Cherished reader, do you not think it is weird on the part of Mr. Mahama to dream of becoming president in Ghana on another occasion? This is a personality who was given ample opportunity to prove his mettle on what he can do as president. The opportunity he was given was misapplied and abused.
He messed up all that was entrusted in his care - not knowing what to do as president. He plunged the entire nation into a total abyss.
The hopes and ambitions of the Ghanaian were truncated and the entire nation became hopeless. It was no surprise therefore when Alban Bagbin, NDC flag bearer contender intimated that ‘they rushed Mahama to the presidency’.
This same Mahama is back promising us heaven when it is clear he does not know the route to heaven; the destination he himself is promising – unless he has his own definition of the heaven he is talking about. Was the eight years not enough for him? It is mind boggling isn’t it?
Recently, Mahama’s ally in the 2016 elections, Akua Donkor sarcastically hinted that Mahama is not coming back to do anything new for Ghana except the desire to complete his personal projects.
Well, we must not be too surprised about his desire to recapture political power. After all, according to John 10: 10a (ASV) ‘’the thief cometh not, but that he may steal, and kill, and destroy’’.
Mahama perfectly fits this description. Otherwise, there would be no motivation for him to run again for president. Mahama showed no sensitivity when citizens and businesses stifled as a result of the protracted power crisis that struck the nation for almost five years.
Proliferation of corruption scandals including the SADAs, the GYEEDAs, the watervilles, the isofotons, the Woyomes, the Smartys plagued the nation. When agitations for relief persisted, he kept proclaiming his dead goat attributes. Integrity and Mahama were far distance off. Inflation was at 15.36% in 2016, debt to GDP ratio arose to an unsustainable level of 73.41% in 2016; growth rate took a nosedive from 9.3% in 2012 to 3.7% in 2016, exchange rate dived from GHC1.88 in 2012 to GHC4.20 in 2016.
Mahama who was custodian of the nation’s coffers in the capacity as president should have called his cronies to order. He never did because he was an integral part of the entire scheme. The situation was so bad that a competent court of jurisdiction described actions of government at the time as create, loot and share; that is few people ganging up to share among themselves the national booty - leaving many impoverished and in extreme poverty.
In all these instances, Mahama was expected to come out clear with a policy to halt this wanton dissipation of the nation’s purse by unscrupulous people. Instead, he scurried to the IMF for a bail out; always looking for the easy way out. What magic can we then expect from him in an unlikely event that he succeeds in his bid except to cause more damage. In fact Mahama’s come back will be more disastrous for the nation.
On the other hand, John 10: 10b (ASV) says that ‘’I came that they may have life, and may have [it] abundantly’’. This was the assurance given by the then candidate Akufu-Addo and his able Vice Mahamudu Bawumia in the run up to the 2016 elections. As a result of the decisive win in the 2016 elections, the thief is jolted giving way for Akufu-Addo administration to restore, redeem and revive.
In effect, shortfalls of Mahama have been dealt with by the Akufu-Addo led government. Integrity has been restored to our governance structure because Akufu-Addo is widely acclaimed as incorruptible. Inflation now stands at 9.4%, debt to GDP ratio is 53.9% excluding bail out costs, GDP growth rate currently is around 9.3%, the arena of ‘galamsey’ has been sanitized - our water bodies gradually are taking shape compared to the reckless way it was handled under Mahama’s tenure.
All the above and even more have happened in just two years – this is something that the avowed critics of government must consider.
On a broader spectrum, hardships have eased down if not totally eliminated. Life is gradually being restored to the lifeless sectors of our national economy especially the banking sector. The mess created have been mopped out giving us another chance to do it better. Free SHS has been implemented, providing room for more students to enroll at no cost, NHIS has been revived, job creation has been tremendous, one district one factory is on course, one village one dam is also on course and electricity has been stable as well as cheaper; we are moving out of the dictates of the IMF to pursue goals of our national destiny - and which has been christened ‘Ghana beyond aid’. Certainly, there has been a great sigh of relief.
Mahama got elected in the just ended presidential primaries to contend for the presidency in 2020. This has pushed a lot of people to inquire what he is coming back to do at the presidency.
According to the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), "marketing is the management process of anticipating, identifying customer needs and wants and satisfying them at a profit". Mr Mahama must anticipate and identify the needs and wants of Ghanaians, come up with clear policy initiatives or alternatives on how he intends to deal with the mirage of challenges confronting Ghanaians.
