By Kwadwo Afari

Running against John Mahama is now the rage in Ghana, it seems. And why not? President Mahama has been a terrible president. His record very abysmal and easily the worst president ever to seek re-election on a major party ticket in this country. (You can argue this assertion.)

John Mahama has become a routine liar; he has no core policy preferences, no discernible political principles, not even a platform, really. He has failed in most cases in his first term, by his own admission.

He flies by the seat of his pants, always believing his failed policies can still perform miracles and reduce the sufferings of the very people his policies have made poor. It makes him capricious and dangerous.

Running as the “New Nkrumah” and promising to resurrect certain ‘viable’ projects is not a pretty solid platform. It does raise some questions also. What about the failed collectivist’s policies of the Convention People’s Party? Why should John Mahama use the specter of questionable spending policies which so far has lost the ideological debate to pimp himself? May be, just maybe, he is sticking to the old policies because he is comfortable perpetuating the old distortions, half-truths and overt lies.

As for the rest of what he would want us to believe as his policy positions, Ghanaians have already discussed that. Those policies have already failed. All what those policies did was to create an isolated, amoral, “cynical individuals-without-opportunity”, skilled only at double-talk and hype.

Which leaves the bigger question: who and what idea should be worthy of the support of the people? And this is where we get to the point.

Given the choices – or rather, the lack of real choice – it is clear that Mahama is still urging the masses to accept his shallow, quick fix, borrow and spend approach to our current challenges.

We are in fact caught in a strong current of evil – evil so very powerful, well-connected, and prestigious force that make a lot of money out of our defeats and have a huge interest in keeping it intact. Things may be bad for the majority but it is good for the NDC enough to make sure the manifesto debate remains at the level of nothing.

A rising public debt, waste and leakages in the economy and government finances, and a slowing growth in the GDP and the man still more than 150 promises on the table to be paid for by the poor.

This means John Mahama should not win, that will be enough of a victory for the poor who have suffered under this administration. And in truth, it will be enough of a victory to save the people and the economy from the perils of Mahama and the NDC. It will also be enough to save us from what has been the most disastrous President from any party ever to rule this country.

But most importantly, it would restore to us our destroyed institutions, and our moral character, destroyed by years of government interference. And that is actually the most important thing of all.

In Ghana, higher government spending, which is what Mahama’s manifesto is all about, has become a crony- oriented system for the exercise of power and the distribution of political benefits. The NDC use public funds to crowd out the private sector and distribute largesse to their favourites. It started under Nkrumah and continues today.

Tragically, the NDC’s planned projects ­– Expansion and upgrade of 125 existing secondary schools; Additional investment in vocational and technical training; 3. Free secondary school package to be extended to at least 200,000 boarding students; National Apprentice Program to reach 20% of eligible beneficiaries; Multiple campuses to be set up for the upcoming Eastern Region-based University; All 200 Community Day SHS projects to be completed; All schools under trees to be cleared; and two cycles of 100% increase in the capitation grant proves that the so-called party of the poor is still living in the past, when the analogy of a ship adrift without a rudder still made some sense of the Ghanaian situation.

John Mahama sadly, continues to treat adult Ghanaians as children. They take our money and dole it back to us like a gift from government, through a myriad of social welfare programs.

In spite of the evidence and failures of past social welfare programs, John Mahama still insists that the central government must act in place of parents and we the people must accept responsibility for the needs of others.

He is offering new free tricycles for physically challenged persons; additional increase in the District Assembly Common Fund votes to be reserved for the disabled; free NHIS registration with pre-paid subscriptions for the disabled and physically challenged; and a ‘Labour Intensive Public Works Program’ to be initiated to employ 300,000 unskilled Ghanaian workers.

We have been told time and time again that government was all about the sharing of a national cake. Unfortunately, government’s number-one function today has become the redistribution of wealth. Through years of brainwashing, those who have become addicted to government benefits do not understand that no cause, no matter how worthy some people may believe it to be, justifies the violation of any individual’s right to his own life and property.

John Mahama does not trust us to decide for ourselves what medicines to take, or where our children go to school or what we can access through our computers. We are now being told we have no choice, for our life as a nation, but to continue with a leader whose life has clearly been predicated on consorting with evil, if not serving it outright.

John Mahama, with this current promises, has shown that he has no idea of what a policy entails and would stop at nothing in service to the idol of Power. He must be told that projects promised are not policies by a long stretch of the imagination. The desired goal of the projects planned in the short and long terms leads to more debts and hardship for the poor. As always he is selling us snake oil.

It is not enough that Mahama fail. It is critical that Mahama and what he stands for fail. That his style of governance fail. That his rhetoric fail. That his followers fail. His failure must be total and complete. He must be utterly, irretrievably defeated. And by the right person.

He can’t just lose the presidency, we need someone who actually cares about the things that individuals and families care about; someone who will fulfill promises that have gone unfulfilled by the NDC for far too long, like curbing corruption, control of illegal immigration, reduction of out of control government, reining in the crony capitalism and grow the private sector.

Only by electing better leaders and better ideas that grow individuals and promote growth, can we claim a victory. Without that, what do we have? We would still have a Mahama administration that is still probably the worst, most damaging administration anyone now alive has ever known. You think the masses are fools now? Just wait until Mahama wins. They would be practically rebellious. And who could really blame them?

A lot rides on this election, a lot more than just the economy. A lot more than just Mahama versus Nana. This is not just about who wins the job, it’s about whose supporters win the election. We can’t let Mahama’s supporters win. If you are a person who cares for freedom, then it cannot be overstated how extremely important it is that a viable, candidate who would not use egalitarianism, or tribal prejudice, or class warfare, or vague promises that the state or government would alleviate whatever ailed you win.

If we do not vote wisely, there is really no hope of a good life in 2017. A Mahama win would not be good for Ghana. A Mahama victory delays the disillusionment of voters, and just speeds the notion that government could make everyone prosperous and rich without the necessity of work. If we reject Mahama and his ideas, we may avert the continuous collapse of our political and economic order.