‘NPP merely assumes they are intellectuals, but they are not’ — Mahdi Gibril fires back at Mustapha Hamid

A fresh political exchange over which of Ghana’s two major parties can claim the country’s intellectual class has erupted, with NDC communicator Mahdi Gibril taking a direct swipe at former NPP minister Shaykh Mustapha Hamid.

Mahdi Gibril has challenged Mustapha Hamid’s assertion that the NDC has attracted virtually all of Ghana’s intellectuals, arguing that the NPP’s own claim to intellectual superiority is based more on perception than reality Madi made this known on Kessben Maakye hosted by Kojo Preko Dankwa.

 The remarks have been circulated by Kessben TV in a video featuring Gibril’s response.

‘They merely assume that they are intellectuals’

In his response, Mahdi Gibril took aim at what he described as the NPP’s perception of itself as the party of intellectuals.

He argued that simply regarding oneself as intellectually superior does not necessarily make it so.

His blunt assessment was:

“NPP merely assumes that they are intellectuals, but they are not.”

The statement immediately injects a sharper tone into the longstanding political debate over which party attracts the strongest pool of academics, professionals and policy thinkers.

Mustapha Hamid’s intellectuals claim challenged

Gibril’s comments were directed at Shaykh Mustapha Hamid, a former NPP minister and prominent figure within the party.

Hamid’s claim that the NDC has attracted all, or a dominant share, of Ghana’s intellectuals has now become the subject of a counterargument from the NDC side.

Rather than accepting the premise, Gibril sought to turn the argument around by questioning the NPP’s own claim to intellectual standing.

The intellectual battle behind Ghana’s politics

The exchange touches on a much bigger question that has featured prominently in Ghanaian partisan politics: Does one political party genuinely have a stronger intellectual base than the other?

Both the NDC and NPP have historically attracted academics, lawyers, economists, technocrats, researchers and other professionals.

Yet political parties frequently use the presence of prominent professionals within their ranks as evidence of their intellectual strength.

Gibril’s response challenges that approach, suggesting that the label of “intellectual” should not simply be claimed by a political organisation.

A debate that could get hotter

The comments are likely to add another layer to the increasingly competitive political discourse between the NDC and NPP as both parties position themselves for the next electoral battle.

For the NDC, the argument is not merely about numbers. It is also about whether intellectual credentials translate into sound judgement, effective policy and tangible results in government.

For the NPP, however, the response could provide an opportunity to defend its long-standing reputation for attracting technocrats and professionals.

The big question

At the heart of the exchange is a question that neither party can easily escape:

Who really has Ghana’s intellectual firepower — and how should it be measured?

Mahdi Gibril has clearly made his position known.

In his view, the NPP’s reputation as the party of intellectuals is more assumption than fact — and he is challenging the party to prove otherwise.