The Writer
“Politics is not friendship, we may belong to the same party, but that does not make us friends, in politics, interests bind people more than friendship does”— Da Rocha.
The flagbearer has been chosen, the ballots have been counted, the shouting has quieted, the chants, once fierce and competing, have now given way to a different kind of silence, a silence filled with reflection, bruised egos, relieved hearts, hopeful voices, and above all, a question that stands before us like a mirror: What kind of Party will we be, going forward?
For months, our great elephant family journeyed through fire, words were thrown carelessly, names were dragged without mercy, motives were questioned, loyalty was weaponized, and though we have emerged with a victor, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the truth is simple: we have all been wounded; each camp, each aspirant, each supporter.
The New Patriotic Party we inherited from Danquah, Busia, and Dombo was never meant to tear its own apart, it was built on ideas, not insults, on convictions, not conspiracies, yet, during this race, we sometimes behaved like adversaries trapped in a narrow corridor, fighting for oxygen instead of opening the windows of unity, but now the race is over, and that narrow corridor has expanded into a wide road, a road on which we can walk again, together.
The person elected today is not the flagbearer of one camp or another, he is the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party, and by extension, the standard-bearer of a political tradition that has shaped Ghana’s democratic destiny for more than seven decades, yet, he cannot walk alone, no matter how brilliant his mind is, how compelling his vision, or how disciplined his work ethic: he cannot win 2028 without the rest of us.
Not the “we” of friendship, but the “we” of purpose, not the “we” of emotions, but the “we” of responsibility, not the “we” that Prof. Albert Kofi Kodzo Fiadjoe (Da Rocha) warned against, but the “we” that binds together through shared interests and shared destiny.
Let us be honest with ourselves: some things were said that should never have been uttered, some lines were crossed that should never have been approached, some relationships will take time to mend or forever be broken, but the beauty of the NPP has never been its perfection; it has always been its capacity to rise, again and again, even after internal storms.
Our opponents watched us and are still watching, Ghana is watching, the international community is watching, if we remain divided, we hand victory to those who have no intention of carrying our democratic and economic tradition forward, if we unite, we remind Ghana why the NPP has always been the natural leader of national progress.
Let there be no misunderstanding, that: a divided NPP cannot win 2028, a suspicious NPP cannot win 2028, a bitter NPP cannot win 2028, only a united NPP, stitched back together with humility, forgiveness, and shared purpose, can stand before the Ghanaian people and ask for their mandate.
We must remember the wisdom of the elders: “When the elephants fight, the grass suffers,” but in our case, when the elephants stop fighting and begin marching in one direction, the entire savannah shakes.
To those who campaigned tirelessly; to those who lost sleep defending their preferred candidate; to those who felt unheard, unseen, or unappreciated, know this: your value did not end with the primaries, your importance did not expire at the polling station, your contribution did not diminish because your candidate did not win.
A political party is largest after its internal elections, not smaller, it grows when everyone chooses to remain, even when their side does not prevail, the flagbearer needs you, the Party needs you, Ghana needs you.
We must now transform our disappointment into discipline, our frustration into fuel, our pain into purpose, let’s speak to each other again, let’s visit each other again, let us forgive each other; not because we are saints, but because the destiny of a nation rests upon the unity of our tradition.
Prof. Albert Kofi Kodzo Fiadjoe, Da Rocha, warned us that politics is not friendship, but he also taught us that political maturity is the ability to collaborate with those we may not personally embrace, that is the test before us now.
If we unite behind our flagbearer, if we close the cracks and mend the fractures, if we recommit to our shared beliefs and our national calling, then 2028 is not just winnable, it is inevitable, but if we allow pride, grudges, bitterness, and suspicion to guide us, our opponents will not defeat us, we will defeat ourselves.
Let us choose unity, let us choose purpose, let us choose victory, let us choose Ghana, because when history turns the page to this moment, let it never be said that the NPP stood divided when unity was needed most.
God bless the New Patriotic Party
God bless the chosen flagbearer of our beloved party
God bless our homeland Ghana.
By Emmanuel Yaw Mensah, Deputy Secretary, NPP-USA
