What business does Chief Dele Momodu have with Ghanaian politics?

Folks, I have been monitoring media reports surrounding the Nigerian Chief Momodu Dele, taking account of all his complimentary remarks about President Mahama and wondering why Ghanaians won't appreciate his good leadership style and the benefits, particularly the development projects dotting the national landscape.

He has been reported at several times as wondering why Ghanaians won't give President Mahama the respect he deserves, considering his immense contributions to national development. He is even on record as having alluded to the Biblical dictum of a prophet not being honoured in his own homeland to create the impression that Ghanaians don't know what they will lose if President Mahama is not retained in office at Election 2016.

His critics have written him off as a nuisance; but he still maintains his stance, creating the impression that even though he is not a Ghanaian, he has every right to say what is on his mind about the Ghanaian situation. He is insisting that he has nothing to regret for ably supporting President Mahama and pushing his viewpoints down the ears of Ghanaians.

I have read almost all the news reports featuring him and won't blame him for going the way he has chosen. Apparently, I agree with him that President Mahama has done a lot to warrant his retention in office to turn to other aspects of problems bothering Ghanaians.

I do so with the firm conviction that his positive accomplishments at the level of infrastructural development recommend him. If he could do so much in less than four years, what can't he do to build on the foundation if given more time in office?

Building on that foundation entails paying attention to living standards and enunciating and implementing policies to lessen the burden on the people. Of course, the government cannot do everything simultaneously.

It is a matter of focusing on one at the expense of the other in the hope that once the foundation is laid for economic take-off, future measures should ensure better conditions for Ghanaians to benefit from the sacrifices made during the period that attention was focused on the construction of development projects. It is a matter of biding time.

Therein lies the rub. The NPP machinery has raked the past and raised so much dust as to create the unfortunate impression that by concentrating attention on development projects, President Mahama and his government are heartless.

It has, however, failed to assess its own political strategies, which are wrapped around the very objective of development projects (including the pesky and impulsive claim by Akufo-Addo that a government led by him would establish a factory in each district of Ghana).

Truly, development projects matter and should be highlighted as such. How the various political fronts frame their campaign messages around such initiatives is a whole big game. The truth, though, is that President Mahama has moved beyond mere rhetoric about development projects to providing those projects wherever needed. He is being praised all over for actualizing that dream!!

Looking closely at how the tide flows, it appears the Nigerian Momodu Dele is setting standards that the anti-Mahama elements will condemn and for which they will insult him and make all kinds of allegations to damn him.

As is to be expected, one such allegation is out: that President Mahama has bribed him with one million Dollars to do damage control for him. Chief Momodu has come out strongly to deny such an allegation

(See http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/1million-Mahama-gift-allegation-false-Dele-Momodu-459890).

According to him, he is singing President Mahama's praise at his own volition because the evidence of what he has been able to do for Ghana speaks volumes. It is, therefore, untenable for his political opponents to misrepresent issues and create a negative impression about him.

The political opponents will be quick to bad-mouth him because they don't like the tune that he is calling and singing. The nagging question, though, is: If President Mahama needs support to be retained in office, should it be the Nigerian Chief Momodu who must provide it? Or who should persuade Ghanaians of President Mahama's worth? I don't think so.

So, why is Chief Momodu so much invested in Ghanaian politics to the extent of expending so much energy in touting the worth of President Mahama? Could he be better off concentrating on happenings in his own country (Nigeria) instead? I don't know.

As he has explained, what he is involved in now is not the first time that he would have engaged Ghanaian politics. He did so under Kufuor and had an extensive interaction with Rawlings to bring out salient issues regarding Ghanaian politics.

But what exactly is his motivation? What does he think Ghana has to offer him and the world that his own Nigeria cannot? (I assume that the political situation in Nigeria is worse than what is happening in Ghana). Is he more attached to Ghana than to his own homeland? Why so? I don't know.

I shall return…

Writer's e-mail: mjbokor@yahoo.com