Choosing either the devil or the deep blue sea

Ghanaians are set to go to the polls on December 7 to elect political leaders at the constituency and national levels. It is a decision many would not like to miss because voting is their civil right.

It is this decision-making that has brought me out of my shelves after having gone months without writing. Ghanaians have the option of choosing either the devil or the deep blue sea during this year’s elections. It is an unpleasant but unavoidable decision for voters.

As it is clear and glaring in every multi-party democracy, normally, two main political parties always show their muscles or potency of ruling or assuming power, and this is currently what the case is in Ghana.

In Ghana, there are over 10 registered political parties, but it is only the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) that have won elections on four different occasions each since Ghana’s return to multi-party democracy in 1992.

This year’s election has an interesting narrative. The incumbent government (NPP government), is presenting the vice president as their flagbearer with the aim of ‘breaking the eight’ (will be explained later) while the opposition NDC, is presenting a former president as their flagbearer.

This is interesting because both gentlemen have somehow had a taste of power or the opportunity to effect changes in the lives of the people, but was that the case? I leave you to answer that.

'Breaking the eight' has been the slogan of the NPP for some time. Since 1992, no political party in Ghana has been able to win power three consecutive times, and as such, the NPP aims to break this trend. As to whether this is possible, only Ghanaians can decide.

John Dramani Mahama, who was president of Ghana between 2013 and 2017, is staging a comeback to the presidency with his relentless effort in campaigning and making sure Ghanaians buy into his message after a failed attempt in the 2020 general elections.

As to why this gentleman wants to come back, I do not have an answer. He says he wants to ‘reset Ghana’ to where it belongs. Is it the heavenly promises the NPP made when they were in opposition completely contrasting with the hellish treatment Ghanaians are receiving now that is making John Mahama think he can reset the country?

On the other hand, Mahamudu Bawumia has been the vice president from 2017 till date and now wants an elevation to be president. He says, ‘I am only the driver’s mate’ (bus conductor), and not the driver, so Ghanaians should allow him to be the main driver.

This gentleman has had more than seven years as the second most powerful person in Ghana to make significant changes in the lives of Ghanaians, but the effect is not as substantial as they promised while in opposition.

This 'mate' has had and still got the opportunity to advise the president to drive the affairs of the state meticulously and prudently but has decided to be mute and unconcerned while campaigning to be the driver. Bawumia was the NPP's mouthpiece on the economy when they were in opposition, and ever since they came into office, he has ‘run’ to digitalisation even though we have a minister responsible for that.

On December 7, there is going to be an unpleasant choice that Ghanaians must make, and whether this decision is going to have any significant effect on the country, whoever wins the presidential election between the NDC and the NPP will not be a better choice for Ghana.

One wants to ‘upgrade’ (NPP), and the other wants to ‘reset’ (NDC) the country. Whether ‘upgrade’ or ‘reset’, the country is heading for doom. It is with either they ‘upgrade’ in terms of corruption and mismanagement or reset to new ways of stealing and loathing state properties.

On the campaign trail and in their manifestos, there have been a plethora of promises made by these people, hoping Ghanaians will buy into their messages and vote for them. Any choice or decision a voter makes will be a blurred one because such a choice will be choosing either the devil or the deep blue sea.

When voters decide to choose the devil, there will be a lot of misery and anguish for such voters, and when voters choose the deep blue sea, they would be drowned eternally for making such a terrible decision.

In the public sphere, folks have mentioned that if these two political parties had something good to offer, they would have delivered that many years ago. While I admit that governance is a process and not an event, these two parties have made it seem governance is an event whenever they are in power.

You fall for their rhetoric at your peril. If Mahama wants to reset Ghana, he should have done that when he was president. Nothing prevents Bawumia from upgrading the country now by telling the president, Nana Addo, to abolish e-levy, COVID levy and other needless expenditures in their government.

Folks, Ghana is at a crossroad and this time around, there seems to be no solution in whichever choice voters make. The NDC has nothing better to offer Ghanaians, likewise the NPP. What they intend to do is to loathe the remaining resources of the country and plunge the country into eternal woes when elected.

Choosing between NPP and NDC in this year’s election is like choosing either the devil or the deep blue sea. Either choice is a doom for Ghana.

Young Positivist and a concerned citizen of Ghana.