Politics in Ghana never sleeps. The 2024 general elections may still feel fresh in the memory, but already the talk has shifted to 2028. It is the kind of conversation that happens every four years, but this time there is a particular edge to it. Alexander Afenyo-Markin, a leading figure in the New Patriotic Party, has made a statement that cuts straight to the bone. According to a report by 3news.com, Afenyo-Markin has said that the National Democratic Congress is likely to use misinformation to distract Ghanaians from the promises they have failed to keep as we move toward the 2028 elections. It is a bold prediction, and one that inevitably makes you pause. You do not have to agree with him to understand what he is saying. He is warning that when a political party is under pressure, when the reality of its time in office does not match the hope it sold on the campaign trail, it will look for ways to change the conversation. Instead of facing hard questions about jobs, the economy, corruption, or development, the NDC will, in his view, try to blur the lines, twist the facts, and feed the public a version of events that protects the party rather than serving the people. It is a statement that will make many people uncomfortable, but it is also one that deserves serious thought.
Why would Afenyo-Markin make such a claim? You have to look at the context. The NDC came back into power with a message of hope and renewal. The word “reset” was everywhere. The party promised to fix an economy that many Ghanaians felt was broken, to create jobs, to tackle corruption, and to restore a sense of dignity in public life. For a while, that message carried real weight. People were tired, frustrated, and ready for change. They gave the NDC a chance because they wanted something different. But now, as the government settles into office and the reality of governing begins to bite, the gap between promise and performance is becoming harder to ignore. The economy remains difficult. The cost of living is still high. Many people are still struggling to find work. And so, as 2028 approaches, the NDC will have to answer for what it has actually achieved. According to Afenyo-Markin, that is precisely when misinformation becomes a useful tool. Instead of defending their record, they can attack the opposition. Instead of explaining why certain projects failed, they can invent stories about what the NPP is plotting. Instead of showing progress, they can create confusion. In that sense, his warning is not just about the NDC. It is about what happens to political discourse when people feel backed into a corner.
And let us be honest: there is something deeply human about this pattern. Nobody likes to admit they were wrong. Nobody wants to stand in front of a crowd and say, “We promised you something, but we could not deliver.” It is hard to face the disappointment of people who trusted you. So we all develop defense mechanisms. We deflect. We blame. We distract. It happens in families when a parent avoids a difficult conversation. It happens in friendships when one person refuses to apologize. It happens in the workplace when a manager blames the team instead of taking responsibility. Politics is no different, except the stakes are much higher. When a politician feels the heat, the temptation to spin the truth becomes almost overwhelming. Misinformation is not always a big lie. Sometimes it is a small twist. Sometimes it is a question that goes unanswered. Sometimes it is a headline that focuses on the wrong thing. The danger is not only in what is said, but in what is not said. Afenyo-Markin is pointing to this reality. He is saying that the NDC, facing the possibility of defeat in 2028, will try to make you doubt your own eyes. They will try to convince you that what you see is not what you see, that your struggles are not their fault, that the opposition is the real enemy. It is a familiar strategy, and it works when people are too tired to check the facts.
What would misinformation actually look like in the Ghanaian context? It could take many forms. It might be a social media campaign that exaggerates the achievements of the current government. It might be a story designed to discredit an NPP candidate before they even have a chance to speak. It might be a cleverly edited video that makes it seem as though a government official said something they never said. It might be a rumour that spreads through WhatsApp and becomes truth by repetition. It might be a selective use of statistics, showing numbers that look good on the surface but fall apart when you dig deeper. It might be the rewriting of history, so that past failures are forgotten and past successes are magnified. The purpose of all these tactics is not to inform you. It is to confuse you. If you are confused, you are easier to control. If you do not know who to trust, you will trust the loudest voice. And if you are angry, you will be easier to mobilise against a common enemy. Afenyo-Markin is essentially asking Ghanaians to prepare themselves for this onslaught. He is saying that in the run-up to 2028, we will need to be more careful, more questioning, and more willing to verify before we believe. Because the truth is, misinformation only works when we let it work. It relies on our laziness, our fears, our desire for quick answers. The moment we start asking who is behind a message, why it was sent, and what it is trying to achieve, the spell is broken.
Of course, the NDC would not simply sit back and accept this characterisation. They would argue that Afenyo-Markin is doing exactly what politicians do: projecting his own party’s failures onto others. They would say that the NPP is the one with a history of misinformation, that it was the NPP which fed Ghanaians stories of transformation while the country sank deeper into debt. They would point to the many broken promises of the previous administration and say, “Look who is talking.” And they would not be entirely wrong. The truth is that no political party in Ghana, or anywhere else, has clean hands. The NPP has used spin, distraction, and half-truths. The NDC has done the same. This is not a moral judgment on one party. It is a feature of modern politics. Power is a slippery thing, and losing it is painful. Those who hold power want to keep it. Those who lose it want it back. In that fight, honesty is often the first casualty. So when Afenyo-Markin warns about the NDC using misinformation, he is not revealing some great secret. He is describing the default mode of political survival. It is what parties do when they are cornered. The NPP would do it. The NDC would do it. The real question is not whether they will do it, but whether we as citizens will allow it to work. That is the deeper message in his statement, even if he did not say it directly.
So what do we do with this warning? We can simply file it away as another political attack and move on. But we would be missing the point. Afenyo-Markin’s words should serve as a call to awareness, not just about the NDC, but about the state of our political culture. In the coming years, we will be bombarded with messages designed to manipulate us. Some will come from political parties. Some will come from social media influencers who are paid to push a narrative. Some will come from people we know and trust, who have themselves been deceived. The only defense we have is each other and our own critical thinking. We need to talk to our neighbours, not just scroll past them. We need to ask our leaders questions, not just cheer them on. We need to support independent journalism, not just share headlines. We need to demand transparency, not just accept vague promises. And we need to remember that elections are not a game. They are a serious exercise in deciding who will shape the future of our families, our communities, and our country. If we go into 2028 with our eyes closed, we will deserve what we get. But if we go in with our eyes open, determined to separate fact from fiction, we can protect our democracy from the very thing Afenyo-Markin is warning us about. In the end, the power to stop misinformation is not in the hands of politicians. It is in our hands. The question is whether we will use it.