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I do not wish to delve into the nitty-gritty of the EC’s official declaration of Ghana’s 2016 president election. I will rather do so in my next article, “The NPP Have Victoriously Voted for Change, but Their Political Messiah now Has a Herculean Task.”
This motivational article, therefore, aims at enlightening myself and my cherished readers about some priceless lessons to be learnt from Akufo-Addo and Mahama’s electoral victory and defeat respectively. You know I am actually fond of dissecting everyday issues from a motivational perspective.
But to be frank, I am really saddened by the appalling defeat of President John Mahama, the incumbent president, in our 2016 presidential election. In fact, he was my favourite presidential candidate, and I publicly predicted a 51% victory for him as his great fan. Sadly, Nana Akufo-Addo, the veteran politician I politically dislike, has now emerged as Ghana’s president-elect. His resounding success and Mahama’s shocking failure in the recently-held election have both taught me 6 lessons worth sharing.
(1) Never give up!
I always emphasise that persistence is the ultimate key to success, and the most important phrase in the pursuit of success is “never give up.” Yes, Akufo-Addo is currently the best embodiment of “never give up,” having won Ghana’s 2016 presidential election in his third successive attempt after two unsuccessful attempts. Gosh, he is now 72 years old, but he had a perfect resolve to become Ghana’s president though his detractors mocked him as an old, sickly and greedy man. Remember, he has been targeting Ghana’s highest office since 1998 when he was 54 years for 18 long years.
(2) Leaders need haters not sycophants:
Yes, you read it right! Leaders do not need sycophants but rather haters. Bad leaders have fewer haters and many sycophants; good leaders have fewer sycophants and many haters. Sycophancy is a poison that destroys leadership. A leader’s haters can be his greatest source of direction. That is why I once wrote that it is so safe to have haters and no sycophant, but it is very dangerous to have sycophants and no hater. For President Mahama’s unprecedented downfall expressed in his electoral defeat is fairly caused by the sheer sycophancy of the officials around him.
(3) Beware of propaganda against you!
Well, point 2 and point 3 seem to be at variance to some extent. It is good to have haters who chastise you and even defame you – it ironically makes you stronger. Yet you should not totally ignore all that since they wield a negatively extreme power. A minute percentage of your haters’ hatred or say opposition is inaccurate and dishonest; they mostly seek to tarnish your image or to simply demonise you. The political propaganda against President Mahama, which could not be really substantiated and handled properly by him, adversely affected his presidential reputation.
(4) Don’t take your own people for granted:
This goes out to all leaders, especially political leaders. Your followers may be strongly loyal to you their leader, but their future loyalty will depend largely on your leadership style. If you deceive, disappoint or belittle them, you will definitely suffer a huge penalty which is treachery. No wonder the Volta Region, the NDC’s “World Bank,” punished President Mahama in this year’s presidential election to register their displeasure with how bad their government has treated them over the years.
(5) Champion an all-important yet unique cause:
Ha-ha, you do not need to be an avowed activist or advocate to champion a cause. All candidates for success in life, and not necessarily candidates for an election, must champion some kind of individual causes in their respective fields. Your cause should be very important and really different in order to attract massive support from people. Akufo-Addo and the NPP trumpeted change oriented ideas which were special in nature and crucial by all standards. And they did that in an overwhelming manner, which eventually led to their historic triumph.
(6) Be extremely focused:
I emphasise “extremely,” which is an adverb of degree. We should be extremely focused if we want to succeed in life. We will certainly encounter a myriad of challenges, but we ought to persevere and press ahead with our aspirations. Never lose focus; focus entirely on your stated goals no matter what your enemies do or say. That was the spirit of Akufo-Addo during the recent electioneering. He was not distracted by the constant ridicule by NDC faithfuls in the pursuit of his presidential ambition.
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