This is a quite fascinating look at Ghana's modern history, from the independence led by Pan-African founder Nkrumah, to the reform-oriented Rawlings regime, and beyond. It does have some weird takes and some omissions, though.
I'd say the article omitted the animus towards Nkrumah from the UGCC (his former party). This opposition was manifested in their attempts to derail his rule from independence to his overthrow (there is some evidence they were in cahoots with the CIA et. al). Thus, the popular reactions to Nkrumah's policies were not only based on their merits.
This opposition, which forms the basis of one of Ghana’s main political lineages, called the UP tradition, is partly tribal in motivation. The Akans (the main ethnic group, who mostly support the UP tradition) see themselves as the central core of the nation, but their allegiance is mostly to the King. They have this sense of needing to take back control of the country, similar to the way white Americans might feel threatened by a supposed loss of control to minorities. But while the Akans have a can-do attitude, they are usually not good administrators and planners.
So I'd say this rivalry, based on resentment of the initial success of Nkrumah’s tradition in particular, and resentment of uppity minority ethnic groups in general, is a major factor in Ghana's perennial inability to realize its full potential.
This factor in Ghana's politics continues down to this day. Rawlings’ was a Ewe, as the article notes, and his (P)NDC was the third major political lineage in Ghana (after the UP and Nkrumah’s CPP). The UP tradition was again a thorn in their flesh, even before multi-party democracy was restored. The current president (from this same political lineage) is hated by many for taking the country back to a period of massive corruption and economic malaise. I'm not too political, but I tend to agree; he gives off the air of a 70s era politician, radically unprepared to lead a 21st century country, very corrupt, intolerant of criticism, not in control of things, and afraid of a coup. Many Ghanaians would claim that he was elected primarily based on support emanating from this conflict, and not because of demonstrating any competence.
