Opinions of Thursday, 26 October 2023

Columnist: Kwaku Badu

I bet Bawumia is much more competent than Mahama (XI)

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

Dearest reader, take my word for it, I am not seeking to ‘play God’ and pass judgment, far from it. But for the sake of balanced annotation and to set the records straight, I shall grub into the regrettable events that took place during former President Mahama’s coarse administration.

Trust me, it is no exaggeration to venture to stress that in any other equitable jurisdiction, a former president who is desperately seeking a presidential return would have been investigated thoroughly for bribery and corruption allegations.

If, indeed, there are serious bribery and corruption scandals hanging on the neck of a former president who is fighting tooth and nail to return to the presidency, it would be fair and proper that he is investigated and cleared before his name appears on the ballot.

Unlike Ghana where former and incumbent heads of state are insulated by the seemingly irrational and unjust indemnity clauses, in other equitable jurisdictions, the past and incumbent presidents may face the full rigor of the law without any recourse to their status.

For example, the Brazilian president, Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva, was investigated, prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced to nine years and six months in prison on corruption and money laundering charges.

Suffice it to stress that he served his term, put himself forward for re-election, and was re-elected by the majority of Brazilian electorates.

While it is absolutely true that the Brazilian president, Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva, was re-elected after serving his prison sentence, it is quite erroneous for the teeming supporters to argue that Mahama is taking a cue from the Brazilian leader.

The truth is, if Mahama is moving heaven and earth to return to the presidency, it is incumbent on him to clear the doubts in the minds of Ghanaians over the alleged bribery and corruption scandals hanging around his neck.

Undoubtedly, the president of a nation is a serious job and as such it requires a serious and committed person, therefore, it is quite troubling if corruption allegations are hanging on the neck of an individual who is going to look after the national coffers and has so far unwilling to seriously disprove such allegations.

In fact, a lot of eyebrows were raised when Mahama failed to square up with the Attorney-General under the Mills/Mahama administration, Martin Amidu when he audaciously told Ghanaians that the late President Mills set up a committee to investigate a suspicious Brazilian aircraft deal negotiated by the then Vice President Mahama.

It is also a known secret that subsequent to the embarrassing Airbus bribery and corruption scandal between 2009 and 2015, President Akufo-Addo tasked the then Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu to establish the identity of the said Government Official One who allegedly took a bribe in the international thematic report.

The Special Prosecutor sadly concluded in 2020 that the said Government Official 1 in the Airbus bribery scandal was the former president and the 2020 flagbearer of NDC, John Dramani Mahama.

The report nonetheless stressed that since we were in the election period and the said government official was a presidential candidate, the Office of the Special Prosecutor was not in a position to take any immediate action.

To his credit though, the current Special Prosecutor is dutifully probing into the alleged involvement of former President Mahama in the Airbus bribery and corruption scandal between 2009 and 2015.

It is, therefore, quite unfortunate that the party loyalists would choose to heckle the Special Prosecutor over his prudent decision to continue with the investigation of former President Mahama’s alleged involvement in the embarrassing Airbus bribery and corruption scandal.

More so, the teeming supporter's contention that after all Akufo-Addo is allegedly much more corrupt than Mahama and therefore must be left alone is a non-starter.

Who says that Akufo-Addo cannot be investigated over any alleged bribery and corruption scandal hanging around his neck at some point in retirement?

Well, for the sake of justice, we would humbly plead with the diehard supporters of Mahama to exercise restraint cease their cacophonous witch-hunting rendition, and allow the Special Prosecutor to bring finality to the seemingly international embarrassment.

I have always held a firm and unadulterated conviction that a fantastically corrupt public servant is no less a human rights abuser than the weirdo Adolf Hitler.

This is because while the enigmatic Adolf Hitler went into a conniption fit and barbarically exterminated innocent people with lethal chemicals and sophisticated weapons, a contemporary corrupt public servant is disgustingly bent on suffocating innocent citizens through wanton bribery and corruption.

As a result, innocent citizens often face untold economic hardships, starvation, depression, emotional labor, and squalor which send them to their early graves.

Given the circumstances, some patriotic Ghanaians rightly believe that it would be extremely catastrophic if Mahama was to reclaim the presidency, considering the dreadful errors in judgment which led to the business crippling dumsor amid massive economic collapse(dragged 14% economic growth in 2011 to 3.4%, and 15.4% inflation in 2016).

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

Verily, a clumsy understanding of patriotism exists in the minds of many Ghanaians, who out of sheer obsequious compliance prefer needless praise singing to defending the national interests. The kowtowing characteristic of a sordid mind that hates anything quality and prefers

Unfortunately, however, we, Ghanaians, and Africans as a whole possessed with kowtowing characteristic of a sordid mind that hates anything quality and rather prefers to worship mediocrity.

Thus, our leaders, having first-hand knowledge of our groveling deference and hero-worshipping gimmicks, continue to take us for granted and provide mediocre leadership and services.

If that was not the case, how on earth would former President John Dramani Mahama consider returning to the presidency given the apparent abysmal performance during his tenure in office?