John Mahama is the ex of NDC

I have read the article of Abdulai Seidu Yemoh headlined JOHN MAHAMA, THE NANA ADDO OF NDC and published on Ghanaweb on 17th July, 2017. I must admit Mr. Yemoh is a beautiful writer but He showed a clear misunderstanding of the times that the NDC finds itself in, and so He lacked contents to make a strong case to support his headline.

Since the Mr Yemoh claimed that ex-President Mahama is the 'Akufo Addo' of NDC, I have decided to do a comparison of the circumstances which made Akufo Addo rise to hold the leadership of the NPP after the 2008 defeat and held on until He won the 2016 elections. I will then juxtapose that Akufo Addo record to that of former President John Mahama, in order to prove that Mr Abdulai Seidu Yemoh goofed and indeed He has goofed big time.

Unlike President John Dramani Mahama who as President for four years, was judged by Ghanaians in December 2016 and forced to retire, Nana Akufo Addo in 2008 was only a leading member of the NPP who was seeking the opportunity to show to Ghanaians what He can also offer when elected as President. Therefore, the 2008 elections was not a referendum on the performance of an Akufo Addo government, but it was a referendum on the performance of the John Agyekum Kufuor government vis-a-vis the Better Ghana promises that Prof John Evans Atta Mills offered.

It can therefore not be true that the defeat which the untested Akufo Addo suffered in 2008, can be likened to the defeat that the tried and tested John Mahama suffered last year.

It will interest Mr Seidu Yemo to know that the twin brother of an "Akufo Addo" in NDC who took the leadership of his party for eight good years and run campaigns until He also had the opportunity to be President, is Late President Professor John Evans Atta Mills and not ex-President John Mahama.

Like Nana Akufo Addo, the good old Prof John Evans Atta Mills took the leadership of his party for 8 years and begged Ghanaians to try him by making him President. Is that the same with already President, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama? Obviously not. So I struggle to find the reason why anybody in NDC will make an analysis and conclude by replacing President John Mahama with Akufo Addo and say the two are some Siamese twins. It is a mismatch.

President John Mahama is in a different league altogether. History placed him specially in our democratic evolution and may have his political twin brother in some years to come; Not Akufo Addo.

Further, it was also clear in Mr Seidu Yemoh's epistle that the ex-President is the most popular person in NDC today, so He will win the 2018 NDC primaries. End of story. Sad enough, the writer refused to go further to predict whether the popular man will win the 2020 general elections by virtue of that popularity.

Who in his right frame of mind will say, after four years as President of a nation, H.E John Mahama will be a forgotten person just seven months after leaving office? That's impossible. So, sure, the man John Mahama is known nationwide, just like the new President is also known. Same way any flagbearer of NDC or NPP will be popular, especially when the flagbearer becomes President. However, the public reaction to the mentioning of a popular person's name is what must concern Abdulai Seidu Yemoh.

Excuse me to say Shata Wale, Rashida Black Beauty, "Osama Bin Laden" and Atta Ayi are some popular names and personalities in Ghana. But does it mean you will hand over your daughter to go live with any of them?

Still on the popularity, I would have wished if Abdulai Seidu Yemoh will tell us why the popularity of a popular sitting President could not secure him a run off at the polls in December, 2016.

The Akufo Addo that Yemoh wants to compare him with ex-President Mahama led the 2008 elections in the first round scoring above 49% of the total valid votes cast. Missing the golden 50% plus 1 mark by whiskers, the elections went into a second round where Prof John Evans Atta Mills came from behind to beat Nana Addo. So how come the popular sitting President could not lead the opposition candidate in the first round talk less of him going into a second round? Obviously, the answer is on the wall.

I prove to you once again, Mr. Yemoh, that because candidate Prof JEA Mills was defeated after the second round of voting in 2000, just as Nana Addo was beating in the run off of 2008, the two men are the political twin brothers that any political scientist can refer to as same. Not President John Mahama.

I also got the picture clearly that the reported interest of Professor Joshua Alabi to come lead us into 2020 elections is a worry for you. Well, Sir, it will be very important to tell us the message that ex-President John Mahama will give to Ghanaians in 2020, just as there is a New Hope campaign ongoing on social media for the former Vice Chancellor.

With Prof Joshua Alabi, Alban Bagbin, Dr Spio Gabrah or Goosie Tandoh as the NDC Presidential Candidate for 2020, the NDC can campaign on new messages such as: *Transforming Agriculture For Jobs *Setting Up Agro Processing For Jobs *Industrialising The Economy For Jobs *Constructing Housing Estates For Jobs

Dear, Abdulai Seidu Yemoh, these campaign messages based on the 2020 manifesto can be championed by the fresh leader and seek the thumbs of Ghanaians. Hopefully, He will be trusted and convince many to vote for him instead of maintaining Nana Akufo Addo. Question is, can the former President be believed by Ghanaians when He happens to be our 2020 candidate and go promising jobs for Ghanaians? Why didn't He provide jobs when He had the opportunity to be President?

I will urge you, Mr Yemoh, to write encouraging the ex-President to stand by his own words: YOU COME, YOU SERVE, YOU GO and to BOW OUT WHEN THE APPLAUSE IS LOUDEST. Failure to do so, the signs are already on the wall. The ex-President is clearly living on borrowed time and should he fail to make good statesmanship out of it, he will suffer damage to his hard won reputation.

Just as Nigeria's ex-President Goodluck Jonathan has gracefully done, our ex-President John Mahama is the ex of NDC. He belongs to the past. Not the future.