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Has President Mahama outwitted his
political opponents?
By Dr. Michael J.K. Bokor
Friday, November 20, 2015
Folks, over the past few days, President Mahama has
dominated public discourse in connection with his utterances
at rallies in Accra and Ho to sell himself primarily to NDC
members and Ghanaians, generally, as preparations toward
Election 2016 take shape. He took on his critics, telling
them what has turned out to be a game-changer as far as
political rhetoric is concerned. For the records, President
Mahama is not known to stand toe-to-toe with his political
opponents in any wordy warfare. He has shied away from
reacting to their pejoration all these years until now!
That is not to say that he stooped low to demean himself and
the highest office of the land that he occupies. No; far
from that. Neither does it mean that he insulted any of his
critics or that he used intemperate language to debase them.
He simply went the way a good communicator would, addressing
those critics in a language that they would be expected to
understand. And he preached peace, not the violence that
they are highlighting in their public posturing and
pronouncements.
He made it clear that their “useless insults” and labelling
of him as “incompetent” won’t deflect him from doing what
the electorate put him at the Presidency to do. Neither
would he lose his bearing or focus thereby. And he pointed
out why.
He singled out the NPP’s Dr. Bawumia for emphasis, saying
that as far as ruling Ghana was concerned, a political
neophyte of Bawumia’s type didn’t know what was at stake and
couldn’t be a judge over his performance. So were all
ignorant but politically mischievous others jumping on the
band-waggon to trumpet their new-found buzzword
(“incompetent”). The huge approbation given him by the large
crowd should sum it up.
Then, at Ho, he made it clear that he won’t be perturbed by
the “rabbit press conference” held by Freddie Blay and the
NPP cabal to attempt disorienting or unsettling him. He said
a lot more, one of which was that despite all the noise
being made by the NPP people about his government’s
contracting of loans to raise the country’s indebtedness,
the Kufuor government ‘s contribution to the overall debt
stock stood at 41%. What is more, whatever his government
gets is meant for infrastructural development, among others,
to improve conditions in the country.
So much for what the President said. Now, to the reaction
from his political opponents. As is to be expected, they
have snapped up the President’s words and are chewing on
them, fuming and fussing while flexing their buccal muscles
to intensify their vilification of him. Already, comments
from them prove that they are already chafing and agitated
all the more to do so. That is where the trap lies for them.
Just a few examples:
• Kwadwo Owusu-Afriyie—who is no stranger to us—was quick to
say that President Mahama’s utterances should have been
reserved for the “babies with sharp teeth” to make. Really?
Is Owusu-Afriyie also a baby with sharp teeth who has made
ridiculous utterances over the years only to be shown the
exit by his party’s delegates? Or to be “caught” by
“Gbeshie” at the NPP’s useless petition hearing?
• Dominic Nitiwul, NPP MP for Bimbilla, is reported to have
said that he won’t fall into the gutter with President
Mahama. He was reacting to the President's taunt that the
NPP's "sleeping MPs" joined the Majority to approve loan
requests made by his government. Really, Nitiwul? What does
such an upstart think he is, anyway? That he can equate
himself to the President and behave as if he doesn’t know
where he is in the political equation?
• Anthony Karbo is reported to have said that by making
those pronouncements, President Mahama has opened himself to
attacks (I hope verbal and personal only, though). No
surprise here because the political apparatus of the NPP is
built on insults and scare-mongering. Intensifying the
personal attacks on President Mahama will definitely not be
strange. It is the forte of members of the trash-talking
communication team of the NPP. But it has its consequences,
which I will explain soon.
• In comes the certified buffoon, Daniel Bugri Naabu
(Northern Regional Chairman of the NPP) who is reported to
have said that President Mahama is a disgrace to
Northerners.
• For saying what tangentially ties in with Bugri Naabu’s
opinion, Martin A.B.K. Amidu falls in step. He is reported
to have said that President Mahama’s “poor performance” is a
harbinger of doom for Northerners. According to him, there
are ominous signs that no Northerner may be elected
President in the next 20 to 30 years!
