John Mahama
Anyone who takes Mr. John Mahama for granted as far as political maneuvering is concerned does so at his or her own peril. Behind the charming smile of the man is a wicked plan to smash and grab and maintain power at all cost, damn the consequences. If it is for somebody to die for him to get power, so be it. In fact, if somebodies hard won reputation should be thrown to the dogs for him to be powerful so it is written in his book title: How to Smash and Grab Political Power.
Mr. Mahama knew very well that when you succeed in beheading the head of a snake, the rest of the body is but a rope. So he hide behind Professes the late Mills when he was the Vice President to the man to begin his wicked plan. At the wrong side of the eyes of the good old late Mills, Mahama assembled his hounds, sponsored them and charged them to go for Rawlings. These boys who were later referred to as babies with sharp teeth by Rawlings went haywire and took Rawlings to the cleaners. The situation became worse when the wife of the founder of the NDC, Mr. Rawlings decided to contest the presidential slot of the NDC.
Mr. Mahama took the center stage in the campaign against Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, a woman who put her nose on the grindstone to nurture the NDC when Mahama was nowhere in the scene. All the insults and bastardization that were heaped on the Amazonian lady were planned by Mahama. He was heard daring Nana Konadu to ‘bring it on ‘ if she is a real woman. Mr. Rawlings did not mince a word because as the founder of the party he did not see the reason why he should take sides. That was the mark of a gentleman.
When Rawlings and his wife returned from Sunyani to Accra after the ill-fated congress, Nana Konadu decided to form her own party and as usual, Rawlings decided to stay away from her wife’s decision because as the founder of the NDC it would be suicidal for him to abalone the party to upstarts who were nowhere nears the pain, suffering and risk involved in forming the party. The man felt he could stay within and bring any reform in the party so that the tenets of the party could be kept intact. What broke the camel’s back was a statement made by Mr. Asiedu Nketia the General Secretary of the party that those who left the party because of what happened at Sunyani should come back because the dog which used to make noise at the house when anyone wanted to enter has been chained. He was apparently referring to his boss, Mr. Rawlings.
Rawlings kept on reminding them that with the level of corruption which had engulfed the party they will lose the election. He even said about sixty percent of the members of government under John Mahama was corrupt. That statement did not go down well with the leadership of the party and once again, they release their hound who went after Rawlings, this time with poisonously venom. Mr. Rawlings did not worry about the insults because he knew it will surely come to pass and it came to pass with a disgraceful defeat of the NDC at the polls.
After losing the 2016 elections, Mahama became so peeved that he bided his time, awaiting for the day of revenge. Then a date was set for the party’s National delegates’ Congress and John Mahama seized the opportunity to asset his authority in the party. Unknown to the Voltarians in the party and those who supported Rawlings, Mr. Mahama assembled his team to contest various positions in the party. All these too happened at the wrong side of Mr. Rawlings. Yours sincerely was at the congress grounds and saw what really happened. Supporters of the selected team of Mr Mahama boasted openly that at the end of the voting, Rawlings will see his “smoothness level’
At the end of the voting it came out clearly that all the Voltarians who contested lost measurably. Koku Anyidoho, Dan Abodakpi, Anita De Soso and all the Voltarians who contested top positions in the party lost. Others who even though were not Voltarians but supported Rawlings all along, like Wofa Yaw Boateng were also pushed side to be replaced by upstarts who only sing the praises of Mr. Mahama, the new messiah.
Today, all those who lost at that delegates congress have kept silent. They do not contribute to any debates and neither do they even mention the name of Mr. Mahama and the NDC. They have chosen silence as a weapon. Barely five months to election a vociferous activist like Koku Anyidoho has gone silent. As for Anita De Soso, she has decided to keep her distance from the NDC, The Oga Kwatakwata, Jerry John Rawlings is acting as if the party he founded is not at the warfront to grab political power again.
Mr. Mahama seems to be content with what is happening. After all, his plan of uncoiling himself from the grp of Rawlings has materialized. But the handlers of Mahama are seriously misleading him. The Akans say woe betides the person who has no elders in his house ( Se woni opanin a due) As for likes of Algban Bagbin. Spio Garbra (Team “B”), Silvester Mensah and all those who contested Mahama during the presidential primaries, they deserve to be silent. And did I hear Professes Alabi is now the Campaign Manager of Mr. Mahama? Was it not this man who once said Mahama can not win even ten percent votes in any election in this country? How is he going to manage for Mahama to get more than ten percent votes in the coming elections? Has he got any magic wand? This world, my brother!!!
By Eric Bawah