As we begin the new year, we have fresh opportunity to pause and reflect on the state of our nation. While we often measure our progress in economic figures or infrastructure projects, there is a deeper, more systemic issue currently stagnating our development: the profound political disunity that has become the hallmark of our democracy.
My reflections on this matter were sharpened during one-on-one conversation I had on December 29, 2025, with Reverend Joyce Aryee, Executive Director of Salt and Light Ministries, a para-church organization. As a former politician and a respected elder of our state, her insights into our current polarization offered a path forward that we, as people, can no longer afford to ignore.
The Body Politic: Unity in Diversity
Reverend Aryee shared a principle that is as simple as it is profound: Unity in
Diversity. To illustrate this, she used the analogy of the human body. The body is a complex system of diverse parts – the nose, the ear, the eyes, the liver, the kidney etc. each with a unique and vital function.
For the body to be healthy, these diverse parts must work together in harmony. When even a single part fails to function in coordination with the others, the entire system enters a state of “dis-ease” – the literal origin of the word disease.
In other words, you are not at ease when a part of your body is not working as it is supposed to. True strength does not come from everyone being the same; it comes from the cohesive function of our diverse components.
The Nefarious Style of Polarized Politics
When we apply this principle to Ghana, the symptoms of “dis-ease” are impossible to miss. Our political landscape is dangerously polarized. For decades, our development has been fronted by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
While it is natural and even beneficial for these parties to have differing ideologies and policies, we have allowed our relationship to devolve from a healthy contest of ideas into a relationship of enemies.
Instead of offering superior policy alternatives, we have witnessed a “nefarious style” of politics defined by retribution and power plays.
This destructive disunity is not limited to the ballot box; it exists within the parties themselves and permeates our government ministries and agencies, preventing the very cohesion required for national progress.
The Staggering Cost of Stagnation
This division is not merely a matter of heated rhetoric; it has tangible, devastating consequences for every Ghanaian. The most visible example is the systemic waste caused by the lack of continuity between administrations. We have entered a destructive cycle: one party begins a project, only for the subsequent government to abandon it out of partisan spite.
The monetary value of these abandoned projects is staggering. When we abandon a school, a hospital, or a road simply because “the other side” started it, the NPP does not lose, and the NDC does not lose – only Ghana loses. We saw a glimmer of hope recently in the beautiful and necessary meeting between H.E the President, John Dramani Mahama and former President John Agyekum Kufuor. This is the kind of unity we need – a move beyond stiff politics toward a shared national vision.
A Call for a New Mindset in 2026 and beyond
As we begin the year 2026, I am issuing a direct appeal for a fundamental shift in our mindset. We must begin a process of reorientation.
- We must learn to be more patriotic than we are partisan.
- Our concern for the progress of this country must outweigh our loyalty to a political party.
- We must stop taking positions that refuse to acknowledge any good in the opposing side.
- Our political debates ought to be progressive, focusing on innovation and ideas rather than equalization.
We are various parts of one body called Ghana. If we continue to fight ourselves, the body will remain in a state of dis-ease. In 2026, let us commit to learning and working together for the collective good of the nation. Our future depends on it.
Author:
Bismark Owoahene Acheampong
Program Analyst, Global Futures Institute.
Sasakawa Fellow.
