Like many people my age, a myriad of factors attracted us to the NPP.

For starters, I was never a fan of the PNDC because of all the blood it had on its hands. Back in the day, all it took for someone to disappear was for soldiers to show up at your house and say you had been “invited.” The National Reconciliation Commission’s videos are there for the younger ones to see. So even after the PNDC transitioned to the NDC, many people who remember some of these experiences or suffered from it still did not want to touch it with a pole.

What drew people like me to the NPP was not only that it was a strong alternative, it was the caliber of people in its team. They assembled brilliant men and women who spoke with finesse. They were worlds apart from the large number of NDC politicians who breathed brimstone and fire.

Women like Oboshie Sai- Coffie, Hawa Yakubu, Christine Churcher, Gladys Asmah, Theresa Tagoe, Elizabeth Ohene, Hajia Alima Mahama and others made young women dream.

Men like John Agyekum Kufuor (JAK), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Hackman Owusu-Agyeman, Konadu Apraku, Osafo-Marfo, Jake Obetsebi- Lamptey and the rest were quintessential gentlemen. My dad was a suit fanatic, especially Armani, and he would always admire how well these gentlemen dressed. He would always comment on JAK’s suit whenever he appeared on TV as President.

Kufuor’s calm demeanor and transformational initiatives as President only deepened my admiration for him, and for the NPP in general. It is why the NPP’s 2008 election defeat shocked me. I never saw it coming! 

Years later, as Head of Comms & PR at my bank, I joined a delegation to pay a courtesy call on JAK to invite him to an event. Shaking his hand was an honour. A great honour.

I was even more surprised when we met again at another event months later and he remembered my name.

When Nana Addo nominated Dr. Bawumia as Vice-President, many people did not know much about him, aside from the narrative that he was brilliant economist identified by JAK and brought to the Bank of Ghana to help manage the economy.

I think what made Ghanaians truly appreciate what JAK and later Nana Addo saw in Dr. Bawumia was his phenomenal performance during the election petition. He was meticulous, patient, respectful, and ice-cold under pressure. He was simply brilliant. That was when I got hooked. I remember thinking: what a man!

He immediately became the next person I admired most in the NPP. It is no surprise he has become the most impactful Vice-President in Ghana’s history.

What I love most about Dr. Bawumia is his mind - his thinking is light years ahead. The next thing is his character: calm, affable, humble.

So when I look at the people hoping to lead the NPP into the next election, I ask myself: what happened to the calibre of people who got us hooked to the party in the first place?

This new narrative that Dr. Bawumia is “new” is baffling. Where was everyone when he put his credibility on the line … live on TV … sweating blood for the party during the election petition?

Today, it seems political debates are no longer about who is more brilliant, who has better ideas, or who can transform Ghana, but who is richer, and who has been in the party longer.

Are we abandoning the “mind” conversation because we afraid we cannot win it?

The NPP must not lose its soul. It must not lose its core essence of having brilliant, intelligent minds at the forefront. Politics must never be reduced to who has more money to “buy delegates” or who has been around longer. NEVER.

After Dr. Bawumia serves his term, I expect someone with the same level of intellect to lead; someone who makes us dream and believe again.

From where I sit, Dr. Bawumia is light years ahead of his competitors, and perhaps Ghana’s last hope.

Nana Yaw Kesse

#Minister4Happiness 

#MindLover ……..

Writing from the depths of my soul!

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