There comes a time when silence becomes complicity. For those of us with a soft spot for the National Democratic Congress and the Upper East Region at heart, that time is now.

The ‘Big Push’ infrastructure programme, championed by His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, has been widely promoted as a bold, transformative agenda to reset Ghana’s development trajectory. It is ambitious. It is expensive. It is necessary. And it is timely.

But for many of us in the Upper East Region, it is beginning to feel like something else entirely: A Big Push for some… and a Big Snub for others.

This is why, speaking plainly.

In the 2024 general elections, the Upper East Region did not hesitate. We did not divide. We did not negotiate. We delivered 100% of parliamentary seats to the NDC, playing a significant role in President Mahama’s unprecedented return and the umbrella’s historic Parliamentary majority. Taken together with the region’s unflinching support for the party since its launch in 1992, the outcome of the 2024 elections was not just political support. It  was loyalty at its highest level.

Yet today, when the country’s biggest infrastructure programme in recent history is being rolled out by the party that the Upper East played a key role to bring to power, our region is struggling to point to clear, flagship projects.

Why?

Across the country, we hear announcements of major roads and massive investments in bridges, hospitals and education facilities, among other strategic developments. In some regions, projects are being named, mapped, and celebrated. But here in Upper East, what do we have? Vague mentions. Silence. Uncertainty.

This is disappointing as it is unacceptable.

It is more so because the Upper East Region, just like other regions across the country, suffers from massive road and general infrastructure deficit. The main road connecting Tamale to the regional capital, Bolgatanga is in a deplorable state, dotted with deadly potholes. Major portions of the highway are riddled with dust that constantly cloud road users and residents. The same applies to the Bolgatanga-Wa and Bolgatanga-Bawku-Pulmakom roads.

Inner roads in the region are in worse state, contributing to surging road accidents and slowing our development as a nation.

Agriculture and health facilities leave much to be desired. The previous government’s agricultural programmes, as has been confirmed were executed in paper and mouth, leaving the region struggle with the old ones.

That is why the region’s absence in the Big Push is becoming a curious anomaly. Our people are not asking for luxury. We are asking for the basics:

• Roads that connect communities and markets
• Irrigation systems to support farming all year round
• Opportunities for young people who are losing hope
• Protection from the recurring floods that destroy lives and livelihoods

Fortunately, these are the exact problems the Big Push aims to solve. So why is the Upper East Region not front and centre in this agenda, especially given its loyalty and deteriorating infrastructure?

Even more troubling is the deafening silence from those who are supposed to speak for us.

Where are our MPs? Where are the government appointees from the region? Where is the urgency to translate the people’s voice, their choice and loyalty into concrete actions and developments that benefits and motivates them?

As the American political scientist, Dwight Lasswel rightly put it, politics is about who gets what, when and how. As sons and daughters of the Upper East Region with valuable positions in the government, it is incumbent on you to push for the region’s fair share.

Leadership is not about occupying positions but about delivering results. At a time when every region is competing for attention and resources, silence is not neutrality. It is failure.

And for those who choose to speak out, let it be clear to all that this is not an attack on the party we believe in. It is a call to conscience and an effort to consolidate the 2024 electoral gains in the region.

The NDC has always stood for social justice, equity, and inclusive development. That is why the people of Upper East have stood by it through thick and thin.

But loyalty must not be taken for granted.

If the Big Push is truly a national programme, then it must be seen and felt in every region not just in a few with loudest or most visible representatives. If not, then we risk sending a dangerous message: that some regions matter more than others.

And that is a message we cannot accept.

The Upper East Region has done its part. We showed up. We delivered. We believed.

Now, we demand action.

Not promises. Not silence. Not future assurances. Action.

Because a “Big Push”  that leaves loyal regions behind is not a national development strategy but a political misstep.

And history will not be kind to our NDC.

The time to correct this is now.

Roger Sampana, the writer, is a citizen