Nana Akufo-Addo on a campaign platform in 2016
In 2016, William Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo uttered the now-famous words, “Yete Sika So Na’ nso kom di ye,” meaning, “We are sitting on wealth, yet we are famished.” This phrase, much like Bob Marley’s legendary line, “In the abundance of water, the fool is thirsty,” ignited a firestorm of expectation among Ghanaians and set the stage for his third presidential bid.
Akufo-Addo, in a strategic move, painted the Mahamas as power-hungry, clinging to the perks of governance. He portrayed himself as the selfless elder statesman, too old to be interested in siphoning the nation’s wealth, and begged the electorate to give him a chance. And so, they did—with over a million votes swinging in his favor, the people chose him, driven by the promise of change and prosperity.
But the reality of Akufo-Addo’s reign was something else entirely. “Yete Sika So” became more than just a slogan; it became a lived experience for Ghanaians. It was a lesson in how to sit on riches while the masses starve.
He set the tone with “Nsuo Mu Nam,” a restaurant where, after your free SHS education, you could grab a meal if hunger struck. Need more? He bulldozed well-constructed buildings and dug what might just be the world’s largest well in the heart of the nation—a fitting metaphor for his administration’s approach to governance.
And then came the great excavator bonfire—confiscating machinery only to turn around and replace them with state-purchased ones for the Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs). This, dear reader, is how you truly embody “Yete Sika So.”
But Akufo-Addo didn’t stop there. He elevated the art of leadership, literally, by taking showers not just in the skies but above sea level in chartered flights. Because why settle for anything less when you’re sitting on money?
And who could forget the infamous kenkey parties thrown in celebration of bank alerts from investors? A moment of joy, perhaps, but also a vivid illustration of how to live the high life while others struggle to get by.
Akufo-Addo’s tenure may have been full of surprises, but one thing is certain: he taught Ghanaians the true meaning of “Yete Sika So”—a masterclass in the lavish and paradoxical governance of sitting on wealth while the nation hungers.
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