Philip Nai: Hate speech in our political space must stop

For some time now, the issue of hate speech has taken centre stage in various conversations especially in the media.

Even though the act is prevalent among various groups of people in the country, the political class seems to take a bigger part of the blame because of the power it wields in influencing society.

The President, John Dramani Mahama has asked the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Media Foundation for West Africa, and other stakeholders in the media landscape to hold an engagement that aims at finding a solution to this canker.

While we wait for that to be done, we need to plead with the politicians to do better. The hate, insults and needless hostility in our body politic must stop. We cannot build a nation like this.

The young people are watching. The next generation is learning from you, and not just from your speeches and campaign promises. They are learning from how you treat people who disagree with you. What legacy are you leaving behind?

Not everything must be about politics. Behind every political argument is a human being. You have families, children and people who look up to you. Some of your conduct is shameful and embarrassing, and we must be bold enough to say so.

You cannot continue attacking one another on live radio and television as though there is no tomorrow. We must grow out of this style of politics. Your families are watching you at home. Your children are listening. Young people who may one day aspire to lead this country are studying your behaviour.

Is this what we want them to learn about leadership?

I understand the need to score political points. Politics is competitive, and nobody expects political opponents to agree on everything. Hold your opponents accountable. Challenge their policies. Expose their failures. Demand answers. That is what a healthy democracy requires.

But you can achieve all of this without destroying another person's image, reputation or dignity. You can disagree without being insulting. You can be firm without being abusive. You can win an argument without making your opponent look less human.

Political maturity is not demonstrated by how badly you can insult your opponent. It is demonstrated by how effectively you can challenge them without losing your own dignity.

The politics of “you do me, I do you” is becoming a dangerous game. If we are not careful, the very thing we claim to be fighting for, the future of Ghana, will be the casualty.

Today, it is your opponent being attacked. Tomorrow, it could be you. Today, you are encouraging your supporters to ridicule someone. Tomorrow, those same tactics may be used against you. What happens when the political tables turn?

Ghana is bigger than the NPP, the NDC or any political party. Our national interest must be greater than our desire to win an argument. We cannot preach peace during national events and turn around to normalise hostility when political interests are at stake.

As a media practitioner who has watched politicians come and go, I have seen how quickly power can change hands and how easily public admiration can turn into disappointment. I have also seen people leave public life without the meaningful legacy they once had the opportunity to build.

Power is temporary. Public office is temporary. Political relevance can fade. But the consequences of what you say and do can follow you for years.

Is that really the person you want to become?

The media also has a responsibility here. As journalists, presenters and producers, we must ask ourselves whether we are informing the public or simply giving hostility a bigger platform. A heated exchange may attract attention, generate online engagement and dominate the headlines, but attention alone is not a measure of good journalism.

We must stop confusing noise with national conversation. Tough interviews are necessary, but there is a difference between holding a public official accountable and turning political discourse into a spectacle of insults.

Social media influencers, bloggers and ordinary citizens must also examine their role. A misleading caption, an inflammatory post or a doctored video can fuel hostility far beyond what the original speaker intended. We cannot demand responsible leadership while rewarding irresponsible communication with likes, shares and applause.

Look at the history of countries that have suffered devastating consequences from ethnic hatred, dangerous propaganda and the dehumanisation of opponents. Rwanda's 1994 genocide remains one of the darkest examples of what can happen when hatred is cultivated and human beings are portrayed as enemies who do not deserve to live. Ghana is not Rwanda, and our circumstances are different. But the lesson is clear: words matter, the media matters, and the promotion of hatred must never be treated as harmless political entertainment.

We do not have to wait until our disagreements become a national crisis before we take responsibility for how we speak to one another.

Respectfully, our politicians must know better. You have a duty to set a higher standard. The young people of this country deserve to see leaders who can disagree passionately and still recognise one another's humanity.

The internet never forgets. Years from now, when the campaigns are over, the microphones have been switched off and you have retired from active politics, your words and conduct may still be available for your children and grandchildren to see.

Ask yourself one serious question: Will you be proud of what they find?

There is life after politics, so let us think about how we conduct ourselves today. You may win an election and lose the respect of a generation. You may defeat your political opponent and still damage the country you both claim to love.

I am not sure this is how we want to build our nation.

Ghana deserves a politics of ideas, accountability and healthy competition, not one built on insults, ethnic divisions, personal attacks and the spread of hatred. We can disagree without dehumanising one another. We can challenge our opponents without teaching the youth that abuse is the language of leadership.

The question is not just who wins the next election. The question is what kind of country we will have left when the election is over.

One day, the next generation will inherit this country, along with the political culture we have created for them. They will read our statements, watch our interviews and revisit the videos we thought would be forgotten.

When that day comes, will they see leaders who put Ghana first, or politicians who were so consumed by the fight for power that they forgot the people they were elected to serve?

Let us think beyond the next election. Let us speak with a sense of responsibility. Let us compete with dignity. Let us disagree without destroying one another.

Ghana must outlive our political ambitions. And the legacy we leave must be greater than the insults we trade today.