The elusive Mahama’s running mate issue is still illusive

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has made it absolutely clear that he is running with Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia this year and that is very good. For now it is a done deal and the NPP is very prepared for the battle royal. Ex-President Kufuor did same when he told Ghanaians in the run-up to the 2004 general election that he was going to run with his Vice-President, the late Alhaji Aliu Mahama, and went on to win the elections hands down. Like what happened, no one picked any nomination form to contest Mr. Kufuor like what happened when nomination closed when President Akufo-Addo went to pick his nomination form ? and that too is very good.

On the contrary when the late President Mills went to pick nomination form to contest the 2008 elections, the First Vice Chairperson of the NDC in the person of Nana Konadu Agyemang-Rawlings also picked a form to contest the sitting president. The battle ground became dirty and muddy ? and mud was thrown here and there. In Sunyani where the delegates’ congress was held, insults were thrown at the two candidates and it became very clear that the party was divided. When Nana Konadu lost the primaries, she went back to Accra to form her own political party. The battle line was drawn and more mud was thrown at each other. Things have never been the same again.

When Mr. Mahama inherited the Presidency when the good old Mills untimely died mysteriously and Mr. Mahama shed crocodile tears after ascending the throne as the Constitution demanded, he thought everything will be fine with him when he decided to go for the Golden Fleece. That was not to be. A certain Mr. Boateng picked nomination form to contest Mr. Mahama and hell broke loose. Mr. Asiedu Nketia, the party’s General Secretary, called him a mad man and even went on to sack the secretary who sold the nomination form to Mr. Boateng. Even though Mr. Mahama went unopposed, many delegates voted against him. That was when Mr. Mahama should have realised that he had some problems with the party.

But for the split decision by the Supreme Court which sat on the election petition case, Mr. Mahama would have lost the election. In fact, the ‘finger of God’ helped him to become the president of Ghana. As destiny had it, he lost disgracefully to candidate Nana Akufo-Addo in 2016. I have not heard of Mr. Boateng again, but surely he might have jubilated when Mr. Mahama lost that election. Just imagine a ‘mad’ man jubilating on the streets of Accra! God worked for the ‘mad man’ against the sane man. That is why the Lord of Israel does His things.

Mr. Mahama, the greedy and power-drunk man from Bole, has entered the race again, seeking to be elected to lead the country that he misruled. He is out there spewing rot and lies, hoping that Ghanaians will always stay forgetful as he told us the other day. This time around, he is not talking of unprecedented road networks that he has built because wherever President Akufo-Addo went, the chiefs and people of the area complained of the bad nature of their roads. He is also not telling Ghanaians that it would take twenty years to implement Free SHS because he has seen how successful the programme had been implemented by the Akufo-Addo administration. He is also not complaining about the double track system because he has seen many schools migrating from the double track system because of the rapid construction of dormitories and classroom blocks across the country.

Mr. Mahama is no more talking of political vigilantism and violence because he has come to realise that through wisdom and diplomacy, the issue has been brought under control by President Akufo-Addo. His threat of ‘boot for boots’ is hidden in his bribe-laden pocket because Ghanaians kicked against such loose talks. But Ghanaians, particularly the NPP government, should not lose their guards because the man is very desperate for power. He knows pretty well that if he loses the 2020 general election, that would be the end of his political career and he will be a laughing stock. It was Nana Konadu Agyemang-Rawlings who told Ghanaians that actually the NDC never won any election in this country genuinely. They say if the fish comes out of the water and tells you that the crocodile is dead, you do not have to doubt him. During the 2016 elections, the NDC thought they could use their usual tricks to maintain power but when they realised that the NPP was very vigilant, their own man Mr. Kofi Adam came out to say they lost the election because of IT failure. Whatever that meant can only be explained by Kofi Adam. No wonder they are protesting, kicking and yelling against the compilation of a new voters’ register.

Barely ten months to the general election, Mr. Mahama is yet to choose a running mate. If you should ask me why, you should as well ask me who wants to run with an accomplished loser? In fact, barely ten months to the general election, the NDC is yet to launch their manifesto. What is most annoying, if not idiotic is that they are asking Ghanaians to bring their inputs into the writing of their manifesto. It is only in Ghana that such stupid idea is mooted to voters. When Rawlings, the founder of the NDC, signed the first manifesto with his blood, did he call on Ghanaians to tell him what should be written in the manifesto?

No wonder the late Chinua Achebe said those to whom the gods want to kill, they first make them mad. So of all the fine intellectuals in the NDC, they cannot come out with a manifesto except to seek the ideas of ordinary Ghanaians? The NPP is ruling with their manifesto but they did not ask Ghanaians to help them write the manifesto. That is the difference between a wise group of politicians and greedy bastards who just want to rule for ruling sake. The rains have started falling, so I am on my way to my holy village to cultivate my maize farm and set my traps. After all, did they not say a soldier marches on his belly?