John Mahama
One of the wages of corruption is the derision-laden denial former President John Mahama, through his spokesperson Joyce Bawa Mogtari, is spewing on the public space about his integrity. How shameful and ironical when the truth about the stuff the former First Gentleman is made of is crystal clear without blemish! Of course, he should be the last person whose integrity score sheet should be flaunted in front of us the way Joyce is doing.
Sometimes, it is better to let the hen be in its feathers.
The story about how Joyce’s unprovoked tongue-lashing of President Akufo-Addo made it to the front page and the lead, for that matter, was informed by the inherent paradox. Expectedly, the interest triggered by the story has been enormous as anxious readers sought to find out why the former president thinks he should not continue bearing the stigma of ‘the corrupt politician who pushed the country to the precipice.’
With the name of the former president now synonymous with corruption on the local political space, seeking to alter the impression the way he is trying to, can only incur further public opprobrium for himself.
The former president describing himself as ‘incorruptible’ or for that matter, Joyce saying so on his behalf can only be originating from a person who has underestimated how low he had dropped on the political chart.
It appears he has failed to make the necessary analysis of the results of the polls which sent him packing out of the Jubilee House.
Such show of derision suggests that the former president is still sojourning in his fantasy world in which he thinks his compatriots suffer from chronic amnesia. We do remember when he openly said we easily forget.
Even if we are that amnesic, we would not forget the many instances of corruption which riddled his government as his shadow loomed over the perpetrators; offering the necessary covering fire and assurance of being there for them. After all, the spoils of the graft were destined for the war chest of his campaign and insatiable quest for cash.
We are aware about how much the ‘incorruptible’ tag festooned around the neck of President Akufo-Addo creates so much pain in his predecessor because he has lost the opportunity to attract a similar feat. Corruption is one blemish which has the tendency to destroy the political career of politicians, especially those aspiring to the most coveted position in the country.
In the case of the former president, the ‘corruption’ tag he has earned over his years at the apogee of politics in the country, has particularly taken a lot from his integrity.
Payments for unaccomplished public projects, some of them hitting levels of infamy, inflated costs of works and outright thievery from the public purse are public knowledge.
In the face of palpable evidence about acts of graft, not even the smartest PR consultant can alter the first impression. As for Joyce, she has an uphill task of laundering a former president who has so much integrity filth in his closet. Let her try her best but Ghanaians, most of them know the truth already and would only consider her feeble interventions as sources of derision at times of stress.