Professor Ransford Gyampo, a senior political science lecturer at the University of Ghana, has accused Ghanaian politicians of deliberately perpetuating citizen ignorance to maintain their grip on power.
Speaking on Metro TV’s “The Warm Up 2024 Election” show on December 6, Prof. Gyampo emphasized that politicians under-resource institutions like the National Commission of Civic Education (NCCE) to keep citizens in the dark.
“The politicians in our part of the world thrive on the ignorance of the citizenry… Once [citizens] address ignorance, they begin to take [politicians] on, and they become uncomfortable,” Prof. Gyampo stated.
He cited the scrapped parliamentary chamber project as an example of citizens forcing change when united.
“Were we not here when they said they were going to construct a chamber of Parliament, and then we all closed our ranks and said we don’t need this? Didn’t we force them to garbage it?”
Prof. Gyampo criticized politicians for polarizing citizens along partisan lines, exploiting their lack of exposure and knowledge.
“You’re fighting for the poor, you’re fighting for the ignorant, you’re fighting for people who have no future… Those you’re fighting to empower fight you. Is that not madness?”
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