4-year presidential term not enough – Rex Omar

Veteran highlife musician Rex Omar, known privately as Rex Owusu Marfo has added his voice to calls for an extension of the tenure of presidents.

Speaking with Kojo Preko Dankwa on Kasapa Entertainment, the ‘Dada Di Da’ hitmaker said the constitution may have overlooked the fact that a four year presidency is not enough for effective development.

According to him, Ghana can’t match up with US in terms of democracy so therefore a period of more than four years is should be given to a president of a developing nation like Ghana to make significant impact in terms of development.



“I’m worried in a way for President Mahama’s defeat because I believe if he’ was given more years he would have done more but all these happened because personally I think the four year term for presidents is too short… I don’t know why we decided ours that way.

“If we’re learning from Americans then our democracy is too young for the four year term. Before a government settles down after being voted into power, one year might have passed and after two years they now think about how to win the next elections.

“So there’s no enough time to finish their projects and that has brought all the challenges in the country. I believe if President Mahama should have been given another four year mandate he would have finished with all what he’s started but it never happened so what can I do… I’m still a Ghanaian.”

Rex Omar is firmly rooted in his native criss-cross rhythms and melodic inflections. With this heritage plus the pervasive influence of western pop music and his personal love for jazz, Rex has plays a unique blend of Afro-pop and jazz music. His singing style portrays influences from the praise singers of Northern Ghana and Ashanti.