Mahama must stop his ‘I will review’ stance and be innovative for once; for you cannot better another’s ideas for lack of understanding of it than thoughts you conceived on your own. The policies you hope to review were policies you said were never plausible. I remember Mahama describing everything about the free SHS at the time as ‘hocus pocus’. Mind you, Ghana’s political landscape has become issue based. Ethnocentric sentiments, tribalism, regionalism or personality attacks are issues of the past. Talk about your plans for the people and the nation at large and leave the people themselves to decide.
Going forward, Mahama should let Ghanaians know his unique selling propositions to gain relevance in Ghana’s politics. The mere fact that you have been there before must not be your number one guarantee to get back to the presidency. It is imperative that as a presidential hopeful and the leader of the largest opposition party, you provide alternative policies for electorates to weigh the options and not just to think of coming to review existing ones.
Mahama’s campaign in the presidential primaries was described as one that was bereft of a clear message. Mr Frank Somiah Andoh, NDC’s former director of elections at the Evalue-Ajomoro-Gwira constituency expressed disappointment at the campaign message carried out by Mr. Mahama. He said Mahama’s campaign message lacked the kind of focus that delegates were looking for, as Mahama failed to give them new messages that could help to unseat President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in the 2020 general election.
He also said “His message lacked the reassuring ingredients during his stopovers in various constituencies – and that left many of the delegates disappointed and disarmed of the fervour that is needed for the 2020 election.” But he won the primaries irrespective of these.
Mr Mahama must think of what he will do with the presidential power when he is entrusted with it. Ghanaians will not make a second mistake of voting him into power for no reason. The mess he caused is just enough and I believe it has taught the entire nation a great lesson upon which such a mistake will never be repeated.
Yes, he can apply the principles of political marketing in his campaign to remain visible and conspicuous. However, the vital and reassuring ingredients must not be missing in his campaign for 2020. Electorates will be voting on the offers available so, just tell them what you can do and how you intend to do it. Ghanaians will surely resist all dead goats and anyone who will cast smears on them as having short memory.
Source: Emanuel Appiah Kubi
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Sometimes because access to pen and paper is so cheap, any I d I o t gets up and write as if Ghanaians do not think for themselves. Are we all not in this country and heard all the lies NPP put up against Mahama and Ghanaians voted for them but what are we experiencing today? Worse than worse by this government. Those who are enjoying in this government are the only people that will vote for npp. Our minds are made up even though am a floating voter.
"On a broader spectrum, hardships have eased down if not totally eliminated" - Am not a friend of JDM but i dont agree with this statement. Its not factual. I strongly believe the policies of Nana Addo's government are not being well executed. I agree with you. The NDC is struggling with JDM because he has a lot of money and influence and many cannot ignore him because our politics is mainly about money. Its a shame. Good read. Lets eliminate profane in our discourse.
Let the Ghanaian voter decide that
Steve jobs was sacked from apple and re-engaged later to head it and propel it to even greater heights.
No serious company or it's shareholders will ever approve the re employment of a CEO they sacked for poor performance. As much as I believe president Kufuor did a great job as president if he was to run again today I won't vote for him. Four more years of Mahama will be a disaster and considering he will not be eligible to run again after that the though of what he will do before his four year term comes to an end is very very scary!
I see there is a great sense in this article. The happenings are there for all to see; the author could just mentioned only a few. God save Ghana!
what new has this man to offer to Ghana. He is just coming to amass wealth, and implement his age old policy Create , Loot and Share. He has nothing , I mean nothing to offer. Should we make any mistake, Ghana is automatically doomed.
Now see where we’ve landed ourselves to, when they were in opposition they created the impression that they will make everything smooth when they come to power, thinking they already know how to go about to hold the cedi from free fall, thinking they care about the rule of law, thinking they will accept their mistakes when things are not going well, they are really sheeps in a wolves jackets, we didn't know this people are drivers without a car but roaming at the lorry station and stabbing drivers at their backs only to get the attentions of the car owner, after you've given the cars to them you realize they can only drive Automatic cars....hahahaha, Kennedy Agyepong has said it all.
@Emmanuel Appiah Kubi, Come again. You have just exposed yourself of shallow minedness. Now that all the lies you told about him are being exposed one by one you say what? When the fundamentals are weak?..... What did Nana Addo say? Depreciation of the cedi is caused by what? Can't you see Dumsor still lurking? My friend come again
Now it is even clear that NPP l i e d their way into power. Mahama has been vindicated on a number of things. Recent one being the President saying that the cedi depreciation is due to structural issues. This was said by Mahama long time ago & he was branded incompetent. The incompetent one saw it years ago, but the competent one just it. The verdict it out there.