Mahama’s candidature may well create a cleavage in the Umbrella fraternity

Somewhere in 2017, the ten Regional NDC Chairmen gleefully convened at the Cantonments office of Ex-president Mahama and blissfully issued a statement urging him (Mahama) to consider joining the flagbearership race for the 2020 election (See: NDC Regional Chairmen beg Mahama to lead the party in 2020 election; 3news.com/ghanaweb.com, 09/11/2017).

“[We have] called on HE John Dramani Mahama to consider the request of teeming supporters of the NDC and Ghanaians to lead the party to the 2020 General Elections”, the statement said.

Obviously, the praise singing bandwagon did not experience the harsh socio-economic standards of living their Messiah Mahama wilfully brought upon the nation. So, what do you expect? They will definitely clamour for the return of the spoon that over fed them.

But the last time I checked, some organisers within the party had decided to organise the disintegrated lots to embark on a series of unity health walk.

And, if that was the case, how could a few Regional Chairman declare their support for only one candidate?

The crucial question then is: is former President Mahama the only capable leader in the NDC fraternity?

I would, therefore, like to believe that the strange action taken by the ten Regional Chairmen will only deepen the existential cleavage in the party.

To be quite honest, I am struggling to get my head around how and why any real patriot would seek the return of someone who disastrously collapsed the country’s economy to the detriment of the impoverished Ghanaians.

So the Mahama loyalists would want us to believe that every single Ghanaian was oblivious to the happenings in the country prior to the 2016 general elections?

The fact of the matter is that the diehard NDC supporters were living in a denial about the harsh economic conditions prior to the 2016 general elections.

Back then, the vast majority of Ghanaians struggled to make a living or eke out an income. The dreadful errors in decision-making, the incompetence and the unbridled corruption culminated in untold economic hardships.

All the same, a section of the NDC loyalists hold Ex-President Mahama in high esteem.

It is also absolutely true that we can locate some disengaged brassbound NDC followers who do not wish to see Mahama as their next flagbearer.

If you may recall, the courageous George Boateng was ready to unseat Ex-President Mahama during the 2016 NDC’s flagbearership’s contest. However, the party apparatchiks controversially blocked George Boateng’s presidential ambitions.

But despite the undemocratic and somewhat unfair disqualification of the valiant George Boateng, his loyal supporters and the other disgruntled NDC delegates went ahead and voted against Ex-President Mahama, who bizarrely failed to convince nearly 6% of the delegates. Indeed, the unhappy 6% of the delegates voted for “MR Zero”. How bizarre?

Apparently, the aggrieved NDC Party supporters action did not end at the presidential race, but they rather took their protest to the 2016 general elections.

More disturbingly, the unhappy NDC supporters uncharacteristically withdrew their support for Mahama, which resulted in the humiliating defeat in the 2016 general elections.

Given the circumstances, I would like to believe that it is going to be extremely difficult for the disengaged NDC Party supporters to forgive Ex-President Mahama over his catastrophic errors in judgement.

So it was somewhat out of order when the ten Regional NDC Chairmen convened last year at the Cantonments office of Ex-president Mahama and gleefully, albeit carelessly threw their support behind him in the forthcoming flagbearership race.

On the whole, the critics rightly contend that former President Mahama’s government remains the worst ever in the history of Ghana politics.

However, the loyalists of former President Mahama, such as the ten Regional Chairmen, are ridiculously holding on to a faint hope that they could bring Ex-President Mahama back and recapture power from the NPP in 2020.

Given the circumstances, we cannot blame the critics of Mahama for suggesting that NDC rather needs a more capable flagbearer other than Mahama to capture the elusive power in 2020.

Somehow, a section of the aggrieved supporters could not hide their arousing disgust over the unpardonable events which led to the humiliating 2016 election loss.

The prominent among the disgruntled supporters is the Ex-President and founder of the party, J. J. Rawlings.

The extremely unhappy former President Rawlings has since been aiming accusing fingers at the non-performing and the allegedly corrupt NDC leadership for the humiliating election defeat.

Nevertheless, Ex-President Rawlings’s relentless accusations invariably infuriated the brassbound NDC faithful, who discourteously and uncharacteristically decided to revenge by tearing their founder, Ex-President Rawlings into pieces.

As a result, the disgruntled supporters came out and vehemently repudiated such allegations, and, rather accused Rawlings as the one who has been indulging in corrupt practices.

Well, whichever way you may situate the argument, Ex-President Rawlings’s endless grouching is in order. Indeed, there is nothing unwise about his remarks on the rampant sleazes and corruptions that sent the NDC Party into opposition.

So, where is the justification for all the abuses which are being directed at the Ex-President Rawlings?

Tell me, is Ex-President Rawlings not right for asserting that the erstwhile Mahama administration “squandered many opportunities to clean up and to restore the June 4 principles in the party?”

For argument sake, let us even agree that former President Rawlings sometimes goes overboard with his remarks. But is that a justification for the NDC faithful to go to an extent of abusing the very person whose ideals gave birth to a party (NDC) which has made them somebodys?

Let us be honest, why would anyone squall and upbraid Ex-President Rawlings for advising: “Ladies and Gentlemen, nobody is saying don’t make money but make it good and clean but not some of the ones that I know, sickening, the kind of greed, selfishness, look at where it landed us.”

In fact, it beggars belief that a section of the NDC brassbound supporters would insult their controversial founder for calling a spade as a spade.

And given the gargantuan corruptions in the previous NDC administration, it will only take a sycophant and unpatriotic individual to criticise anyone who shows concern.

After all, the vineyard news and other sources have it that the Professor Kwesi Botchwey Election Fact-finding Committee’s report indicted former President Mahama.

The sources have it that former President Mahama contributed largely to the NDC’s 2016 humiliating election defeat.

Apparently, there are those who assent to Ex-President Rawlings’s sentiments that Ex-President Mahama’s woeful errors in judgement and the gargantuan corruptions accounted for the NDC’s 2016 election loss.

But all said and done, on the preponderance of probability, Mahama and his supporters will most likely come victorious in the NDC’s 2020 flagbearship race.

In ending, the impending flagbearership race which is generating disagreements amongst the supporters of the NDC presidential aspirants presages disunity. Indeed, the never ending bickering could spell doom for the NDC.