The New Patriotic Party’s ongoing nationwide post-election Thank You Tour, though well intentioned, has unfortunately sparked heated controversy and confrontations within the Elephant family.
This has provoked party stalwarts and prominent sympathizers to raise serious concerns. The use of spiteful language and violent clashes between supporters of perceived factions have been roundly condemned, leading to increasing calls for a suspension of the exercise to ease tensions, restore calm, and safeguard party unity.
Some have even questioned the relevance of a Thank You Tour, given the disastrous defeat the party suffered in the recent elections.
While these opinions merit some justification, it is my humble and sincere conviction that the Thank You Tour remains a very positive, valuable, and necessary initiative that must be sustained.
The Bible instructs us that in all things, we should give thanks to God. Therefore, losing an election cannot be a reason to renege on our duty to render gratitude to God—especially for a political party that once had, and still holds onto, the mantra, “The battle is the Lord’s.”
Additionally, our electoral defeat does not erase the hard work and sacrifice of our numerous party faithful and supporters who poured their sweat, tears, and blood into a difficult campaign. Many chiefs and opinion leaders across the breadth and length of this country also stood firmly with us, risking much. The Thank You Tour is the appropriate vehicle to convey our earnest appreciation for their support and continued loyalty, as well as to apologize honestly for any disappointments.
No political party worth its salt retreats into slumber forever just because it has lost an election. While a cooling-off period is necessary to come to terms with the painful setback, our destiny as a political party in Ghana’s competitive multi-party democracy hinges on how fast we uplift ourselves, bounce back stronger and more resilient, and revamp the party to engage meaningfully in national discourse. The Thank You Tour, which mobilizes and interacts with the party base, offers a credible and convenient opportunity to begin this crucial process of boosting grassroots morale and initiating the political renewal necessary for restoring public trust and confidence in the New Patriotic Party.
Yet, the Thank You Tour can also quickly become a double-edged sword, as recent unpleasant events within the party have shown.
From the onset, in a commendable attempt to project internal unity and oneness of purpose, the 2024 flagbearer, Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia, graciously invited his previous co-contenders for the party’s presidential candidacy to accompany him on the exercise. Regrettably, unguarded remarks from some speakers on the trail undermined this noble objective and rather flared up latent internal conflicts and grievances. In the resulting confusion and scandalous trading of insults on social media, some candidates have pulled out of the tour. Admittedly, this development has marred the event terribly, but it has not so conclusively damaged it that we should throw out the baby with the bathwater. By all means, the Thank You Tour deserves continuation—and continue it must.
However, serious lessons must be learned, and the purpose and scope of the exercise must be strictly established. Without a clear and unambiguous definition of objectives, there is a temptation to go overboard and engage in all sorts of extraneous activities and conduct which are not only counterproductive but can dangerously sway us into aimless distraction. This can only serve to fuel confusion and will obviously come back to haunt us.
Some pundits have hastily dismissed the current turmoil raging within the party as nothing more than normal venting of anger and suppressed frustration that typically characterize every occasion of a heavy electoral defeat. The claim is that, in good time, the pain will subside, and things will normalize. I respectfully disagree. As a political party, we cannot afford to just sit down, hoping against hope for this happy outcome. Usually, in matters of bitter disagreements where relationships are severely strained, delay or procrastination in setting up a constructive reconciliation mechanism only serves to deepen resentment and escalate the rifts.
In conflict, time alone heals nothing; it only causes neglected grievances to fester. We must rise with all urgency to subdue the bitter bickering and rancor choking our party and refocus our energies on the greater mission of rebuilding a stronger, more resilient, and vibrant NPP positioned to play its crucial role in Ghana’s quest for prosperity and development.
As part of this rebuilding effort—of which the Thank You Tour is a first step—more voices within the party are calling for the release of at least the recommendations from Professor Aaron Michael Oquaye’s report, which the party commissioned to investigate and assess the factors contributing to our poor performance in the 2024 general elections. While I appreciate and identify with party leadership’s position on confidentiality—recognizing that a wholesale release of the full document into the public domain could cause more harm than good—I strongly believe that sharing at least a summary of the recommendations with a wider community of party stakeholders will serve a useful purpose, rather than restricting the report to just a few individuals in the hierarchy.
Besides enhancing transparency and accountability, this will deepen engagement and ownership of the broad issues raised in the report and form a concrete basis for any constitutional amendments.
At the end of the day, whichever route we decide to take as a party, our avowed aim should be to close ranks and come together despite our differences, in a spirit of cooperation and reconciliation. We must begin the honest conversations necessary for forgiveness and healing—without which any efforts at rebuilding the party will be futile. This must also be one of the definite tasks the Thank You Tour should vigorously pursue.
With all the initial fallouts and bad publicity, the Thank You Tour may have begun on a discordant note; however, this does not mean it cannot conclude positively on a harmonious tone, where members of all perceived factions and persuasions within the party align together in unity, to speak with one loud voice.
As hostile and aggressive as the current atmosphere within the party may seem, there also exists a healthy force of empathy, loyalty, and solidarity, which is not as frequently trumpeted as it should be—but without which the New Patriotic Party would never have survived all the great perils that have threatened its very existence throughout our remarkable history.
These are the powerful values that must once again pull us together with a common purpose and determination to rise to the challenge of fostering party unity. Our great party, the NPP, deserves and demands this of us as leaders and members. So does our beloved country, Ghana.
Long live the New Patriotic Party. Long live Ghana.
— Kwabena Abankwah-Yeboah
Immediate Past National Treasurer, NPP
By the Grace of God