Vice President of IMANI Africa, Kofi Bentil, has urged Ghanaians to set aside emotions, superstition, religion, and instead allow science, evidence, and personal effort to guide national decision-making, particularly during elections.

Speaking on TV3’s KeyPoints on Saturday, February 7, 2026, Bentil said research and poll projections often present uncomfortable truths but stressed that decisions must be grounded in evidence rather than sentiment.

“If you have fidelity to the science, you put your emotions aside and let the science speak,” he said, referencing discussions surrounding the New Patriotic Party’s recent flagbearer primary.

According to him, failure in leadership and governance should not be blamed on spiritual forces when the real issues lie in weak systems and human shortcomings.

He criticised what he described as the growing influence of fear-driven prophecies in public life, noting that claims of impending death or doom can psychologically affect people, even those who do not believe in God.

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He described such practices as ‘totally despicable.’

He argued that many African societies tend to over-spiritualise outcomes, creating room for manipulation and distraction.

“We are a very religious society, we are superstitious, and we tend to believe there are forces beyond our effort,” he said.

Using leadership as an example, Bentil questioned the belief that God directly selects African leaders, stating that if that were the case, ‘then God has done a very poor job,’ considering decades of poor governance and dictatorships on the continent.

He cited Germany’s post-war recovery as evidence that national progress is driven by organisation, accountability and hard work rather than spiritual explanations, stressing that ‘God rewards effort.’

Bentil called for a national shift away from what he termed religious noise toward discipline, science and evidence-based thinking in governance and public decision-making.

MRA/EB

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