Most Ghanaians have become sufferers of 'illusory truth syndrome' because of NDC propaganda

I weep for my country Ghana. Cry, my beloved country, for your sons and daughters have become sufferers of illusory truth syndrome, the culmination of the practice of dirty politics.

For the selfish and parochial interests of certain politicians and their political party, truth has evaded many a Ghanaian, only to be replaced by naked lies. These lies are accepted by their hearers for truth and no matter how far you go trying to let them know the actual truth, they will not budge.

Before I proceed any further, I had better pause to define what illusory truth syndrome is. Illusory truth syndrome, otherwise, “illusory truth effect, also known as the illusion of truth, describes how, when we hear the same false information repeated again and again, we often come to believe it is true. Troublingly, this even happens when people should know better—that is when people initially know that the misinformation is false”.

How many people in today’s Ghana, under the presidency of His Excellency, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, do not believe that the economic hardships and difficult conditions of living Ghanaians are going through are the result of the mismanagement of the economy and the country by the president and his NPP government?

The NDC as a political party and their flag bearer-cum-presidential-candidate, former President, John Dramani Mahama, have been misinforming Ghanaians at any opportunity they get that President Nana Akufo-Addo has badly managed the country hence the exorbitant prices of goods and services with the attend high inflation faced by them.

Despite how hard the few discerning Ghanaians try to let them see reason and hear the actual truth that the situation is not unique to Ghana but a world phenomenon, brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic as exacerbated by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, they will not listen.

This is all because of how far the NDC through their propaganda machinery has made the people believe otherwise, thus, accepting the lies they consistently tell them for fact.

If these Ghanaians are not ready to accept how the Russia-Ukraine war has impacted the world economy, let me bring it closer to their doorstep, how a problem in one country can affect others in this small global world we live in on interdependency.

With the recent coup d'état in Niger with the attendant economic sanctions and other restrictions placed on the country and her military junta, the prices of onions in Ghana have shot up; increasing by 30 to 50%. This is because onions imported from Niger can no longer be imported because of the sanctions and blockade placed on the country by the ECOWAS.

Further to that, countries having common borders with Niger have shut them, hence no movement of vehicles and economic activities from and to Niger.

With Ghana unable to replenish her onion stock, the economic requirement of “demand and supply” determining the level of prices of goods, in this instance, onions, will set in.

The higher the demand for a commodity amid scarcity, the higher the price. The lower the demand for a commodity in the era of abundance, the lower the price. This is rudimentary economics.

When such an unfortunate situation happens, whereby the President of Ghana has no control over it, why should he be blamed for the hike in prices of such imported commodities?

Is it, not an external shock that has affected the increases in prices of such goods but not any mismanagement of the economy by the president?

Why can’t the NDC cease their nonsensical propaganda meant to let Ghanaians believe misinformation for truth?

When their flag bearer, John Dramani Mahama, travels abroad and gets interviewed by foreign journalists, he acknowledges how COVID-19 and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war have impacted the world economies.

Nevertheless, when he is in Ghana, he denies those two catastrophes had any impact on Ghana's economy, but the poor management of the country by President Nana Akufo-Addo and his NPP government.

John Mahama and his NDC brigades are not in for the collective interests of Ghanaians but to serve their parochial selfish interests.

Ghanaians, please, let us wise up. We should not allow ourselves to be fooled by visionless and populist John Dramani Mahama and his NDC faithful.

Fellow Ghanaians, please don’t accept lies for truth.