Something troubling is happening to Ghana’s political conversation.
Insults, personal attacks, and abusive language are increasingly replacing reasoned disagreement. Social media has amplified the problem, allowing the most offensive comments to travel across the country within minutes and, too often, rewarding those who shout the loudest or insult the most viciously.
Recent incidents involving offensive comments directed at political leaders should concern all of us, irrespective of our political affiliations.
I pray that we can bring an end to this culture.
Let me be clear: this is not a call for silence.
Democracy requires criticism. Citizens must question their leaders. Journalists must investigate them. Civil society must scrutinise them. Opposition parties must challenge governments, and governments must account for the power and resources entrusted to them.
We must speak truth to power.
But speaking truth to power does not require insulting power.
Criticism Is Not Insult
There is a fundamental difference between telling a President, Vice-President, Minister, Member of Parliament or political leader that a decision is wrong and attacking that person’s dignity with abusive language.
We should be able to say: “This policy has failed, and here is the evidence.”
We should expose incompetence, corruption and abuse of office wherever the facts support such conclusions.
That is democracy.
But attacks on people’s appearance, intelligence, ethnicity, family or other personal characteristics add nothing to our democracy.
Disagreement does not require disrespect. Criticism does not have to become an insult.
And this principle cannot depend on whose political ox is being gored.
An insult against an NPP leader cannot suddenly become unacceptable to NPP supporters when similar abuse against an NDC leader was previously celebrated and vice versa.
If it is wrong when directed at President John Dramani Mahama, it is wrong when directed at former Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia. If it is wrong when an NDC communicator does it, it is equally wrong when an NPP communicator does it.
Principles cease to be principles when they change according to who holds political power.
NDC and NPP Leadership must call their people to order
This is why I respectfully appeal directly to the leadership of Ghana’s two major political parties.
President John Dramani Mahama and the leadership of the National Democratic Congress; Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and the leadership of the New Patriotic Party: please call your people to order.
Condemn insults and personal attacks clearly, consistently and publicly — including when those attacks benefit your political side.
Political communicators take cues from leadership. Party activists take cues from leadership. Young supporters watching our politics also take cues from leadership.
When abusive communicators are rewarded with platforms, appointments, applause or proximity to power, we should not be surprised when others conclude that insults are a pathway to political recognition.
Imagine instead the message sent when a political leader tells supporters:
“Do not insult anyone in my name. Challenge our opponents on their record, policies and ideas, but respect their dignity.”
Our political leaders have enormous power to lower the temperature of our politics. They should use it.
Don’t recreate Criminal Libel through the back door
There is, however, another equally important side to this conversation.
While we must condemn insults, we should be extremely careful about using criminal prosecution as the normal response to offensive political speech.
Ghana took an important democratic step in 2001 when the criminal libel and seditious laws were repealed.
We should not recreate through other criminal provisions the culture of criminalising offensive political expression that Ghana deliberately moved away from.
An insult can be reprehensible without deserving imprisonment.
Where a person’s reputation has unlawfully been damaged, civil remedies for defamation exist. There is also the right of reply, public condemnation and other appropriate remedies.
The criminal justice system should not become a shield protecting political leaders from offensive criticism.
At the same time, we must draw an important distinction. A genuine threat of violence is not an insult. Incitement to violence is not legitimate political criticism.
Where someone credibly threatens another person’s life or incites violence, the law must take its course.
A mature democracy must distinguish between criticism, insult and criminal threat rather than treating them as though they are the same thing.
Our religious and traditional leaders must speak
Politicians cannot solve this alone.
I appeal to our religious leaders — Christian, Muslim and other faith leaders — to use their enormous moral influence to help restore civility to our national discourse.
I make the same appeal to our chiefs and queenmothers.
Our traditional institutions are custodians of a culture that teaches respect for human dignity, even in disagreement.
The National House of Chiefs, Christian Council of Ghana, Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council, Office of the National Chief Imam and other moral voices should speak loudly and consistently.
Not for the NDC.
Not for the NPP.
For Ghana.
They should remind us that before we are NDC or NPP, we are Ghanaians.
We, the Citizens, Must Also Change
Responsibility does not rest only with politicians.
Every time we forward an abusive video because it attacks someone we dislike, we amplify the problem.
Every time a radio or television station repeatedly plays an outrageous insult because it generates engagement, we reward the behaviour.
Every time we condemn abuse against “our person” while laughing when the same abuse is directed at “their person”, we contribute to the deterioration of our political culture.
We cannot outsource responsibility for our national conversation.
Let Ghana raise the standard
Our democracy has travelled too far for political discourse to become a competition over who can manufacture the most vicious insult.
Let us disagree fiercely about the economy, jobs, education, healthcare, corruption, mining, infrastructure and the future of our children.
Let us debate ideas.
Let us demand evidence.
Let us question our leaders.
Let us expose wrongdoing.
Let us hold power accountable.
But let us remember that accountability does not require indignity, and courage does not require abuse.
We can oppose a President without insulting him. We can disagree with a former Vice-President without demeaning him. We can reject the policies of the NDC without abusing its supporters, and we can reject the policies of the NPP without attacking the dignity of its members.
So my appeal is simple:
Criticise where we must. Challenge where we should. Question our leaders. Demand accountability. Speak truth to power. But let us not insult.
And to our political, religious and traditional leaders: please help us reset the tone of our national conversation.
Ghana needs vigorous democracy. Ghana needs fearless citizens. Ghana needs accountable leaders.
But Ghana also needs civility.
We can disagree without being disagreeable.
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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
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