It Is Time to Stop and LISTEN

As we approach January 2026 and prepare to enter the primaries, many of us are deeply troubled by the rancor that threatens to consume our party. We carry strong convictions and support for particular candidates, and that is natural. But what we must never do—if we truly hope for a healthy, winning party—is to demonize fellow members who hold different views. To treat their opinions, or even their very selves, as enemies is not only immature and anti-party, it is destructive to the unity we desperately need.
Vitriol aimed at our own members is self-defeating. Choosing a flagbearer is not a battle between good and evil. It is a process of selecting someone who can articulate, with clarity and conviction, the principled issues worth fighting for in Ghana.
Yet today, too many behave as though choosing a flagbearer is an existential threat, a last stand for personal survival. This is a dangerous illusion. In truth, it is a collective effort—an intra-party responsibility—to act on behalf of ordinary Ghanaians who expect sensible, productive leadership from the NPP.
Instead of confronting the dysfunction in our political system with the seriousness it deserves, we have carried the torch of division into our own ranks. We have created warring factions, tearing the party apart at the seams. When even a painful defeat at the polls cannot unite us, something is gravely wrong.
We must recognize our moral responsibility: to listen, to understand, and to weigh diverse voices before the January vote. What good are primaries if we refuse to pressure-test our convictions against divergent perspectives?
Too many of us retreat into echo chambers, reinforcing our own opinions and building enemies lists. This is dangerous. This is unsustainable.
So here is a humble prescription: We must listen. LISTEN.
Imagine a party conclave before the primaries—where we sit together, strip away bias and prejudice, and truly hear one another. We will still have our preferred candidates and competing views, but we will leave with respect, common ground, and a renewed appreciation for the other side.
It is easy to mount our high horses, to rant until the other side is defeated. Sometimes it even feels satisfying. But it is always destructive. One by one, we must change.
The sun has set over the old NPP. A new day must dawn.
It is time to listen.