I care about Mahama – Uncle Ebo Whyte

Renowned Ghanaian playwright James Ebo Whyte, popularly known as Uncle Ebo Whyte, has said not only does he like President John Mahama, but also cares about him.

Asked by Bola Ray on Starr Chat on Wednesday December 23 to name three people he would love to meet and why, Mr Ebo Whyte mentioned the Ghanaian President as the first on his list, explaining: "I like him because of his personality and I'll like to hear what the presidency is doing for him and to him because I care about him, so, I'll like to have a chat with him."

Ebo Whyte named three others, including American actor Tyler Perry and Andrew Lord Weber as the others who made his list of people he would love to meet.

He described President Mahama as a "gentleman of gentlemen" and not the "monster" Ghanaians paint him to be in the media.

"I met the sitting President when he was Vice President. Gentleman of gentlemen...and then you hear the things that are said about him in the media. And it’s almost as if this is a monster from some alien planet," Ebo Whyte said, adding: "I have had the privilege to meet a number of our leaders. Ghana has been blessed with great people, unfortunately, we demonise our leaders. We make them look like monsters. And I think people should give a bit more respect to our political leaders."

Mr Ebo Whyte said Ghanaians must learn to shed off cynicism and appreciate the leaders the country is "blessed" with.

"Let's understand that the cynicism in Ghana won’t help us. And when we do that – when we embrace our politics with so much cynicism – the winners are the politicians, who are not keen on doing anything better for the country," he added.

Citing another example to buttress his concern, Mr Ebo Whyte told Bola Ray on Starr Chat that: "…I watched an interview of President Kufuor with KSM in which KSM threw at him this 'waa waa' business, and he was saying that the context in which he even said it had nothing to do with what was put on it. And, so, we should understand that this is a blessed country, we’ve been blessed with good leaders, let's all do the part we can do and I think it will be fine."

Mr Ebo Whyte's concerns tie in with a similar concern expressed by President Mahama in his New Year message on December 31 last year. Mr Mahama said: "The new year holds a wide expanse of possibilities. Let us not enter 2016 with any cynicism or sense of limitation. Let us choose to fill the days ahead of us with hope and not despair. When we look ahead let us see all that we can achieve and let us work individually and collectively in the interest of progress," Mahama stated.

"If we are to work for the greater good of our nation, we must communicate responsibly. Criticising constructively and focusing on solutions instead of merely dwelling on the negatives will help strengthen" Ghana's unity. "We will not always agree on how we should meet that goal, but it is through the healthy exchange of ideas that we are often able to achieve a common ground," the President said.