John Boadu: I’d recruit Shatta Wale to help NPP win over Ghana’s youth
Former General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), John Boadu, says he would consider bringing dancehall artiste Shatta Wale into the party’s fold to help reach Ghana’s youth, citing the musician’s massive influence and appeal.
Speaking on PM Express on JoyNews on Tuesday, November 11, Mr. Boadu who is seeking to become the next NPP National Chairman said winning the hearts of young voters will be critical to the party’s future success.
“I know how to deal with these young guys selling our messages, and making our message not too hard, as soft as they want, we’ll be able to get to them. And it is, it is an area that by the year 2028, ages between 18 to around 36 to 40 will be about 60% of the voters.” he said.
When host Evans Mensah asked what sets his strategy apart from other contenders, Mr. Boadu replied, “The solution is to get into their arena, understand their interests, and deal with them on that level.”
Pressed on whether this meant he would bring Shatta Wale into the NPP, he responded, “If possible, why not? You can get other people out as well.”
He clarified that the idea was not necessarily to have Shatta Wale campaign openly for the party, but to use his influence to shape and share messages that resonate with younger audiences.
When the host noted that the NPP had used songs by King Paluta and Shatta Wale during the 2024 campaign but still suffered a historic loss, Mr. Boadu admitted that the party must go further than just using celebrity endorsements.
“You need to do more by nurturing these youthful people,” he said. “It’s not even necessary to have them at rallies, you need to meet them where they are, tap into their interests, and not just bring them onto your political platforms.”
Mr. Boadu also warned that the NPP was gradually losing influence in key spaces such as academia, urging a renewed focus on engagement and recognition.
“You can now see that academia, for instance, looks like the NDC is having a lot of them as we speak now. Many of these people don’t need so much. It’s not about an appointment. Many of them just need recognition. Many of them need that touch, that belonging touch of the party to be able to get because many of them want to be seen as the ones who are even reviewing your programs, reviewing your policies,” he said.
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