Gospel musician Jack Alolome has questioned the notion that gospel singers should not openly endorse political parties or figures.
“Why do people say that?” he asked during an interview with Nana Romeo on Okay FM.
He challenged the opinion that declaring support for a political party could polarise his following or lead others astray.
“If anyone misses the way to heaven because of that, they chose and decided to backslide themselves,” he said.
Alolome offered an alternative perspective on gospel acts supporting political parties.
“Perhaps, we are using our influence to help save the country when it is derailed,” he suggested.
Parting ways with the New Patriotic Party (NPP)
The singer acknowledged that he once supported the NPP, being the child of diehard NPP supporters.
“But in 2016 – Sam Pyne, Dr. Serebour, Lawyer Ohene Gyan, Kokofu, Nana B, Taabea, Kwame Adinkra – these were my friends, and the majority, or about 90%, were NPP supporters. Taabea was a staunch supporter, but he wasn’t treated fairly. We used to meet every Sunday at Yegoala [Hotel] in Kumasi,” he recalled.
He added, “If you remember, there was an NPP programme at the Kumasi Sports Stadium, for which Sam Pyne asked me to perform. I had to stop my own programme at Breman Asikuma. We came and gave a great performance, I was introduced by Lord Inusah. I even created a song on the spot for the party. But after all that, whoever I called for payment referred me to someone else. We were never paid.”
He lamented working without compensation, even though he had dropped everything to honour the invitation to perform.
He emphasised that he and his team deserve to be paid and that expecting compensation was neither greedy nor dishonourable.
Joining the National Democratic Congress (NDC)
Following his disappointment with the NPP, Jack Alolome said shared the story of how he drifted to the NDC.
“I was called by Honourable Armah Kofi Buah, you know he’s a brother; we come from the same town. He informed me he was launching his campaign – that was in 2016 – and he wanted me to support him.”
“On the day, the DJ struggled to play my song, so I had to perform a cappella. I did that for about five minutes on stage. Later, when I returned to my hotel, they came to thank me for gracing the occasion. When I checked the money they had left for me, it was GHS20,000 – back in 2016. I placed it on my bed, took a picture, and sent it to my family, telling them this party was better and that we should be with them instead.”
Alolome clarified that his support for the NDC was not about personal gain but was inspired by the party’s appreciation and respectful treatment — in contrast to how he had been treated by the NPP.
“The [NPP] party came to power and performed the worst,” he said, criticising former President Nana Akufo-Addo’s administration and defending his support for John Mahama and the NDC.
He said he appreciated the NDC’s warm reception despite his past allegiance to the NPP and described it as a privilege and “divine grace” to sing before President Mahama took the stage.
Alolome said that during Akufo-Addo’s eight-year tenure, he came to realise that the ousted Mahama was the better leader, which inspired his song Begye Yen (“Come Save Us”).
He recalled how Eric Adjei told him that he and his boss, then National NDC Communications Officer Sammy Gyamfi, had recognised “there was power in the song” when they first heard it.
“They told me they loved the song. And truly, it made an impact,” Alolome added.
