge ahead, we need solid leadership from day one.

Credit: Christabel Ewuradjoa Dadzie