Second Chance is NOT an Automatic Right or Entitlement

“Ungrateful people normally fade away (‘die’) prematurely.” This is a profound statement from one man of God in the country, and therefore, as people, we must be careful about how we treat those who once helped us.

The Presidential seat is not for the simplest, humblest, or loudest. The seat is for the most prepared, as well as the most preferred by the majority of Ghanaians. A second, third, or fourth chance also depends on demonstrating sound leadership qualities after a first defeat.

Throughout history, successful people have once failed. However, such people recognize and acknowledge why they failed initially and work on it in silence. Getting a second and third chance is a privilege, not a right. No one deserves another chance automatically.

Reformation of character, apologies, genuine repentance, and meritocracy are some factors considered when granting second and third chances to people.

In politics, a second, third, or fourth chance is granted by party delegates, largely based on the following:

1. The degree or margin of defeat for the candidate in previous elections.
2. The improved performance of the candidate in recent elections.
3. The general acceptability of the candidate by the overwhelming majority.
4. The ability of the candidate to accept responsibility for failures and reposition themselves for a stronger comeback.
5. The character and attitude of the people surrounding the candidate, especially their inner caucus (kitchen cabinet members).

Also, most importantly, not everyone deserves a second or third or fourth chance. If that were the case, then several women and men would have still been married to their baby fathers and baby mothers, respectively.

If automatic second chance were an entrenched universal law, then:

1. Satan would have still been in heaven together with the other angels.
2. All criminals in prisons would have been on the streets.
3. All dismissed employees would have still been at the workplace.
4. All divorcees would have still been married to their partners.
5. Judas Iscariot would have been saved after betraying Jesus Christ.
6. Professor Adu Boahen would have been the Flagbearer of NPP in 1996.
7. Alan Kyerematen should have automatically succeeded Nana Akufo-Addo as the Flagbearer for the 2024 general election.
8. Mike Oquaye Junior should be automatically made the Parliamentary Candidate of NPP for the 2028 general election.
9. Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye should have been maintained as the Speaker of Parliament after the 2020 general election.
10. Hillary Clinton should have been maintained as the Presidential candidate for the Democratic Party after her loss to Donald Trump in the 2016 general election.
11. Joe Biden should have been maintained as the 2024 Presidential candidate for the Democratic Party.
12. Former President Goodluck Jonathan should have been re-elected after his term in office as President of Nigeria.
13. All one-term Presidents of the United States, such as George H. W. Bush, John Adams, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, Herbert Hoover, William Howard Taft, etc., should have been given an automatic second term to lead the USA.
14. Dr. Hilla Limann should have become President again after the 1992 Presidential election in Ghana.
15. All dead persons would have still been alive today.
16. All shortest-term Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom, including Rishi Sunak, would have been given a second chance.
17. Dr. Kwame Nkrumah would have been restored as President after the overthrow of Busia’s Government. After all, Kwame Nkrumah significantly led us to attain independence.

I have more than 1000 case studies to cite as reference points to justify why a second chance is NOT an automatic right and entitlement. It requires competition, consistency, or sometimes collective consensus or divine grace to merit a second or third chance in every pursuit.

Let’s allow free, transparent, and fair internal contests within the New Patriotic Party (NPP). Any form of imposition would be seriously counterproductive in the 2028 general election and beyond.

Hon. Sarah Adwoa Safo has every right to push her agenda, but she should bear in mind that any unjustified attacks on Nana Akufo-Addo would be seriously not entertained by his loyalists.

If not for the art of ungratefulness, no reasonable baby mama would undermine the Presidential ambition of her children’s father, no matter the level of bitterness towards her ex-partner, for the sake of the children.

…signed…

Razak Kojo Opoku (PhD)

Founding President, UP Tradition Institute