A Presidency We Still Remember

about 9 hours ago

I grew up learning about my country, the concept of democracy and everything in between in basic school and high school. It was fun to learn about when Ghana gained independence, how our national anthem and flag came about and a whole lot. Those days, I always looked forward to when we would have a social studies lesson because my teacher was the absolute best and he taught us very well. Among the lot of things I looked forward to, one of them was when I would get to start voting.

In Ghana, the legal age to vote is 18 years and at 15, I already had my Ghana card and voters card ready. I wasn’t here to joke at all. 18 came and I couldn’t vote but 19, I did vote! In the history of Ghana, we have had both good and bad presidents. For most of them, we only lived to hear stories because they all happened before I was born. One of the best presidents Ghana has ever had was President Evans Atta Mills. He was in power for a very short time before his untimely death but the impact he left on the country was massive. He made sure Ghana was at its best within his few months in office and in Ghanas history he will always be remembered for his good works.

Away from Atta Mills, allow me to talk about the worst President in Ghanas history since I started voting. This president would always be remembered by the Ghanaian youth of today because he actually did leave a lot for us to talk about and his name is President Nana Akuffo Addo. His vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia also deserves a honorable mention because they managed to leave Ghana in the worst mess it has ever been it.

For most African countries, it’s normal for us to talk about corruption by our leaders but there’s an extent to which we will qualify corruption. Once corruption gets to some limit, it’s safe to quality it as theft because why not. Our former President Akuffo Addo ruled between the years of 2020 - 2024 if I’m right and within these years, Ghanaians went through hell. When we talk about inflation, we had it at its all time high. When we talk about hardship, no county I could beat Ghana then. The country was a living hell for the rich so you can imagine how it was for the poor.

There were no jobs for the youth. Most of us competed university and have been at home for years with nothing to do aside a few side jobs. Everything was expensive because earning a reasonable income was highly impossible in this country. To make matters worse, this government took it upon themselves to arrest citizens who came out to protest that they had had enough.

Honestly, I believe it took Ghanaians this long to actually do something we have never done before. This government made Ghanaians actually go out in their numbers to vote out this government and for the first time in the history of Ghana, I know that Ghanaians voted for the right party and not based on religious and tribal affiliations. This is something that would forever be remembered in the history of Ghana. Not the suffering, not the pain but the choice of the people at the end of the day.

all images belong to me.