Mr. President,
As you prepare to leave office, it’s only fitting to celebrate your remarkable contributions to Ghana’s history. After all, not every leader manages to promise hope, deliver despair, and drive both a country and their political party into unprecedented decline.
Bravo, Mr. President! Your tenure will surely go down as a masterclass in how to alienate an entire nation.
Let’s begin by acknowledging your high points—because there were a few. During the COVID-19 pandemic, you earned deserved praise for your decisive leadership. Your regular addresses to the nation provided reassurance, and for a brief moment, you united Ghanaians across political divides. Your administration’s swift measures—lockdowns, testing facilities, and the “COVID-19 Alleviation Program”—were rightly lauded. You gave us that memorable line: “We know how to bring the economy back to life. What we do not know is how to bring people back to life.” It felt like we had a leader who truly cared.
But oh, how fleeting that moment was. Soon enough, your administration reverted to form, with corruption scandals even tainting the pandemic response. Reports of inflated contracts and misappropriation of COVID-19 funds exposed a government that couldn’t resist turning a crisis into an opportunity for profiteering. The goodwill you earned during the pandemic dissipated as quickly as the public’s faith in your leadership.
To be fair, external factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war dealt severe blows to Ghana’s economy. These crises disrupted supply chains, inflated global prices, and drained government resources. But let’s be honest: Ghana’s economic woes began long before these global events. The seeds of disaster were sown by your administration’s reckless borrowing, unrestrained spending, and failure to invest in sustainable growth. By the time these crises hit, Ghana was already teetering on the brink.
Under your watch, the once-mighty cedi collapsed into a free fall, inflation soared to record levels, and public debt ballooned to over 100% of GDP. The government’s eventual return to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was an admission of failure—a bitter irony for someone who had once condemned such moves as evidence of poor leadership. You promised a Ghana beyond aid but delivered a Ghana deeper in debt and utterly dependent on external assistance.
And then there’s your political legacy. The New Patriotic Party (NPP), once seen as a party of vision and competence, has been left in shambles. Your administration’s numerous corruption scandals, broken promises, and arrogant leadership alienated even your staunchest supporters. The 2024 elections delivered the most catastrophic defeat in the party’s history. You didn’t just lose the presidency; you managed to drag the entire NPP down with you. It takes a special kind of leadership to dismantle your own political legacy so thoroughly.
Many Ghanaians point to your arrogance and tone-deafness as key factors in this collapse. Time and again, your words and actions suggested a leader out of touch with the struggles of ordinary citizens. From dismissive responses to criticism to your failure to address corruption meaningfully, you projected an air of indifference that bred resentment. When Ghanaians called for accountability, you offered excuses. When they demanded change, you dug in your heels. It’s little wonder that voters turned away in droves, rejecting not just you but the entire political establishment you represented.
Even your most celebrated initiatives, such as Free Senior High School (SHS), have been overshadowed by the glaring flaws in your governance. While the policy undoubtedly benefited many, its implementation was marred by funding gaps and infrastructural challenges. Like much of your presidency, it was a grand idea executed poorly.
Mr. President, you leave behind a nation battered and bruised, with an economy in tatters and a populace deeply disillusioned. You took the hopes of millions and turned them into frustration and despair. You didn’t just fail to meet expectations—you obliterated them.
As you exit Jubilee House, take solace in the fact that your name will not be forgotten. Future generations will study your tenure, not as an example of visionary leadership, but as a cautionary tale of how arrogance, mismanagement, and tone-deafness can bring even the most promising leader to ruin. Farewell, Nana Akufo-Addo. Bravo on a legacy unlike any other.
Bye-bye. We won’t miss you much.
Yours faithfully,
Kofi Nobody
