Have We Forgotten So Soon, Oh Ghanaians?

“A people that forgets its yesterday will sell its tomorrow for crumbs.”

From the corridors of Aborlove Nolopi Electoral Area, Here comes a poem to ponder over ;
A humble reminder to all sons and daughters of Ghana,
Of how soon we have forgotten!
And even if we have,
I am here to humbly remind us ,
Where we have come from,
And where we are going,
So that no one may again throw dust in our eyes with fine-sounding economic jargons and sweet deceitful speeches.

Oh Ghanaians,
Have we forgotten so soon the roads we have walked?
The cries of mothers in the markets, the silence of fathers in despair,
The songs we sang in hope — “the Messiah has come!”
The chants of 2017 when a new dawn was declared,
And we bowed to the altar of economic salvation,
Believing in the gospel according to Bawumia,
The man who worked at the Bank of Ghana,
Who said he knew the secrets of our vaults,
And swore that everything would be alright.

Yes, during the days of John Dramani Mahama (2012–2016),
Amidst the fabrications, propaganda, and twisted tales,
The man was mocked, called incompetent —
Yet by the close of his term, Ghana’s total debt stood at ₵122 billion.
That was the debt from Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s era (1957)
All the way to Mahama’s administration —
Fifty-nine long years of nationhood and steady building.

Then came January 7th, 2017,
When the so-called saviours of our economy —
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia,
Took the oath,
As prophets and preachers lifted holy hands,
Declaring, “Ghana shall rise again!”

But what did we see?
Within that same year, civil servants perceived to be NDC were sacked like animals,
Contracts were abrogated in vengeance,
And men and women who had served their nation faithfully
Were left to die in silence, unpaid and forgotten.
The family-and-friends government took over,
With chiefs occupying high-paying jobs,
And sycophants replacing the competent.

Let’s talk numbers, oh Ghanaians!

From ₵122 billion in 2016,
Our total public debt ballooned to ₵761.1 billion by August 2024 —
A 521% increase in just eight years!

Compare that to the ₵9.8 billion debt in 2009,
Which rose to ₵122.6 billion in 2016 —
A 1,142% increase, yes, but across visible infrastructure:
Airports, hospitals, interchanges, community day schools, energy projects,
And social investments you could touch and see.

But under Nana Addo and Bawumia’s watch —
Over ₵640 billion added to our national burden,
Yet where are the results?
Where are the mega factories?
Where are the affordable houses?
Where are the major national projects to justify such historic borrowing?
Where are the over ₵600 billion cedis added to our debt — without anything to point to?

Our debt-to-GDP ratio now dances around 85%,
Our cedi — once steady — now gasps for air,
And inflation eats through salaries like fire through dry grass.

Oh Ghana, do we not see?
From Nkrumah to Mahama, we built hope — brick by brick,
But from Akufo-Addo to Bawumia,
We have built excuses — lie upon lie.

They blamed the global economy,
They blamed COVID,
They blamed Russia and Ukraine,
They even blamed the weather!
But never themselves.

Now the very men who ran the ship aground
Still stand on the deck shouting, “We can fix it again!”
And some clap for them,
As if our national memory has been washed clean by hunger.

And today, the same acclaimed economic messiah, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia,
Who supervised this avalanche of debt and the collapse of confidence,
Is being prepared once again to be elected as flagbearer —
To lead the same people he economically wounded!

Where is Ken Ofori-Atta,
The finance minister who mortgaged our future with reckless bonds and DDEP?
Where is Dr. Yaw Osafo Marfo,
The so-called senior presidential advisor,
To partner Bawumia and account to us —
Where did the over ₵600 billion of borrowed money go?

Oh Ghana, how long shall we forget?
Have we forgotten so soon the days of DDEP,
When pensioners picketed in tears,
And the elderly slept at the Ministry of Finance, begging for their own savings?
Have we forgotten the scandals —
PDS, Agyapa, the National Cathedral, and the gold-for-oil mystery?
Have we forgotten the failed promises of “1D1F”,
Of “Free SHS without chaos”,
Of “digital Ghana” still buffering in confusion?

We must rise, not in anger, but in remembrance.
For a nation that forgets its wounds
Will never heal from its scars.

So I ask again:
Have we forgotten so soon, oh Ghanaians?
The same hands that broke the calabash
Now offer us water in the shards.
Shall we drink again?

Forgetting is betrayal. Remembering is resistance.
And as the drums of election beat once more,
Let every Ghanaian hold this truth:
We owe our children the honesty of memory —
And the courage to say never again!

Author: Hon. Amega Simon Awadzi

---

---