The evil of character assassination: What happened to Mahama’s womaniser tag?

I have decided to wade into the ongoing malicious character assassination of the NPP’s 2024 presidential running mate, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh by the clamorous propagandists who have, unfortunately, carved a niche of shenanigans for themselves over the years.

My dear reader, much as I remain a stubbornly impenitent critic of His Excellency Ex-President John Dramani Mahama, I cannot and would not in any way bring his name into disrepute in the name of politics.

Let me, however, venture to stress that it is neither an insult on my part to stress inexorably that an individual has no competence to hold a particular position, nor slanderous to assert that someone is devoid of the qualities requisite for effective conduct of a position such as the president of a nation.

However, it may be slanderous or libellous to refer to someone as a womaniser or an obdurate insolent if it turns out to be untrue.

More so, I do not think it is a character assassination to suggest that someone is only a good lawyer but incompetent to be an effective communicator.

But, I would like to believe that the individual will take exception to the reference of an arrogant geezer or a womaniser as it could harm the individual’s hard-earned reputation.

Let us, therefore, remind the chorus bandwagon that while it is absolutely wrong to refer to someone as an unrepentant womaniser, it is also disgusting to malign an innocent person as an inveterate insolent.

I have stated elsewhere that there are those who received a very good foundation by attending posh schools, colleges, and universities like Prempeh College, Eaton College, Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge, among others, and have thus become extremely tenacious, assertive and over confident over time.

I would, therefore, like to submit that, Senior Napo, a subtle mind, and a product of my alma mater (Prempeh College), is not arrogant by any stretch of the imagination. He is rather tenacious, assertive and over confident.

I must admit, I was extremely mindful of the vineyard news about former President Mahama’s alleged extra marital affairs.

“There is this notion of me being a womaniser which is certainly not true”. “I have had children outside my marriage, but I am at peace with my wife. She understands the circumstances in which it happened” said President Mahama (Daily Guide/peacefmonline.com).

In the grand scheme of things, a womaniser is “an individual who pursues women lecherously or passionately”.

Deductively, a womaniser is a liar, and a liar may be susceptible to dodgy deals.

In theory, therefore, it is impossible for one to keep several concubines, unless you are an inveterate liar. In other words, you have to engage in a lot of 'propaganda' in order to have your way.

More so, how do you provide all your numerous concubines with financial support if you have 'a shallow pocket'?

I am afraid the likely scenario is for the individual to resort to dubious practices, including bribery and corruption in order to support income to feed the abhorrent habit of keeping several concubines.

“Womanisers, especially those who have no qualms about fathering children out of wedlock, are far more likely to succumb to the criminal act of bribery and corruption in order to sustain their financially consuming addiction” (Okoampa-A. K, 2012/ghanaweb.com).

Apparently, there is a correlation between womanising and corruption. It was against that backdrop that I expressed concern about the womanising innuendoes directed at President Mahama.

It would be recalled that when President Mahama was first selected as the running mate of the then candidate, the late Mills in 2008, Mr Mahama’s official curriculum vitae released at the time indicated that he had nine children. However, the CV was allegedly withdrawn and replaced with a new one stating seven as the number of his biological children (Daily Guide/peacefmonline.com).

Somehow, the seemingly weird omission rightly generated a nationwide gossip over the actual biological children of former President Mahama.

In fact, there were contrasting figures from the vineyard news. While some vineyard branches delineated twenty three children from ten different mothers, other vineyard branches mapped nineteen children from nine separate ladies and so on.

All the same, in his interview with the Africawatch, President Mahama made it clear that he had had children outside his marriage, but his wife understands his extra marital affairs (modernghana.com).

Apparently, the former president’s father, “the late Emmanuel Adama Mahama, a former regional minister in the Nkrumah regime allegedly had 19 kids by various women. The president admitted in the Africawatch interview” (Daily Guide/peacefmonline.com).

“Yes, we were many siblings from different mothers, but one of the things he did was to bring us together and made sure that every single child of his was put through school”.

“He gave us the opportunity,” former President Mahama said.

“However, in the case of the president’s children, they are living apart, perhaps making it difficult to know one another” (Daily Guide/peacefmonline.com).

Somehow, former President Mahama’s admirers would strangely contest that ‘crab does not bring forth a bird’.

The Mahama supporters, however, would argue forcefully and passionately that after all, the President’s father, “the late Emmanuel Adama Mahama, a former regional minister in the Nkrumah regime had 19 kids by various women”.

Well, this is where I disagree with President Mahama’s diehard admirers. My disagreement is predicated on the fact that the President’s father was allegedly a devoted Moslem, whose religious beliefs entitled him to marry up to four women.

On the other hand, President Mahama has pegged himself off the Islamic principles and sought refuge in Christianity, where polygamy is forbidden.

Other sympathisers would insist that if indeed President Mahama is indulging in extra marital affairs, it is his private matter and no one has the right to intrude into his private life.

But, my response to that schools of thought who hold such a view is: Mahama is the former President of Ghana and the 2024 flagbearer of the largest opposition party in the country, and therefore every patriotic Ghanaian has every right to be concerned with any bad name that would tarnish not only Mahama’s image, but the whole nation.

To me, I have no business digging into President Mahama’s private life. A womaniser or no womanizer, it is up to him as a former president of Ghana and now NDC’s 2024 flagbearer to explain to Ghanaians and the whole world whether it is morally right to allegedly cheat his wife by keeping several women alongside his wife?

K. Badu, UK.

k.badu2011@gmail.com