Greater Accra Second Vice Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and security analyst, Mr. Eric Nartey Yeboah popularly known as Chairman Dollar, has urged Ghanaians to channel the unity often witnessed during national tragedies and football victories into lasting nation-building efforts.
Referencing Ghana’s history of collective spirit, Mr. Yeboah noted how major football triumphs — such as the Black Stars’ dramatic 2010 FIFA World Cup quarter-final run — have united citizens across political and ethnic lines.
Similarly, moments of national mourning, including the state funerals of political giants like former President John Evans Atta Mills in 2012, saw rival political leaders set aside partisan rivalry to stand together.
Speaking exclusively to hotfmghana.com after the August 6 military helicopter crash in the Ashanti Region, which claimed the lives of two Cabinet ministers and six others, Mr. Yeboah expressed that such cohesion is temporary.
“At the age of 68, we should not be united only around death and football,” he stressed. “We have a lot in common that should unite us as a nation. This current show of unity between political parties must be carried forward to help build the country.”
The crash in the Adansi Akrofuom District took the lives of high-profile figures including Dr. Edward Omane Boamah, Minister for Defence; Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation; Muniru Mohammed, Acting Deputy National Security Coordinator; Samuel Aboagye, former parliamentary candidate; Samuel Sarpong, NDC Vice Chairman; Squadron Leader Peter Bafemi Anala; Flying Officer Manin Twum-Ampadu; and Sergeant Ernest Addo Mensah. The Ghana Armed Forces Z-9 helicopter carrying them went off radar while en route to Obuasi.
Mr. Yeboah, blending his political leadership role with his expertise in national security, said Ghana’s rich cultural heritage should be a unifying force, but political divisions have “taken a chunk” out of the country’s progress. He warned that despite its mineral wealth, Ghana lags behind nations that have harnessed unity for development.
“We should not throw away this feat,” he urged, calling on both ruling and opposition parties to transform this moment of bipartisan solidarity into a permanent foundation for national growth.
