From Think Tank to Attack Tank – Franklin Cudjoe’s Tragic Descent

It’s truly a spectacle to watch Franklin Cudjoe’s transformation in real-time. For years, he “hoodwinkingly” postured as the neutral, intellectual head of a think tank, offering “expert” opinions on everything under the sun, fresh from a quick Google search. That facade has now completely crumbled.

The man who once pretended unconvincingly to be above the fray is now fully in the trenches, not as a soldier of ideas, but as a foot soldier for the NDC‘s propaganda machine. His constant, vitriolic attacks on former President Akufo-Addo have become unhinged, culminating in his latest absurd claim that Akufo-Addo is “Ghana’s most failed leader.”

This was last Tuesday, when the whole country was celebrating the breakfast meeting the former leader had in his house with the five presidential aspirants of the NPP. Positive news for Akufo-Addo and the NPP is an affront for Mr Cudjoe and his campaign to promote everything JM.

Let’s pause for a lesson in basic logic and recent history, which Franklin seems to have missed in his obsession with leading the dirt on the former President for the NDC.

1. President Akufo-Addo was elected twice by the Ghanaian people and served his two constitutional terms.
2. President Mahama, Franklin’s darling leader, lost to Akufo-Addo in 2016, ending his first term.
3. President Mahama lost again to him in 2020, failing to stop Akufo-Addo’s second term.
4. Mahama only managed to win an election after Akufo-Addo finished his second term and could not contest again due to the constitutional term limit.

So, the irony is thick enough to cut with a knife. How can a supporter of a man who was repeatedly rejected by the electorate in favour of Akufo-Addo now turn around and call that same leader a “failure”? This isn’t analysis. It’s not even criticism.

It is pure, unadulterated hate and spite. It is the crudest form of political discourse, borne from an inability to be a gracious winner and a sore loser. Calling Akufo-Addo Ghana’s worst leader would not make John Mahama’s second term better. That verdict will be delivered by the Ghanaian people and historians.

Dear Franklin Cudjoe, the mask is off. We see you. Your WhatsApp DP with Mahama’s picture says it all. If you are auditioning for the role of NDC Propaganda Secretary, just say so. But spare us the charade of being an impartial thinker.

Instead of wasting your energy on bitter, backwards-looking attacks, why not channel that loud voice into holding your chosen President accountable? Use your platform to ask about the 24-hour economy, the fight against Galamsey, growing insecurity in the country and the jobs for the youth and cash for women entrepreneurs that were promised. Even the Akufo-Addo Free SHS that Mahama pledged to protect and improve is collapsing under Mahama’s first year. Yes, first year! Touch grass and go on the ground, Franklin, to check for yourself.

Using such low language on Akufo-Addo won’t make the NDC perform better. Perhaps it’s time you stopped being a relic of political bitterness and did the same.