Economist and Professor Godfred Bokpin has called on President John Dramani Mahama to seize the opportunity presented by his second term to make bold, transformative decisions that may not be popular now but will secure Ghana’s future for generations.
Speaking on Morning Starr with Naa Dedei Tettey, Prof. Bokpin emphasized that the current political climate offers Mahama a rare moment of broad-based support, which should not be wasted on short-term populism.
“So if you look at Mahama’s second term versus his first term, our president has the peace of mind now to govern. Between 2012 and 2016, or 2013 and 2016, we really never allowed the president to govern. But now there is some kind of support, broad-based support,” he noted.
He encouraged the president to prioritize medium- to long-term policies that may be difficult but ultimately beneficial for Ghana’s survival and prosperity.
“So the president should take advantage of that, not to only do populist things that will please us in the short term, but painful decisions that will yield medium to long-term survivability. Because that is how the president will be remembered.”
Drawing a comparison with Ghana’s first president, Prof. Bokpin highlighted how Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s far-sighted vision was often misunderstood by a public focused on immediate needs.
“Nkrumah, to a large extent, was a bit unpopular for some of the major things he was doing. Because people were looking for milk, chocolate, and biscuits, but Nkrumah was looking at Ghana in 100 years.”
