Why Mahama is not Goodluck

"There is fighting, bomb blasts, killings, floods and general insecurity in such countries. They don't have peace of mind to live happily", he noted, adding "though there may be hardship in Ghana, we must thank God for the peace and security we are enjoying as a nation. If there is peace, there is happiness."

These are words of Collins Dauda, Ghana's Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, and I stand with him.

Sometimes we don't give our governments the kind of credit they deserve in Ghana. The led NDC administration deserve credit for keeping Ghana safe in these trying times of West Africa insecurity. I hope Ghanaians vote in 2016 to stay the cause. It is not the kind of times we change governments in Ghana.

IN THE 1980s AND 1990s PEACE HELPED JJ RAWLINGS TO STAY IN OFFICE. Ghanaians of that period concluded that things may not be perfect in Ghana but they are better off than others. There were food shortages during that period. Ghanaian queued for basic food items like bread, rice, maize, milk and meat.

Yet, the Rawlings government enjoyed widespread support among Ghanaians. It was the support and patience of the people of that time that enable Ghana to go through a series of economic and political reforms leading to the current democratic dispensation and peaceful climate in the country.

We live in the same kind of period. It is a period when some people take advantage of general insecurity in countries to commit mass murder in the name religion. We've seen it in Nigeria, Kenya, and in Mali. Thank God there is no such thing in our homeland Ghana.

The NDC is not perfect. It is just like all governments and political parties everywhere in the world. No human institution ever is perfect. But the NDC is a bit better than the guys on the other side who only criticize and have no solutions of their own.

Beside why hand over your country to those who lose elections and don't accept results. And don't understand the line between partisan politics and their ethnicity like former Finance Minister Osafo Marfo. Don't change stuff if you have peace and there is carnage everywhere. If it is not broken, they say, don't fix it.

It is not the timed for change of governments in Ghana. The NPP can say all they want, but if they were in government they will probably do the same thing as the president or even worse. Ask them to present a different budget or plan from the president's or their solutions to the electricity problem in Ghana. Their response is always the same. "We are not in government," they always say.

What is NPP's alternative agenda for Ghana beyond elect us because Buhari is elected in Nigeria? Your guess is as good as mine. Mr. John Mahama is no Jonathan Goodluck. And thank God there is no Boko Haram in Ghana.

Mr. Goodluck failed to provide basic security for his people. Of all the social contract you have with your state and government, security is foremost. Mr. GoodLuck failed in that front. Therefore comparing him to President Mahama is doing injustice to the issues.

Just think of this for a bit. When we were kids in the 1980s, Nigerian and Ghanaian troops defeated rebels in Sierra Leone and Liberia and restored democratic governance in those countries. Our troops were stationed in the part of the region for years. Ghanaian soldiers returned home with Liberian wives.

It was a 180 degrees turn from today. Mr. GoodLuck allowed pseudo Islamic criminal bandits in the middle of Africa's largest, and West Africa's healthiest country. It is something unheard of since the end of the Biafra wars of Nigeria's past. His tenure of office caused disturbance in the region and allowed little problems to escalate and become worse.

So we are happy Mr. GoodLuck Jonathan is out of the scene in Nigeria. I am sure that President John Dramani Mahama is too. He now has a partner in General Buhara to work with on regional security matters.

Even Olusengu Obasanjo, a former president from Mr. GoodLuck's party, danced on the streets to celebrate GoodLuck's defeat. He will not accept the advice of and has no respect for his predecessors. Mr. GoodLuck was on record attacking Nigeria's former President Olusengu Obasanjo because of a comment the latter made which he did not like.

Mr. GoodLuck's exit is not a good enough reason to change government in Ghana. President Mahama and NDC deserve to be re-elected. They've done their best under the circumstances and NPP have no plan for Ghana.


By Abdul Sidibe.

Abdul Sidibe is a freelance writer and a human activist. He is a resident of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
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