“Never tell your enemy what you are going to do because then he will be ready for you. It is just important you tell him what you are not going to do because that will encourage him to do things he otherwise might not do” – President Eisenhower, of the USA
The very moment candidate Nana Akufo-Addo mentioned Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia as his running mate in 2008, the detractors of the gentleman, especially the NDC supporters went to town. ‘He has no constituency’. ‘He is not a card bearing member of the NPP’. ‘His father was an NDC diehard supporter’. ‘Nobody knows him in Ghana politics’. ‘He cannot withstand the heat in the kitchen because he is too soft’ etc.
Candidate Nana Addo closed his ears to the cacophonous noises and insisted on making the man his running mate. Even though Nana Addo lost the 2008 Presidential Election by a margin of just forty-eight thousand votes, unlike JDM who has refused to accept the 2020 Presidential Election results and congratulate Nana Addo, Gentle Nana Addo congratulated the winner, the late Professor Mills, and kept moving on.
In 2012, candidate Akufo-Addo once again chose the meek, humble and nice gentleman as his running mate. This time, the case went to court after the results and Dr. Bawumia became the one chosen to represent the party in the dock. It was then that Ghanaians realised that behind the cool, calm and unassuming demeanour of Dr. Bawumia is a mercurial character who should not be taken for granted.
Even though he is not a trained lawyer, he faced the barrage of questions fired at him by probably the most experienced lawyer of Ghana, Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata. Then ‘you and I were not there’ became a household mantra. At the end of the trial, four out of the nine Supreme Court Judges ruled for Candidate Nana Addo while five of them, including Justice William Atuguba, went for Mr. Mahama.
After that ruling, the name Dr. Bawumia did spread like wild fire. The opposition NDC started to fear the guy. They saw in him a thorn in their flesh so they started firing at him from all cylinders. The man kept his cool and concentrated on his plans to surprise the NDC at the appropriate time.
In 2016 when Nana Addo again maintained Dr. Bawumia as his running mate, the NDC started growing dwarf pimples. Instead of taking on the main contender in the person of candidate Akufo-Addo, they rather focused on Dr. Bawumia because of his thought-provoking lectures on various campuses and verbal showmanship.
Much as they tried to besmear him with dirt, it didn’t wash because the guy is Mr. Clean. And much as they insulted him, he teased them with his trademark infectious giggles and captivating smiles as he bulldozed his way to stardom.
At the end of the day, Mr. Mahama who had been an Assemblyman, a three-term Member of Parliament, Deputy Minister, Substantive Minister, Vice President, and Executive President of mother Ghana lost by a hooping one million votes, the first of its kind in all the presidential elections that we ever had in this 4th republic democratic dispensation. Out of shock, John Mahama started growing lean. He never had any cause to complain because the difference was so huge.
Who say man no dey?
Today, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia is the presidential candidate of the NPP and tongues have started roaming in the mouths of his detractors. For the six years that the NPP held the reins of power, the detractors of Dr. Bawumia had no cause to complain about him. When the whole world came face to face with the dreadful Covid-19 epidemic and economies of countries including the almighty America started hitting the rock, Dr. Bawumia was chosen by his political opponents as the devil to blame. They suddenly and deliberately forgot the sterling performance of the economic whiz-kid who steered the ship of the state from troubled waters when the NPP took over from the NDC.
They continue to close their eyes on the digitisation programme which has been embraced by countries around the world to move their development agenda forward. Even though the benefit from the introduction of digitisation of the economy is visible, they pretend not to see anything good about the programme.
The questions people are asking is that in case the NDC comes back to power, will they cancel the digitalisation programme as they have threatened to abandon the Free SHS? Is the paperless transaction at our ports going to end when the NDC cones back to power? Will the NDC discontinue with the Gold for Oil deal conceived and delivered by Dr. Bawumia? Will they terminate the batter deal Dr. Bawumia had with the Chinese to extract the Nyinahini Bauxite and give it back to Ibrahim Mahama, the brother of John Dramani Mahama?
The late Professor Mills tried to issue the Ghana Card but he couldn’t do it before his mysterious death. John Mahama took over and totally abandoned the project. The NPP took over and under the leadership of Dr. Bawumia, the Ghana Card has been issued to Ghanaians. Will John Mahama withdraw the cards and start a new one if he comes back to power since they kicked against it? These and many more achievements of the current government are the reasons why Ghanaians shudder to even dream of the NDC coming back to power.
A BBC reporter once asked Usain Bolt, the world’s number one sprinter, the secret of his success on the tracks and this is how he replied, “The moment I stand on the starting line, I strike my mental delete button, close my ears and concentrate on the tracks.” Prescience is a word that defines vision, foresight, and creative discernment. Dr. Bawumia has prescience which makes him unique. The reason why Dr. Bawumia should close his ears is that, in an attempt by the NDC to use politics of distraction against the aspirations of Dr. Bawumia, they rather promote the achievements of the NPP government.
Look at the issue of the train which crushed into the Kia Truck which was packed at the middle of the railway line for example. In their attempt to make the government look bad, majority of Ghanaians came to see on TV and social media for the first time the newly constructed Railway Lines and the modern train which was imported by the government from Germany.
But for the accident, many of us who live in the northern part of this country never knew the government was doing such a magnificent railway lines. You see how God works in mysterious way? There is this gospel song by the Tagoe Sisters which said if you know how to fight for yourself, God will not fight for you (Se wonim wo ntokwa ko a, Onyame nko bi mma wo). The battle is still the Lord’s. Help me say AMEN!!!
Eric Bawah