This building is what all the contestants in the last Ghanaian presidential elections had in their sights. You may contend that only one won in the end. I believe that despite a few bumps on the last stretch of the ride, Ghana as a whole won these 2008 elections.
Is it really important which individual will be the tenant of this brand new palace for the next four years? Not to me. Neither should it be to real patriots. What is at stake is so much more than one party checkmating the other. What is at stake is Ghana's development. Her possible leaving "least developed country" status to join the club of emerging countries, on the back of the soon-to-flow-in oil revenues. What is at stake is the improvement of whatever positive has already been started by the outgoing administration, the trimming of less inspired decisions, and groundbreaking on the many economic and social issues that remain to be tackled.
No matter which candidate we supported until yesterday. Today a whole new challenge lays before us: it is our role, as patriots, to put to rest partisan differences and do our collective civic best to cooperate and, through unswayed vigilance, make sure that our leaders won't yield to temptation and let a few sticky fingers stray in the oil kitty.
In December 2008, Ghana was saluted by the international media and observers for the outstanding example of a living democracy she gave to the continent and the world.
We can rest assured that the way Ghana handles this new oil riches from 2010 onwards will be under close scrutiny. If she proves to be as economically rigorous as she proved to be politically mature, it would be a first in African oil producing countries and a new example for all.
Ghana is a country of firsts: wasn't she also the first African country to gain independence in 1957? With the right leadership and devoted patriotism, she now can be the first to emerge from poverty. We too can say:
Yes we can!
