Twenty-one years ago in my village Junior High School, two guys stood for the senior boy’s prefect election.

One of the boys was the most popular guy in the school at the time.

Most students liked him. Unfortunately for him, he was not the most intelligent.

In addition to his ‘upper room deficiency’, he had a tongue that was as heavy as the word itself and turning it to speak any other language apart from his native Akan was just a no - no for him.

Expecting this guy to communicate in English was as impossible as expecting the hen to pass urine. He was always the first in his class when one counted from behind.

He was simply immune to seriousness.

The other contender was a quite unassuming guy and a little bit gifted academically too. He was not so popular.

The day of election came and as you would expect, the popular guy won the polls hands down. He won not because he was capable and competent; he won because those who voted for him did not give a hoot about capability nor competency.

The teachers in the school that day met after the elections and upon their return used their powers to turn the results in favor of the other guy with the reason that they needed someone who could do the job.

In about 60 days’ time, Ghanaians would go to the polls to elect a President. Whoever gets elected as President would steer the affairs of this nation for four good years.

Many of the presidential hopefuls have been on the road over the last few weeks with their campaign messages. Promises are high and are all over the place already.

Some of the candidates are very popular, others not – so – popular.

Unlike the election in my village school whose results the teachers were able to overturn, whoever wins in the December elections (all things being equal) would not be changed until after four years.

The decisions we make in this elections would affect the direction of our beloved country for a long time. Think about it.

As youths of this nation to whom the future belongs, it’s important that we listen to all the campaign messages devoid of passion and analyze the promises critically for their viability and practicability to ensure that we vote for the right candidate.

Let us not just follow the crowd bearing in mind that the most popular candidate is not always the most competent and capable candidate.

God bless Ghana!