Even as President Mahama loses sleep for Ghana’s sake

, his opponents cry wolf

By Dr. Michael J.K. Bokor


Thursday, November 6, 2014

Folks, there is no mistaking or gainsaying the fact that a lot going on now in the country can lead to only one end: either progress or retrogression, depending on how Ghanaians approach issues to support the government in its efforts at nation building or to resort to empty fault-finding and apathy. No two ways about it.


Those of us commenting on happenings have our inclinations. Mine is not difficult to fathom. I have been a keen supporter of President Mahama and will continue to be so until he leaves the scene. Even when off the scene, I will cherish him for what he is. I have done so for the Great Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah (whom I didn’t meet personally but whose accomplishments have endeared him to my heart) and Jerry John Rawlings (whom I physically met, shook hands with and exchanged words of encouragement with) and the late President John Evans Atta Mills (whom I met in the heat of electioneering campaigns for Election 2000 and later at the Illinois State University when he came to deliver a talk on NEPAD. I still gloat over the pictures that we took). Those I haven’t bothered my head over are in my dustbin of history. Good selective amnesia here!! Even though I have been following anything concerning President Mahama, I haven’t personally interacted with him; but I know deep down that he is worth what he is. If you doubt it, bring back the late Madam Hawa Yakubu and ask her why she chose him above all those in the NPP making the loudest, ugliest noise ever heard. And ask many other NPP people who voted for President Mahama despite their open and avowed anti-NDC political stance. They will do so again at Election 2016. So much for my personal take. The truth, though, is that President Mahama stands poles above those idle hands pinpointing him for calumny as if they’ve chosen him for a special vengeance. After all, the enemies of the Rawlings movement or phenomenon will always have a vengeance to prosecute if given the chance. Getting that chance is their worst headache in life. It is not easy to come by. A painful reality it is!! No one with his or her head properly screwed on the torso will dismiss anything involving Rawlings or the offshoot of his manouevres. That is why the NDC is still strong despite all that the NPP wishes against it. Is J.H. Mensah still alert enough to be aware of this fact? So much for that sing-song aspect of Ghanaian politics. Now, to the reality. While the Mahama-led administration claims to be implementing policies, programmes, and measures for the country’s good, its opponents have resorted to all kinds of antics to sustain their politics of intimidation, pessimism, and public panic just to prove their own allegation of incompetence against it. Of course, the going is still tough but it doesn’t mean that the government is irresponsible or mischievously doing things to punish Ghanaians. It cannot side-step reality and continues to agree with Ghanaians that the dire circumstances in which they live are worrisome but that it is doing all it can to solve problems. Its critics are on their toes, daily poisoning the stream of public opinion to create the impression that Ghana remains doomed under President Mahama. Even when the objective reality of the situation proves them wrong, they dig in and ratchet up their doomsday politics. When I posted comments on a news report that showed how much Ghana and Togo had done to improve intra-West African immigration and economic activities by establishing a border post equipped with ultra-modern facilities, some people chose to see things differently. One Duho Lord Sea petulantly dismissed President Mahama as “Mr. Do Little, Travel & Talk Plenty”. He extended his reservations to another level when he said “Leaders who can not withstand the hardships of their subjects in finding antidotes, but are going round the globe in search of nothing but their allowa & their peace of mind”. These are serious observations that should be placed in context for analysis and discussion. I recall the source of the tag “Mr. Do Little” and trace it to Akufo-Addo who described the late President Mills as such. He wished that he would count on that politics of disparagement to prevail over the electorate. Unfortunately for him, Nature outwitted him, taking away the humble Atta Mills for him to face the Lion of Gonja who easily trounced him at Election 2012 and will do so again if paired up. I haven’t wondering why the Mahama loathers can’t rise above pettiness to appreciate issues based on objective reality. President Mahama has been performing his constitutionally mandated duties and is even establishing himself as a force to be reckoned with in the international domain. He is in Burkina Faso, acting in his capacity as the Chair of ECOWAS, to restore normalcy to that part of the sub-region. A President worth his calling sits up when there is the need for action. President Mahama isn’t sleeping on the job. He is in Burkina Faso to ensure sanity because Ghanas needs peace in Burkina Faso to stay relevant, especially if we consider the fact that our hydro-electricity problems can be compounded or ameliorated, depending on how Burkina Faso behaves. Under Blaise Compaore, Burkina Faso cut into the geography of the White Volta to establish five (5) dams that determine the fate of the water body on which Ghana depends in many ways. The Bui Dam cannot survive without water supply from the White Volta, which traverses countries including Burkina Faso. Before Compaore took matters to a higher level, Burkina Faso had no water-based project. But it now knows the trump-card it wields. Whenever it acts by opening the sluices, there is so much flooding in Northern Ghana as to cause massive havoc. Don’t even talk about the ethnic connections between some Burkinabe Mossis and their Ghanaian kith and kin. There is a lot biding both countries that an astute leader must not endanger. In effect, Ghana has a lot to gain or lose from what happens in Burkina Faso. Put behind you the brotherliness characterizing the Rawlings-Thomas Sankara revolutionary fervour in the early 1980s. Under Blaise Compaore, the Ghana-Burkina Faso relationship entailed much. With his exit, a lot more has to be done to ensure sanity in that relationship, which is why I commend President Mahama for being proactive as far as happenings in that country are concerned. Let his loathers cry themselves hoarse for nothing!! Back home, he is doing all he can to keep the country together even as his detractors intensify their hate campaign and mobilize their lackeys in all sectors of national life to undermine him and his administration. Whatever he does or says becomes fodder for their rogue politics to feed on. They have put aside the urge to put in their quota toward nation-building and are focused on doing or saying things to pull him down. Woebetide them in that bid!! Folks, rebuilding Ghana should take more than any singular effort by the President. There is no doubt in my mind that we have a President under whom we all should operate and function to move our country forward. What are we doing to that effect? Always pointing accusing and gossipping fingers at President Mahama won't solve any problem. What we have to know is that whether we like it or not, we will continue to vote people into office and sit by for our tax money to be spent sustaining them in office. They can succeed only if we join hands with them. Are we doing so? Or are those criticizing President Mahama just doing so because they don't know what they themselves are to do to complement efforts at nation-building? What exactly is it that President Mahama has failed to do which is motivating all this idle talk and mischievous politics by his haters to undo him? I shall return… • E-mail: mjbokor@yahoo.com • Join me on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/mjkbokor to continue the conversation.