Man Up and Talk Early Next Time – Franklin Cudjoe Tells Bawumia Over NPP's Defeat "Confession"
Franklin Cudjoe, the founder president of IMANI Africa, has also acrimoniously attacked New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, following his recent statements about the underperformance of the party in the 2024 elections. For Cudjoe, Bawumia's post-election "confession" is too little and too late, and he has asked the Vice President to show more leadership by complaining earlier during times of crisis rather than after political defeats.
Dr. Bawumia, whose NPP campaign dived into the 2024 polls, recently confessed that internal disintegration, disillusionment among the people, and not being able to tackle adequately economic problems had taken a heavy toll on the party to lose the elections. His honesty, which some praised as being very frank, has nevertheless invited criticism from others that these could have been openly discussed much earlier, especially when there was still time to correct them.
Speaking on Bawumia's response, Franklin Cudjoe added, "Leadership involves confronting difficult truths at the time, not when the damage is done. Bawumia ought to have man up and speak early rather than waiting till the NPP had been humiliated at the polls."
Cudjoe added that had Bawumia condemned the party's missteps beforehand—particularly on governance missteps and the flagging economy—the NPP would have stood a better chance of re-establishing people's trust. For him, the failure to speak freely on concerns and initiate changes represented a leadership void that discouraged a good majority of Ghanaians.
"For years, ordinary citizens, civil society organizations, and even party stalwarts were complaining of corruption, unemployment, and inefficiency. But the rulers, including Bawumia, were either deafeningly quiet or making excuses for the indefensible," Cudjoe wrote. "Waiting until you lose an election to admit mistakes isn't leadership—it's cowardice."
Franklin Cudjoe also noted that Bawumia's personal brand, which at some point was seen to be the promise of economic sagacity and competence in the NPP, had been significantly eroded by his association with policies that have entrenched Ghana's economic crisis. From debt accumulation to inflation and currency devaluation, some of the economic indicators Bawumia previously vowed to fix had worsened while he served as head of the Economic Management Team.
"Your silence under duress placed you among the very failures that you were to forestall," Cudjoe bluntly asserted. "Now, no degree of hindsight confession can negate the disappointment that people feel."
He went on to instruct that if Dr. Bawumia has future political ambitions, he will have to learn to deal with problems as and when they happen, and not wait until after they've bred into election defeats. He went on to assert that political leadership requires not only courage in the campaign years but throughout public service.
In the future, Franklin Cudjoe implored the NPP to perform sincere soul-searching and not sequester Bawumia's admission. He laid emphasis on bringing far-reaching changes in the party, like training leaders who are capable of critiquing their own governments positively and not disavowal of errors.
"The NPP must rebuild itself on truth-telling and accountability, not sycophancy and self-preservation," he warned. "Otherwise, no rebranding or re-strategizing will put them back in power."
Responses to Bawumia's confession and Franklin Cudjoe's rebuke have been mixed. While some praise Bawumia for his honesty, others, echoing Cudjoe's reasoning, aver that true leadership would have entailed confronting these realities much earlier.
With the political landscape in Ghana changing after 2024, the call for integrity in leadership, timely action, and accountability to the people will remain high on the agenda. Franklin Cudjoe's appeal rings therefore beyond NPP internal politics; it rings loud with a broader national aspiration for leaders who will not only dare to lead verbally, but by way of timely action as well.
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