With the impending 2008 general elections, the use of “vision” as a  political buzzword has increased. Almost all the politicians talk as if they have “vision” while their opponents have none. Cosmologically, the “vision” mantra makes the politician a bit of a supernatural figure in a society where superstition is disturbingly a critical part of  progress as any other attribute. The Ghanaian politicians’ feverish reminder of that they have “vision” reinforces their perceived unique ability to see beyond the ordinary electorate and have a vivid grasp of Ghana’s development challenges through the power of imagination.

A group in the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), the Friends of Atta Mills, says that Professor John Atta Mills (former Vice President and elected presidential candidate of NDC) has the best vision for Ghana’s economy. Dr. Kwame Addo-Kufuor (former Defense Minister and presidential aspirant of the ruling National Patriotic Party) talks of Africa’s developmental problems reflecting “visionless leaders who could not evolve pragmatic policies to better the lot of their people.” Dr. Papa Kwasi Nduom (former Economic Planning and Regional Cooperation Minister and leading presidential aspirant of the Convention Peoples Party) says he has a “vision” of Ghana where Ghanaians “can continuously create wealth, build a society of disciplined individuals and raise the average income of its citizens to US$10,000.”

More informed by their traditional cosmology than anything else, the 56 ethnic groups that form the Ghana nation-state are traditionally “vision” obsessed. From various shrines and oracles to traditional herbalists/healers, prophets/prophetesses, juju and marabout mediums and a vast array of spiritualists across Ghana, “vision” is critically part of Ghanaians. Saying that you have a “vision” for the progress of Ghana is as influential as saying you have the material anti-dote to Ghanaians’ developmental challenges. Such thinking and conviction is informed by Ghana’s history and progress. From pre-independence to post-independence, Ghanaian leaders have not only projected themselves as “visionary,” but have demonstrated so, sometimes with exaggerations.  Armed with immense “vision,” and drawing heavily from the forces of his Asante cosmology, the legendary Okomfo Anokye was able to bring together disparaging families, clans, tribes, ethnic groups and tamed other hostile elements to form and create, perhaps, one of the greatest empires in the world, the Asante Empire, with the “Golden Stool” as its symbol.  

From 1940s to 1950s, Ghana’s Founding Fathers in the face of oddities floated vast visions that helped them to not only secure Ghana’s independence from British colonial rule but also consolidate 56 ethnic groups. Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah not only projected himself as a top-rated “visionary” but also had a stunning grasp of Africa’s future progress through the power of his imagination – African High Command, the Organization of African Unity (now the African Union), United States of Africa, the Tema Township, and the Akosombo Dam, among others.

Vision is a complicated subject. As a transformational issue, it emanates from a vast array of attributes including creativity, deep understanding, spirituality, history, experiences, passion, confidence, faith, patience, balance, meditation, despair and fuller understanding of one’s environment. Nkrumah’s “vision” was informed by his long-running struggles in life – despite its spiritual undertones. This makes vision a dynamic issue, constantly changing to meet current challenges.

Today, when Nana Akufo-Addo argues that he has the “vision” to lead the NPP and Ghana, he is speaking of his years of struggle not only against brutal military dictatorship and human rights abuses for the past 30 years, but also ideological tussles. As General Secretary of the nation-wide People’s Movement for Freedom and Justice, he was influential in bringing about the collapse of Gen. Kutu Acheampong’s brutal juju-marabout driven military junta. Such struggles have taught Nana Akufo-Addo that Ghanaians have a “can-do” spirit. It is from such vision that Nana Akufo-Addo envisions “Indigenous Capitalism,” drawn from both Ghanaian traditional values and the dominant neo-liberal free enterprise, as Ghana’s future developmental road-map.

As the 15-year-old Ghanaian democracy grows and more qualified people enter the political arena, pretty much of how they intend to solve Ghana’s problems will be informed by their contending visions for Ghana. For the endgame of all the politicians’ visions is prosperity. The visions will help deepen the politics of issues, minimize politics of insults, and clear many a misconceptions about Ghana’s progress in a developmental climate mired in some historical distortions and misunderstanding.