Bawumia captures the moment at conference ; the NPP has its work cut out for it

In previous articles, I chronicled the contributions of His Excellency Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia to the growth and resilience of the Danquah-Busia-Dombo tradition in the Fourth Republic, and also his unflinching love for Ghana’s development.

As Vice President and head of the Economic Management Team (EMT), his exploits have been well documented. He has done solid work on the economic fundamentals capable of posting long-term sustained growth; He has pursued strong and interconnected digitisation policies ably; His Excellency Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has a more straightforward view of Ghana’s capacity to not only develop, but do so in a fair and equitable manner, and indeed it is fair to say his track record of economic stability remains intact. Political parties will ordinarily shop for such materials to lead them, and luckily in the case of the NPP, no such search is necessary. In an earlier article, readers may recall, I argued that Dr. Bawumia represents a happy coincidence of competence and diversity.

In the past, some of us suggested that the NPP needed to field a non-Akan candidate to shame a rabid opposition lazily tagging our tradition as pro-Akan. As an Akan myself I supported this position even with the knowledge that the NPP is the only political party that has consistently shown strong fidelity to the principles of diversity based on geography and religion. Whilst this position is still valid I now discount the weight I put on it simply on account of the exploits of HE Dr. Bawumia from our days in opposition to his excellent record of delivery in government.

In all honesty, His Excellency deserves to prevail on his own merits; a position loudly endorsed by party men and women at the recently concluded national congress, when he mounted the podium to deliver his address. Elections are won through the fervour of a party’s base. It is heartwarming that the base of the party sees Dr. Bawumia as the emblem of ‘Breaking the Eight.’

If we are to be honest to the facts, no party member in recent times has been able to communicate the achievements of the NPP in clear, concise and appealing terms than HE Dr. Bawumia.

Undeniably, the economy, jobs, infrastructure and the numerous social interventions are the party’s biggest electoral assets. Dr. Bawumia made the most of it, and of the fact that his proposals and projections for the economy and governance in general over the years, which many thought over-optimistic, turned out to be spot on. These have reflected in many facets of the national economy, and when he meticulously enumerated these at the national delegates’ congress no one was left in doubt about the achievements of the NPP and the indispensability of one of the main architects of the enviable feat.

To my mind, and indeed to the minds of many observers of the political scene, the euphoria at the conference about DMB unequivocally and unapologetically points to the fact that he has a set of policies to go with his personality.

But this is a party man who is not particularly a fan of individual trophies. The central thesis of his speech at the conference was about team NPP and how to keep a vicious and power-hungry political opposition at bay. His rallying call for unity is spot on especially when many a party faithful is not paying attention to the turpitude of the alternative. With the 2024 election upon us nothing should be uppermost in the minds of the party than party cohesion. Readers will agree that no party person has taken the fight to the ever ‘mutating’ NDC than His Excellency Dr. Bawumia. He has effectively dismantled every single propaganda piece from the NDC right from the difficult opposition days.

It is no wonder the NDC made Dr. Bawumia the main target in the 2020 elections. They have recently escalated it, effectively communicating that their main fear for 2024 is the man DMB. For lovers of the strange ‘join the queue theory’ the best and most visible person in the queue at the moment is the man who has not remained in the comfort zone of the office of Vice President but has been in the trenches highlighting the achievements of his party and at the same time repelling a marauding opposition, on daily basis.

Proponents of the so-called queue theory also need to reflect and maybe, examine why the NDC is rooting for another person in the NPP race, in a manner akin to Barcelona FC intimating to Real Madrid FC to field a particular midfielder because he is the one that can easily score against them.

It’s time to extend that simple yet apt Barcelona/Read Madrid scenario to our internal race, and to avoid actions that arm the opponent that is dangerously lurking to use our own words against us.

The overarching aim for the NPP, therefore, is to remain fully cohesive, be proactive and strategic in its choices and deliver a resounding victory in 2024. Nothing less. The choice is not complicated. The history of elections in this Fourth Republic, the excellent performance of the Akufo Addo/Bawumia government, and the smear campaign started by the NDC has provided ample evidence that His Excellency Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia is the next to lead, the one to break the eight, and the man to continue the good works of His Excellency, Nana Addo.