Folks, we can see from what President Mahama has set in
motion that he is on a path to outwit his political
opponents. By feeding them with his pronouncements, he has
succeeded in giving them nothing but a weapon that will be
used for nothing productive. These opponents will definitely
spend their time and resources ratcheting up their campaign
of insults and lies in the mistaken belief that painting
President Mahama black will weaken his political base and
win support for them.
Therein lies the danger for them. Insults don’t win votes.
Instead, they alienate voters, especially in our current
political dispensation when the voters need issue-based
political campaign messages to make their electoral
decisions at Election 2016. What alternative policies and
measures does the NPP have to outdo the NDC-led
administration? Mere criticisms upon criticisms and the
singing of swan songs by the NPP’s “Concert Party” troupe
won’t appeal to the voters. So, if recourse to insults is
their means to counteract President Mahama’s efforts at
being retained in office, they stand no chance.
We note that President Mahama was roundly welcomed on the
regional tours, which made some in the Progressive People’s
Party (the platform for Dr. Nduom’s one-man show) accuse him
of abusing power on the tours. What constitutes that abuse
of power, I don’t know. How else could President Mahama
interact with the mass of the people if he didn’t go to
them? If he didn’t visit localities to speak to the people
directly and to commission projects that his government had
constructed for them? How did those critics expect him to
use the power vested in him by the very people with whom he
interacted on the tours? Desperation doesn’t fetch political
capital, folks.
By setting traps for his opponents this way, President
Mahama knows how to up the game. He has given them fodder to
chew on, and that’s exactly what they are doing, using their
favourable mass media for discussions devoid of policies but
rich in insults. They are expending energy doing “rally
ground talk” and organizing “rabbit press conferences” to
listen to their own voices, even as they hurl insults at
President Mahama. And such insults even touch on his ethnic
origin which, in effect, will infuriate his kith and kin. No
positive impact on that segment of the electorate whatever
to Akufo-Addo’s advantage. That’s the task now given them by
President Mahama.
As they do so with vigour, violence, and determination, they
annoy the people because they know that no country is built
on insults. The people may be complaining about hardships,
but they aren’t fools to go for those using insults as their
political weapon in a desperate search for political power.
As I have repeatedly said, the sufferings of the people
won’t automatically translate into votes for Akufo-Addo.
Unfortunately, though, he and his gang don’t see things that
way, which is why they have remained fixated on
emotions/sentiments and preaching violence if their demands
for electoral reforms are not met. They are adding more fuel
to the political fire that they have set to burn themselves.
In any case, the Afoko problem won’t vanish soon; so also
will others emerging not help the NPP’s cause.
Just compare the happenings characterizing Akufo-Addo’s
“Rice and Beans” tour and that of President Mahama. While
Akufo-Addo talked glibly about the need for party unity,
happenings regarding the hounding of Afoko and all those he
considers as “enemies within” proved him wrong. In effect,
his tour registered nothing conclusive to advance the NPP’s
cause. The house is still shaking at its foundation.
On the other hand, President Mahama didn’t only talk to
people; he also used the occasion to commission projects
dear to the hearts of the people and to reassure them of
what his government would do next. Of course, the projects
matter. For all the 12 years that Akufo-Addo represented
Abuakwa South in Parliament (and even serving in two
different Ministerial positions), he couldn’t initiate a
single project nor did he commission any for his people.
It’s all about talk, talk, talk, and talk!! No walking the
talking!!
Folks, I know President Mahama is credited with
communication skills, even if he doesn’t indulge in the
theatricals and pompous show of oratory in a locally
acquired foreign accent as does the NPP’s Akufo-Addo.
President Mahama knows what is dear to the hearts of his
opponents and has used his speeches in Accra and Ho to
entrap them. He has given them work to do but for a bitter
harvest. Has President Mahama not succeeded in confusing and
outwitting his opponents?
I shall return…
• E-mail: mjbokor@yahoo.com
• Join me on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/mjkbokor
to continue the conversation.
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