In politics, as in branding, there is a world of difference between a “product” that simply creates noise and one that builds lasting market share.
As the New Patriotic Party (NPP) approaches its January 31 presidential primaries, the air is thick with the populist energy of Kennedy “Akumpreko” Agyapong and the institutional weight of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
However, if the party’s goal is not just to survive this primary but to reclaim the Jubilee House in 2028, the decision must move beyond raw emotion. From a strategic branding perspective, this contest represents a choice: do we want a “Power Surge” that risks volatility, or a “Steady Bridge” designed for long-term growth?
While grassroots fire is essential to keep the base alive, it is Dr. Bawumia’s dual brand identity—the bridge to the North and Zangos, and as the face of Ghana’s digital transformation—that offers the NPP its most credible path to victory. His unique blend of relatability and modernity appeals to both the grassroots and the technocratic middle class, uniting two audiences the party has often struggled to hold together.
Victory in 2028 for the NPP won’t depend on winning any single region outright; it will depend on improving margins everywhere across the country. Dr. Bawumia, as candidate, gives the party that balance—a steady appreciation in the North and Zangos to complement strength in the South and urban centers.
The Zango Evolution
To understand why Dr. Bawumia is the party’s most viable bridge to the Zangos and the five regions of the North, we must look past the raw numbers of 2024 and focus on the journey—where the NPP came from, in terms of political dynamics in those once-difficulty terrains, and where it stands today.
The NPP’s challenge, particularly in the Zango communities, has never been a lack of policy; it has been a lack of cultural relatability. In the Zangos, politics is personal.
For decades, the political map of Ghana was etched in stone: the Zangos and Northern regions were considered the “World Bank” of the NDC. To many, the NPP was a product they simply weren’t buying. However, as a Brand Architect who has spent years chronicling the untold stories of these communities through Zango Spotlight, I have witnessed a subtle but seismic shift in brand perception.
In the 90s and early 2000s, it was culturally—and almost socially—forbidden for a Zango native to openly associate with the NPP. Back then, identifying as an “Elephant” was a secret kept behind closed doors for fear of being outcast by one’s own community.
Today, that “shame” has been dismantled. Since 2008, the NPP’s performance in these enclaves has seen a steady, marginal climb. The party is now a respected brand in Zangos across the country. While it would be an exaggeration to say Dr. Bawumia has completely broken the NDC’s hold, there is no denying that his personality has contributed materially to normalizing the party’s presence in these enclaves.
Before his emergence, I personally witnessed the kind of unprintable things Zango people, led by the NDC, used to say about the NPP during election campaigns. Dr. Bawumia’s rise in our politics has, to a large extent, changed that tone. In Zango, today, while the majority still identify with the NDC, the attacks on the NPP is not as before. They may not have voted for him yet, but the simple fact that they see him as “one of us” offers a hope-inspiring foundation for future campaigns.
And that is the strategic point: the NPP does not need to win the Zango and Northern votes en bloc, to win the presidency. What it needs is steady appreciation—a 5 to 10% improvement that, when combined with strong southern and urban numbers, closes the national gap. In the 2016 electioneering, this was exactly what happened in those areas. A matter of fact: the results had Dr. Bawumia’s fingerprints all over them. His brand is the only tested bridge capable of delivering that again.
