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The inordinate ambition of former president John Dramani Mahama to seek re-election to become president of Ghana is a subject of the political puzzle for classical political scientists to unravel. The puzzle becomes even more quizzical when you consider the historical fact of Mahama in the immediate-past two elections.

The elections in 2016 and 2020 respectively exposed the credit crisis of the former president. The electorate chose to consign him to the dustbin of history after he was decisively defeated in 2016 with a margin of almost one million votes: the first sitting president to be subjected to such ignominious humiliation in Ghana’s electoral history. This was barely four years after he had been given the benefit of doubt in the 2012 election.

The Mahama come-back ambition is even troubling if it is placed in the proper context of the trajectory of his climb on Ghana’s political architecture. This is a man who has tasted political office from the lowest level of Assemblyman, moved to Parliament, appointed deputy minister, promoted to minister, elevated to Vice President and, ultimately, the highest office of president.

Within the context of acceptance, the man Mahama lost attained a credibility crisis and this move to the level of mixed perception about his management and leadership credentials. On the scorecard of the benchmark set by the electorate, Mahama was considered to have fallen below the accepted level to lead the county beyond 2016, as demonstrated by the electorate in that year’s election. That was reinforced four years later in the 2020 election.

It is a harsh path unfortunately trodden by many young politicians in this part of the world where, once out of office, are prematurely retired from active politics. Mahama was relatively young when he was likened to Kwame Nkrumah for his infrastructure drive for the country when he assumed the presidency. But just one term later, he was voted out of office. But that comparison could be a misnomer relative to the demands of the different eras.

The race to the NDC flagbearership contest for the 2024 general election has ignited the appeal to our conscious as NDC delegates start watching for the better master craftsman who can work for the party and salvage the country from the current economic turmoil.

Senior citizens and contemporary political historians would be excused when they paraphrase and cannibalize Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia’s popular expression, which would go like this when in doubt, look at the election history.

As indicated above, the 2016 and 2020 elections exposed the mismanagement and incompetence of Mahama as evidenced by the verdict of the electorate. Even though he has not openly declared his intention to seek re-election for 2024 (the nearest he has come to stating his position was about two weeks ago when said during a Voice of America interview that he is holding his cards to his chest), the former president Mahama has been exhibiting pretentious cleverness of Kwaku Ananse with the country.

Juxtapose that with the performance outcomes of his main – and obviously, only contender, Dr. Kwabena Duffour, who is also yet to officially declare his candidature to lead the NDC. His record as Finance Minister under the late President Evans Mills speaks for itself. Ghana recorded the longest running single digit inflation for over thirty-six months;
I. Initiated the Emergency Senior High School (SHS) Project.

II. Reduced SHS from Four years to Three years
III. Provided 600 emergency school facilities in SHS dormitories, Assembly Halls, Classroom Blocks, Libraries
IV. Established Hila Limann SHS in Gwollu
V. Established University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) at Sokode Lokoe near Ho in the Volta Region
VI. Established University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) at Sunyani
VII. Secured 3 CBD Loan out of which 1bn dollars was used to construct the Atuabo Gas Processing Plant
VIII. Implemented Single Spine Salary Structure
IX. Completed the Gang-of-Six Project inherited from the Kufuor administration
X. Constructed the Polo Ground to Spintex by-pass
XI. Restored Accra-Tema Railway Transport
XII. Cape Coast Sports Stadium
XIII. National Hockey Stadium
XIV. His stewardship saw the U-20 National Team winning the World U20 Cup in Egypt
XV. Superintended the successful Black Stars Silver Medal campaign at AFCON in Angola
XVI. Superintended Ghana’s 2010 World Cup Quarter Finals campaign
XVII. The new High Court Complex to replace the Cocoa Affairs Court building Dr.Kwabena Duffuor has a proven track record of both being a technocrat (with his practical qualification and experience in Finance and Banking, coupled with his experience in governance. He, therefore, provides the best option for leadership in at this moment in the country’s history.

This is not the time for the NDC in particular and the country as s whole to gamble with a tried, tested but the candidate. At best, Mahama is an ex-president. He should retire into the sunset as a statesman.
Any attempt to use the Kwaku Ananse pretentions to deceive the delegates would create internal rebellion and open up cracks in the party.

Mahama might have had his palm kernel cracked for him on his ascendency to the highest level of government but he’s had his day with Ghana already.