Akufo-Addo Retires With Dr Bawumia

The National Council of Elders of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has finally endorsed the candidature of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia as running mate to Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo after months of speculation.

The NPP presidential candidate for this year’s elections, Nana Akufo-Addo named his 2008 running mate, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana as his running mate for the second time to partner him on the journey to his political retirement.

The choice of Dr. Bawumia, according to ruling National Democratic Party (NDC) supporters, will not bring any significant political fortunes to the NPP, and therefore the party is not worried about his candidature, since the NDC’s unprecedented achievements will secure the mandate of the people for a second term. A source indicated that the party is not surprised at Nana’s resolve to maintain his losing partner in the 2008 elections in the last lap of his political career before retirement after the 2012 general elections when party supporters are yearning for change.

The positive gains made in the first term of President Mills are in the macro-economic sector, notably recording the highest provisional growth rate of almost 14% in the country’s history, sustained single digit rate of inflation, while the positive economic indicators have resulted in increased investor confidence, which has consequently led to an increase in projects amounting to over US$ 7 billion in foreign direct investment.

Not left out are the various successes in the educational sector with particular reference to basic, secondary and tertiary education, as well as Science, Communication Technology and its innovation, where government has made significant progress by providing funds, and where necessary, infrastructure such as school blocks and dormitories, exercise books and school uniforms and laptop computers among others. According to reliable sources the candidature of Dr. Bawumia to partner Nana Addo would not bring anything different on board, because he has demonstrated he cannot pull in votes for the NPP. In the 2008 elections when Nana Akufo-Addo enjoyed the support of the then NPP government, the power of incumbency with unlimited state resources to his advantage, Mills and vice-president John Mahama defeated them.

The naming of Dr. Bawumia as Nana Addo’s partner would be a repetition of what happened four years ago because Ghanaian voters are more concerned about the NPP leader’s reputation and would do thorough character assessment before casting their votes for a party and the candidate. Ghanaians are descending and are not going to vote into power personalities with dubious reputation but will endorse individuals with humility and who are God-fearings.

It would be recalled that the US secret cables expressed reservations about Akufo-Addo’s image, which is a disincentive for people to vote for him citing his drug use and womanizer traits which was confirmed by his close pals Mr. Kwesi Pratt and Dr. Kwesi Annin.

For instance, corporate image and corporate identity are two things every investor would fight hard to protect because dented or tattered image or identity can result in the collapse or liquidation of an establishment. A bad image or identity therefore makes an organization unattractive and difficult to achieve its corporate objective. Aware of this, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) unsuccessfully attempted to carve a new positive image for the flagbearer whose tattered reputation is making it difficult to market him for the 2012 elections. The pairing of Bawumia with Nana Akufo-Addo as a strategic move to neutralize the Presidential candidate’s image to improve the party’s political fortunes will not wash and will still suffer another political defeat sending Nana Addo and his running mate into early political retirement.

Ghanaians need a president that is humble and is committed to the peace of this country. Nana Addo’s all die be die utterances show that he is not a man of peace and as such cannot guarantee Ghanaians the peace and stability they need.