Mahama Ends The ‘Era Of The Johns’ In Ghana Politics?

Former Presidents of the Republic of Ghana

The perception that only those with the name John can become president of Ghana has ended by the general elections in Ghana when the flag-bearer of the New Patriotic Party  (NPP), Nana Akufo-Addo won by 53%.

The country, since 1992 has had presidents with the name John, leading some  Ghanaians to doubt whether presidential candidates without such a name can emerge as a winner. However, President John Mahama’s loss ended the reign of Johns in Ghanaian politics.

Former president Jerry John Rawlings, John Agyekum Kufour, late John Evans Atta Mills as well as incumbent John Dramani Mahama are all names of presidents with “John” who has ruled the country for the past 24 years on the tickets of the National Democratic Congress and the New Patriotic Party.

However, as of Friday evening, the Johns are out, with Nana Akuffo Addo, 72, named the president-elect of Ghana.

Here is the history of Johns leading Ghana.

•  Jerry John Rawlings: His first political appearance on the Ghanaian scene was on May 15, 1979 when an unsuccessful coup d’état he led resulted in his arrest, imprisonment, and a death sentence. But before he could be executed, his friends in the Ghana military led by Junior Officers and the ranks overthrew the then military government of General Fred Akuffo in a coup on June 4, 1979.

The Junior Officers and the ranks set Rawlings free from prison, and installed him as head of the new government – the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC).The AFRC handed over power to Dr. Hilla Limann who won the popular vote in the election to establish the Third Republic. Less than two years later, Dr. Limann’s civilian and constitutional government was overthrown again by Jerry Rawlings on December 31, 1981. He then installed the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) regime.

After two terms in office, barred by the constitution from standing in any election, he anointed his vice-president John Atta-Mills as his choice to replace him as President. Ghanaians rejected his choice in the 2000 election by voting for the opposition NPP’s candidate, John Kufuor.  He was on the field working, brought about equality, the prices of commodities became lower than before, there was discipline, there was accountability and there was peace.

• John Agyekum Kufuor: was one of the prime movers bringing democracy back to Ghana after the country had been subjected to a long line of coups and military dictators. In 2000 he became president of Ghana, defeating Jerry Rawlings, who had been in office for 20 years. It was a peaceful transfer of power, perhaps signifying that peace and democracy had at long last triumphed in Ghana.

Kufuor has proven to be a good diplomat, and the West African nation has seen a period of peace since his election. Ghana has managed to improve its economy as well, and much of the improvement seems due to Kufuor’s policies, which have been applauded by many leaders around the world. Kufuor spent a long time in business before he returned to politics. It was not until 1992 that he ran for the office of chairman for the New Patriotic Party.

Kufuor was indeed elected president in 2000.

• Professor John Evans Atta Mills: John Evans Atta Mills is the only person who has ran for President on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for three consecutive times in the history of the Party. He won the Presidency on the third attempt in the 2008 general elections (December 7th & 28th,2008 and January 2nd 2009 -28th December,2008 and January 2nd 2009 elections were Presidential run-offs) Publications Professor Mills who campaigned on “CHANGE” during the 2008 elections has more than a dozen publications to his credit.

These include: Taxation of Periodical or Deferred Payments arising from the Sale of Fixed Capital (1974), Exemption of Dividends from Income taxation: A critical Appraisal (1977), Report of the Tax Review Commission, Ghana, parts 1,2&3, (1977) and Ghana’s Income Tax laws and the Investor. (An inter-faculty lecture published by the University of Ghana).

He revealed and demonstrated God to leaders all over the world. He spoke about the father of all nations, the better Ghana Agenda and was finally named ASOMDWEHENE.

• John Dramani Mahama: He served as the vice president of Ghana from 2009 to 2012, and took office as President on 24 July 2012 following the death of his predecessor, John Atta Mills.

He is the first vice president to have ascended to the presidency due to the death of his predecessor. He was elected to serve his first full term as President in the December 2012 election. He ran for re-election to a second full term in the 2016 election, but was defeated in the first round by NPP candidate Nana Addo, who he had defeated four years before.

This makes him the first president in the history of Ghana to not have won a second term. A communication expert, historian, and writer, Mahama was a Member of Parliament from 1997 to 2009 and Minister of Communications from 1998 to 2001.

His words are always final and that is one of the characteristics of God Almighty. He is therefore the last John and whose term of office will not end.