Every great political tradition has its rituals.

In the New Patriotic Party, one of the most sacred is this: win or lose, you say thank you. 

You return to the people — the polling station executives, the tireless campaigners, the young student organisers who believed in something greater than themselves — and you say, “Thank you for standing with me.”

Following the 2024 election, many expected Dr Mahamudu Bawumia to follow that tradition immediately. 

But he chose a different path. He paused. He reflected.

He asked a simple yet powerful question: “What went wrong?”

Rather than rushing into applause and optics, he gave room to the Prof Mike Oquaye Committee — a group tasked with undertaking the hard but necessary work of examining the reasons behind our defeat. 

That committee has now delivered. Its report is complete. 

And Dr Bawumia, ever the student of reason, ever the believer in data and deliberation, is now doing what all leaders in our party have done before: embarking on a thank-you tour.

But here’s the twist.

For the first time in our history, he said: “Let’s do this together.” He invited not only his allies. He invited his opponents.

He invited the national executives. He invited those who had challenged him — fiercely and openly — in the primaries.

He extended his hand. Not out of weakness, but out of strength. Because he knows that politics is not about nursing old wounds; it is about building something new together.

And for that — for trying to unite a divided house, for choosing reconciliation over resentment — he has been criticised. That was his only sin.

Now, the media spin, the whispers, and the cynicism have followed.

Suddenly, the headlines are louder than the handshakes.

The message of unity is drowned out by noise.

Mr Kennedy Agyapong, a man who opposed him strongly in the primaries, has withdrawn from the tour.

And for some, that is the story.

But I believe the real story is this:

At a time when it would have been easier to go it alone, Dr Bawumia chose to carry the party with him.

In a moment when bitterness could have taken centre stage, he chose to lead with grace.

That is the kind of leadership Ghana needs.

The kind that doesn’t merely look forward, but brings others along.

The kind that doesn’t bury the past, but learns from it. The kind that understands that gratitude and humility are not signs of defeat — they are the marks of a man still committed to service.

So let us not lose the plot here. This thank-you tour is not about one man’s ambition.

It is about honouring our people. It is about showing every single party faithful that their sacrifices were seen. That their energy still matters. That we are still in this together.

Dr Bawumia’s only sin — if it can be called that — was believing that unity is still possible in our politics.

And perhaps, just perhaps, that is exactly the kind of “sin” we need more of.

Let us finish this tour with strength. Let us show the country that the NPP can heal. That we can grow. That we can rise again.

But let history show that his only sin was trying to bring us together.