Justice Srem-Sai punches holes into Bawumia’s ‘driver, mate’ analogy

Renowned private legal practitioner and law lecturer, Dr. Justice Srem-Sai, has reacted to the ‘driver, mate’ analogy used by Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia as he was asking Ghanaians to make him the next president of Ghana.

Dr Bawumia during his first major speech as flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), which was to outline his vision for Ghana at the UPSA auditorium in Accra on February 7, 2024, reiterated his claim that his role in the government is just like that of “driver’s mate".

He stressed that despite being driver's mate, "if, by the Grace of God, you make me President, I will be in the driver's seat with constitutionally mandated authority to pursue my vision and my priorities.

He added: "My vision is to create a tent big enough to accommodate all our people, to tap into the resourcefulness and talents of our people irrespective of our different ethnic, political and religious backgrounds, to channel our energies into building the kind of country that assures a food self-sufficient, safe, prosperous, and dignified future for all Ghanaians, to create sustainable jobs with meaningful pay for all, and for Ghana to participate fully in the fourth industrial revolution using systems and data."

In a post shared on X on Wednesday, Dr Srem-Sai indicated that the vice president’s analogy was completely misplaced and must be corrected.

He stated several points including that fact unlikely the fact that unlike the driver’s mate, the vice president because the president of the country when the president is not in the country.

“A mate doesn’t drive, whether in the presence or absence of the driver. The Vice President, on the other hand, automatically, acts as President in the absence of the President. The President may, even when he’s present, allow him control over essential national matters.

“A typical mate is not qualified to drive. In fact, he doesn’t have a driver’s licence. He aspires to get it one day. The Vice President of Ghana, on the other hand, has the same qualification requirements as the President. He is required to know how to be President from scratch. A driver has power to sack his mate and get a new one at any time. Summarily. The President of Ghana has no power to sack his Vice ever,” he wrote.

The lawyer added, “You see, mindset is everything. So, the sad thing about Dr Bawumia’s speech, for me, is the fact that he spent 7 years thinking of himself as a driver’s mate when he, in actual fact and at law, is a 2nd driver. Things are beginning to make sense now. Imagine he knew his role”.

Read his post below:

I think we need to correct this before it becomes the accepted position. The Vice President of Ghana is a 2nd driver (not a driver’s mate). Here are some fundamental differences:

1. A mate doesn’t drive, whether in the presence or absence of the driver. The Vice President, on the other hand, automatically, acts as President in the absence of the President. The President may, even when he’s present, allow him control over essential national matters.

2. A typical mate is not qualified to drive. In fact, he doesn’t have a driver’s licence. He aspire to get it one day. The Vice President of Ghana, on the other hand, has the same qualification requirements as the President. He is required to know how to be President from scratch.

3. A driver has power to sack his mate and get a new one at anytime. Summarily. The President of Ghana has no power to sack his Vice ever.

You see, mindset is everything. So, the sad thing about Dr Bawumia’s speech, for me, is the fact that he spent 7 years thinking of himself as a driver’s mate when he, in actual fact and at law, is a 2nd driver. Things are beginning to make sense now. Imagine he knew his role.

I think we need to correct this before it becomes the accepted position. The Vice President of Ghana is a 2nd driver (not a driver’s mate). Here are some fundamental differences:

1. A mate doesn’t drive, whether in the presence or absence of the driver. The Vice President, on…

— Justice Srem-Sai (@JusticeSremSai) February 7, 2024