By Peter Asare-Nuamah

There is a popular saying that youths are the future leaders, but the ability of the youths to
lead tomorrow strongly depends on the opportunities offered to them today to gain the
requisite skills and experience needed to lead effectively in the future. 

Generally, across the African continent, and particularly in the Ghanaian context, youth constitute one category of the population that finds it difficult to gain leadership opportunities at the national level, even they constitute the largest population. 

In Ghana, about 57% of the population are under 25 years old, and the percentage
gets higher when we consider the population under 35 years old. However, their
participation in leadership remains rhetoric than a reality. 

Limited youths’ participation in national leadership raises the question of how Ghana is preparing its youths to reap their full potentials as future leaders? 

Emerging trends

In this piece, I explore the emerging trends across the two dominant political parties in Ghana to provide a response, although inexhaustive, to the question raised.
 
In Ghana, there are contrasting notions of how youth are included in leadership among the
two dominant political parties - the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), and the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP). 

It is generally believed that if a youth seeks to rise faster to leadership at the national level, the NDC offers the surest pathway while the NPP historically prioritises experience, which
inherently limits and slows the pace of youth inclusion in leadership.

While this remains a notion, in practice, it seems to be the case where vibrant youths in the NDC rise faster to national leadership and fame compared to their counterparts in the NPP.

Lawmakers under 40

For instance, out of the 44 members of parliament under 40 years old elected in the 2012 elections, about 59% belonged to the NDC as opposed to 41% from the NPP.

Similarly, the case of lawmakers Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Samuel Nartey George and more recently Sammy Adu Gyamfi, Edem Agbana, Malik Basintale among others, also reveal glaring evidence of youth inclusion in leadership within the NDC. 

Many of these people were offered the opportunity in their youthful age to contest either in the NDC’s internal party or national elections, enabling them to rise to leadership at the national level. 

For instance,  Okudzeto at the age of 28 was appointed in the erstwhile late President Mill’s government as the Deputy Information Minister.

Young candidate blocked
 
A recent report by Ghanaweb in February 2025 reveals contrasting philosophy of youth
inclusion in leadership within the NPP. According to the report, the former General Secretary of the NPP – John Boadu, disclosed how the party’s national leadership blocked
Afenya Markins from contesting the parliamentary elections in the Effutu constituency in the 2004 elections on the basis on his age. 

Having won the internal primaries of the NPP to contest as the parliamentary candidate on the party’s ticket in the Effutu constituency, leadership of the NPP at the national level considered him too young to contest for the position. Rather, they preferred and backed, presumably an experienced and older member, to contest on the ticket of the party in the constituency.

Surprisingly, it was during this same period that some youths in the NDC were supported by the NDC party for parliamentary positions in their respective constituencies.

Explicitly and inherently, the two political parties have different ideologies in providing and fast-tracking leadership opportunities for their youths. While the NPP excessively prioritises prolonged experience – implying that it becomes difficult for many youths to rise fast to the national level, the case of the NDC seems different. 

Youth inclusion

The recent appeal by the NPP National Youth Organiser – Salam Mustapha to the elders and older generation of the NPP to sit back and allow the youth the opportunity to lead and manage the affairs of the party attest to the slow pace of youth inclusion in leadership within the party.

Observations from the pattern of recent appointments under President John Dramani Mahama reveal that the president and the NDC party have appointed a number of
vibrant youths for positions in critical government and state enterprises.

Take the case of several youths appointed as chief executive officers for a number of state enterprises. Within the government too - for examples in ministries and at the presidency, similar pattern is observed.

Exposing youths to early leadership has significant implications for the future of political parties and Ghana’s development. For the NDC, offering opportunities for youth in critical state institutions and government may be a deliberate attempt to consolidate their prominence in Ghana’s political landscape.

Smooth transition

Every political party knows that smooth transition of power within the party is crucial for sustaining strong leadership in the party. By offering youth the opportunity to serve in government and state institutions, the NDC is indirectly positioning itself for such youths
to take the mantle of leadership from the experienced and older ones as they acquire on-
the-job experience. 

This approach offers a smooth transition of power and these youths will have past experience within the party and at the national level, enabling them to better represent
the party for a continuous number of years.

Thus, early opportunities for the youth solidifies their presence, putting them on the
spotlight of national leadership for a long time. This is advantageous for a political party as opposed to where new faces are introduced at every particular point in time.

The benefits also extend beyond political parties, as it creates a level of assurance and hope among the masses of the Ghanaian youth who have lost hope in national leadership’s failure to address their peculiar challenges, and resort to outmigration for greener pastures.

Strong mentorship

Such assurance can minimise outmigration and position youths to crave for and contribute to national leadership as they play crucial role in shaping efficient leadership in the country. 
 
Notwithstanding the benefits associated with political parties providing opportunities for the youth in national leadership, it is crucial that such opportunities go hand in hand with strong mentorship and monitoring mechanisms in order not to jeopardise the fortunes of political parties and the country’s development trajectory.
 
Indeed, Ghana’s future depends on the youths and it is crucial that the two dominant political parties prioritise and take pragmatic steps to increase leadership opportunities for Ghanaian youths to drive national discourses and development.

Political parties that prioritise this have a higher chance of continuity and stability. However, its implementation requires that robust mechanisms are instituted by the political parties to ensure youths’ leadership yield dividends for both the political parties and the nation, as its negative consequences can significantly affect parties’ fortunes, erode trust and hope among other youths and derail Ghana’s development. 

Policies for youth inclusion in leadership must be developed and robustly implemented by the political parties. Young leaders will also require experience, making it imperative that
opportunities for mentorship and trainings are instituted by the political parties for their youths.
 
Dr. Peter Asare-Nuamah is a Lecturer at the School of Sustainable Development, University of Environment and Sustainable Development, Ghana, and a Senior Researcher at the Center for Development Research, University of Bonn.