I was not trained to make fake promises like NPP - Mahama

Ex-President, John Dramani Mahama has chided the NPP administration for giving Ghanaians fake assurances and pledges when in actual fact they have nothing substantial to offer.

Speaking at the Unity Walk in Tarkwa, Mr. Mahama accused government of promising Ghanaians ‘the world’ prior to their win in the 2016 polls but failing to achieve them. For him, there is absolutely no reason and justification to make pledges and promises to the public knowing very well that there is little possibility of them being achieved.

Unlike the NPP he said, he has not been trained to peddle falsehood and make unachievable promises without considering the actualities on the ground and how feasible fulfilling the promise would be.

“Prior to the 2016 elections, a lot of people came to me to tell me to make promises to Ghanaians like the NPP was doing, to promise a lot even when I know I may not be able to deliver eventually but I told them that I was not trained like that and that if I know I can’t fulfil a promise, I won’t give fake assurances that I can do it”., he said.

Mr. Mahama urged government to humble themselves and accept wisdom from other persons and sides as no single person can have enough wisdom to rule a nation. Likening the NPP to the folktale character, Ananse, he said that government was leading as though they had the entire world’s knowledge and could fix everything on their own, independent of suggestions and recommendations from any other camp.

“No single person has all the world’s knowledge, Kweku Ananse roamed through the earth one time to collect what he thought was the wisdom of the entire world. After he had gathered it in a pot, he hang it in front of him and was climbing a tall tree to plant it there but wasn’t successful, it took his son to tell him that hanging it behind him was a better option”.

“He was only successful after following this advice and was surprised there was still some wisdom left in the mind of his son when he thought he had taken it all in the pot…..all im trying to say is that wisdom is never in one person’s head. Even if you are the president, you don’t have it all in your head, you will have to listen to others and consider other options”. John Mahama was speaking at the fourth in a series of walks after similar events were held in Accra, Tamale and Cape Coast.

Leading thousands of party faithful in a unity walk aimed at re-energizing the grassroots of the party as part of on-going efforts towards rebuilding the party as recommended by the Professor Kwesi Botchwey report, the former President other NDC bigwigs marched through some principal streets in the Tarkwa township; singing, dancing and drumming.