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Opinions of Monday, 16 October 2023

Columnist: Kwaku Badu

I bet, Bawumia is much more competent than Mahama(X)

John Dramani Mahama and Mahamudu Bawumia in a photo collage John Dramani Mahama and Mahamudu Bawumia in a photo collage

While it is true that the 1992 Constitution of Ghana gives every sound adult Ghanaian the right to compete for the president of the country, it is also quite erroneous for anybody to create the false impression that someone who ascended to the presidency previously, albeit voted out in 2016 and rejected again in 2020 and desperately seeking a return to the high position cannot be scrutinized.

The crucial question we should be asking the diehard supporters of former President Mahama is: if the former president indeed lived up to the expectations, why did over one million voters vote him out in 2016 and was rejected massively again in 2020?

More so, it is quite spacious for the NDC sympathizers to assert somewhat impetuously that the loyalists of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) maliciously lied about NDC’s incompetence and corrupt practices and deceptively pledged juicy, albeit unachievable Manifesto promises which led to their 2016 and 2020 landslide victories.

With all due respect with no hidden condescension whatsoever, the teeming supporters of the NDC must engage in a carefully considered reflection and accept the painful fact that Mahama’s dreadful errors in judgment which unfortunately sent Ghana’s economy deeper and deeper into the mire to some large extent, cost them the 2016 and 2020 elections and not the supposedly ‘wicked’ lies put out by their opponents.

The fact, however, remains that the rot in the erstwhile NDC administration was as pervasive as the odor of garlic, which led to some diehard supporters emitting their displeasure and threatening to boycott the 2016 election.

I remember vividly how my long-term friend who had witnessed enough of the unpardonable mess in his beloved NDC administration decided to walk out of the party.

My pal contended somewhat passionately that he had been defending and promoting the party’s much-touted ethos of probity, transparency, and accountability for well over twenty-three years, but lost the zeal to continue, as the sleazes and corruption in President Mahama’s government reached immeasurable proportions.

My friend, however, maintained that the straw that broke the camel’s back was when President Mahama decided to behave as the benevolent Father Christmas and unjustifiably gave away large portions of Ghana’s scarce resources to apologists like Madam Akua Donkor of Ghana Freedom Party (two four-wheel drive cars and a luxury bungalow estimated to cost a staggering $470,000) for no work done.

My mate’s beef stemmed from the fact that he had worked his socks off all those years for the Party to enjoy power, meanwhile, he had nothing to show for his efforts.

Therefore, My pal was incensed that parasitic creatures like Madam Akua Donkor were needlessly being showered with melodic gifts.

Unsurprisingly, my friend abandoned his role in the NDC prior to the 2016 election and confided in me that he did not even bother to travel to his polling station on the voting day.

My best mate, in fact, did not see the urgent need to vote for NDC and President Mahama, given the crass incompetence and the unpardonable corruption.

My pal was, indeed, distraught about the way and manner Mahama was handling Ghana’s economy.

You may believe it or not, in private discussions, my pal would seriously raise concerns about the bribery and corruption scandals such as the infamous Bus branding, the Brazil World Cup, SADA, SUBA, GYEEDA, SSNIT, NCA, MASLOC, the furtive Ford Expedition Vehicle, the Woyome’s 51.2 million dubious judgment debt, the Waterville’s $30 million wrongful payment, the Isofoton’s dubious payment of $325,000, among others.

My mate was, in fact, extremely worried about the GH200 million SADA funds spent on trees that were later burnt down and the guinea fowl that miraculously flew to the nearby Burkina Faso.

A large portion of Ghana’s scarce resources, regrettably, ‘decanted’ into the drains due to the irrevocable mismanagement and the wanton corruption perpetrated by the officials of the erstwhile NDC administration.

But in all this, the loyalist NDC supporters would want discerning Ghanaians to believe that the erstwhile Mahama administration provided exceptional governance.

Truly, a clumsy apprehension of patriotism exists in the minds of many Ghanaians, who prefer needless praise singing to defend the national interests.