{"id":277932,"date":"2016-12-19T11:53:41","date_gmt":"2016-12-19T11:53:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=277932"},"modified":"2016-12-19T11:53:41","modified_gmt":"2016-12-19T11:53:41","slug":"letter-to-nana-addo-article","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2016\/12\/letter-to-nana-addo-article\/","title":{"rendered":"Letter to Nana Addo [Article]"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mr President-Elect,<\/p>\n

Last week Friday was one of the most exciting days of my life, not because you won (no offense, that is also exciting) but because of something else.<\/p>\n

For the first time in a very long time, I saw Ghanaians unite in the most extraordinary way to celebrate your victory.<\/p>\n

From Tamale to Techiman, through Kumasi to Sakumono, people took to the streets. Daddy Lumba\u2019s Nana y\u025b winner <\/i>and Dee Aja\u2019s Onaaapo <\/i>were on full blast for the entire universe to hear. And just in case you could not hear the music, the people were chanting the refrain to both songs in unison. Men were embracing other men they had never seen before and the women had enough white handkerchiefs to make it look like a Key Soap advert. NPP enthusiasts were covered in talcum powder. There were tears on the Adinkra pie seller\u2019s face. The \u2018Fridays Sakumono\u2019 taxi driver had his hand on his horn, perpetually honking, as though he was stuck in thick traffic and the woman in his car was about to deliver a baby on his second-hand leather seats.<\/p>\n

The \u2018Nana oo Nana\u2019 shouts were deafening. One would think there was a rally happening right there, in the middle of the street. The women in Accra Central were cashing in on the moment- everything, from NPP branded boxer shorts and handkerchiefs to flags and vuvuzela-like whistles, was selling at twice the price they had been sold for the day before. The fireworks shot the colours blue, red and white colours into the otherwise clear dark sky. The joy was infectious. Social media was on fire. The trolls were working over time, unleashing the memes they had kept in their drafts for God knows how long. Young men were dancing in the middle of the road to \u2018John 3:16\u2019 and causing traffic jams. On any other day, drivers would be honking impatiently and yelling for them to get off the road. But not on Friday.<\/p>\n

Friday was special.<\/p>\n

It was as though we were throwing a worldwide party. There was no venue- There wasn\u2019t a place big enough to contain all that excitement. All you needed was Ghanaian blood flowing through your veins. There was even room for \u2018Ghanaians by association\u2019- people who had eaten enough waakye and fufu to claim to understand the Ghanaian story. There wasn\u2019t an official time- it started as soon as President Mahama called to concede. People came out of their hiding places and poured out on to the streets, jubilation mode fully activated. Even the \u2018neutrals\u2019 were quietly jubilating in their hearts. I won\u2019t even start with the victory church services.<\/p>\n

I had never seen so many Ghanaians this happy in one place \u2013 not since we fell out of love with the Black Stars, or according to those who are old enough to testify, since Osagyefo declared \u2018his beloved country Ghana free forever\u2019. You see, Mr President-Elect, for a long time now, we seem to have lost all sense of national pride. Many people have lost faith in this country and its systems. That is why I believe you have a unique opportunity to rekindle our love for Ghana, given the wave of \u00a0euphoria that swept over the country this weekend. I teared up many times during your acceptance speech, not only because it was well-written but also because it stirred up hope in me.<\/p>\n

Mr President-Elect, I know you already have a game plan for how things should be done, but I would like to point out a few things that stand out for me:<\/p>\n