The Year 2025
By Dr. Ato Kwamena Danso · 24 December 2025 · Politics
The year began with the return of John Mahama to the presidency on January 7, promising a national "reset." One of the first things he hit was the "pause" button on the judiciary, suspending Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo which eventually led to her dismissal. You’ll be pleased to hear that the Cedi has finally found its rhythm. After years of falling faster than a ripe mango in a storm, the exchange rate against the Dollar has shown a stabilization that the government describes as a miracle and the rest of us describe as a hostage situation. We have progress, Osagyefo, but it’s the kind of progress where you’re standing still while the rest of the world moves forward in a V8. The most shocking revelation of the season, however, wasn't about the economy, but about the "priorities" of the state. It turns out that while thousands of our graduates are roaming the streets with degrees, the government allocated over GH₵292 million to procure sanitary pads for high school girls. Now, Osagyefo, dignity is important, but there is a certain Ghanaian irony in spending the nation’s last pesewas on a project where the math suggests we are buying pads at GH₵45 a pack when the market price is barely GH₵15. We are essentially grooming a generation to be the most hygienic unemployed people in sub-Saharan Africa. We have successfully funded the "cycle of nature" while completely ignoring the cycle of the economy that would actually put food on the table for those same girls once they graduate. It has been a year of heavy hearts as well, as we said a final goodbye to the formidable Nana Konadu Agyemang-Rawlings. She left us as she lived, with fire and an unbroken record as our longest-serving First Lady. But perhaps the loudest silence in the Republic comes from the passing of the legendary Daddy Lumba. The man whose voice was the soundtrack to our heartbreaks and our victory dances finally took his bow, leaving a void no karaoke-singing prosecutor could ever hope to fill. Of course, in true Ghanaian fashion, even death became a lecture series. The "Abusuapanyin" took center stage, not just at the funeral, but in our national consciousness. We were treated to endless lectures about the supremacy of the family head and the confusing tug-of-war between ordinance marriage and customary marriage. This legal drama was personified by the "Odo Broni" and "Serwaa Broni" saga. Following Lumba's passing, we watched as the courtroom became the new concert hall. Akosua Serwaa, fought for sole recognition, while Priscilla Ofori, our local "Odo Broni" who stood by him for fifteen years, relied on custom. In the end, the court played a remix, ruling that both women were legitimate spouses. It seems even in death, Lumba remains a philosopher; he managed to prove that in Ghana, you can have a "German" contract and a "Customary" reality, and the law will simply tell you both can sit on the widow’s bench. We spent the year watching the Special Prosecutor turn the office into a karaoke bar, singing Daddy Lumba hits while Martin Kpebu tried to burn the building down. Martin, a prominent member of ORAL who once called for the arrest of everyone under the sun, found himself "bundled" away by the OSP after a verbal altercation with a soldier.The NDC MPs, who once championed the office, are suddenly singing a different tune now that their favorite "Senior Lawyer" has been caught in the gears. But as we look toward the future, the President has shared a story that has gripped the nation’s heart, or at least its sense of irony. Just last week, he recounted the trials he and Lordina faced immediately after they left office in 2016. He painted a picture of himself and Lordina traversing Accra like a modern-day Joseph and Mary, going from house to house trying to find shelter. They had a "modest" house, he says, but it was occupied by Chinese tenants who couldn't be evicted. So, they went looking for a place to rent, only for landlords to return their money once they realized it was the former President moving in. Imagine the scene, Osagyefo: the man who once held the keys to the country, knocking on doors only to be told "there is no room in the inn." It is a humble pilgrimage that reminds us all that in Ghana, today's King can be tomorrow's tenant. One can only hope that for the sake of our graduates, the next "house" we build has more room for jobs and fewer rooms for "frakadam" pad contracts. May the simplicity of Bethlehem be our guide as we enter the new year So long, 2025, Ato KD