The man Jacob Osei Yeboah
As an upcoming politician who is highly optimistic of winning the 2016 presidential race, he is of the belief that even if he does not win, his campaign messages will ensure that peace and unity become the priority for all election stakeholders.
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He first ventured into the presidential race in 2012, also as an independent candidate who had less than one per cent of the total ballots cast. However, as a successful entrepreneur who is never afraid of taking a risk for a good cause, his poor performance in the 2012 presidential election has not deterred him from pursuing his dream of becoming the President of Ghana in 2016.
“Some friends and family could not hide their amazement and disbelief when I informed them of my ambition to contest the highest position of the land. However, knowing how optimistic, hardworking and passionate about national issues most of them have given me their support and blessing,” he said.
Mr Jacob Osei Yeboah, popularly known as JOY, is motivated by what John Ruskin, an art critic, a social thinker, poet and artist once said, “Therefore , when we build, let us think that we build forever, let it not be for the present delight, nor for present use alone; let it be such work as our descendant will thank us for, and let us think as we lay stone on stone, that a time is to come, when these stones will be held sacred because our hands have touched them. And that man will say as they look upon our labour and wrought substance of them. See! This our fathers did for us”.
Mentor
He is mentored with the leadership style of Mahatma Gandhi, Kwame Nkrumah, Martin Luther King Jr, and Nelson Mandela.
Born on October 28, 1968, Mr Jacob Osei Yeboah, popularly known as JOY, says he was not in the race to just win but to lead a peace revolution that would heal the polarisation caused by the wrong implementation of multi-party democracy.
Recounting what motivated him into politics, he says he foresees an emerging Ghana where development, employment, better livelihoods, among other benefits, abounds for the citizenry.
That better Ghana, he says, need a robust policy foundation and a united people to achieve to make the attainment of the better Ghana a reality.
He has described his policy foundation as the best to create that robust foundation, adding “And this explains why I prefer to call my manifesto, ‘policy foundation,” he said.
Politician in the offing
The man who says he was not yet a politician believes that the wrong implementation of multi-party democracy in a multi-cultural society such as Ghana has resulted in polarisation, with politicians pursuing their parochial and selfish party interests.
“No meaningful development could be achieved in a polarised society. And once the political parties continue to be the major cause of the polarisation in the country Ghana will not see any meaningful development if we continue to change from political party to political party,” he said.
As the only independent candidate in the 2016 presidential race he says he represents the unifying force who will address the polarisation in the country.
He stands for an all-inclusive system of governance and ,therefore, did not believe in the party system.
“I represent a unifying force that is capable of bringing together all political parties, religious and traditional leaders and other state institutions to form a united force as a government to leverage the needed development and tranquility the country deserves and desires,” he said.
Philosophy
Mr Yeboah refers to his political philosophy as appropriatism, which he defines as doing what is right for the people, often in consultation with them.
He is of the belief that the so called socialism and capitalism some political parties claimed to espouse had not benefited the country in anyway and added “rather it had divided us as people”.
He said that division had affected national development and the well-being of the citizenry and, therefore, it was time for Ghana to vote for someone who stood for peace, unity, joy and all-inclusiveness.
As an electrical engineer, an entrepreneur and a successful businessman, he thinks the unemployment situation in Ghana is unpardonable, considering the vast natural resources the country is endowed with, Mr Jacob Osei Yeboah has said.
Therefore, his policy foundation promises to promote the Ghana dream which he defines as creating wealth and economies out of the numerous natural resources the country is endowed with through industrialisation to create more and sufficient jobs, particularly, for the youth in both the public and private sectors.
It also promises a better condition of service and after service for all workers and an insurance package for all workers who were exposed to risk directly in their service to the nation.
He is married to Hilda Osei Yeboah in 1996, with four children, Jacobel, Janice, Jeremy and Jeffrey.
