“It is better to be a cleaner in a ruling party than the General Secretary of an opposition party,”- Ex President John Agyekum Kufuor.
“Adzi wo fiea oye.” Ex President John Evans Attah Mills. Literary translated as “if there is something at home, it is good.”
However, when put in the context within which it was said, it means ‘it is better for one to own whatever is in contention instead of the other person’.
Given that the late President Mills made this while on election campaign rounds in the Central Region where he hails from, I am not misquoting him if I say what he meant was that his kith and kin should vote for him so that he would bring all the goodies associated with the presidency home- The Central Region.
The above referenced statements, no doubt give a clue as to the mindset of our average politician- What is in it for them? They ask in all their endeavours.
The statement that got Victoria Hammah fired as Deputy Minister in President John Mahama’s first term- “I will not quit politics until I make one million dollars,” provides further proof.
And recent allegations of wanton use of huge public funds for personal gain by appointees of the erstwhile Akufo-Addo administration by the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, give credence to the notion that some of our politicians come not to serve us, but themselves.
Therefore, when the General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Fifi Fiavi Kwetey said during the 44th anniversary celebration of the 31st December ‘Revolution’ that those calling for President Mahama to be given a third term are “bootlickers”, he spoke the truth.
Those people were thinking about themselves and what they are getting from the presidency of the current president, for which reason he should be allowed to stay in power longer than what the 1992 Constitution has prescribed. Possibly for forever!
In case you missed it, here is what Fifi Kwetey said.
“These days, it saddens me when I see sycophancy creep into our party. You see a group of people who believe that singing the praises of a leader is the only way they can survive. That is why you hear some of those people even urging statements like there should be a third term. This is nothing but sycophancy, pure sycophancy and bootlicking of the highest order.
Jerry Rawlings, who founded this party, was never at any point urged by anybody to go for a third term. You have a bunch of sycophants who think that singing praises will get them the opportunity they are looking for. You don’t love our country, and you don’t love our party. It is important to appreciate that this party was grounded on the need to work for our people,” he said.
“…singing praises will get them the opportunity they are looking for”. That’s my key take out. This is like the fish coming out of the river to tell you that the crocodile it dead. A confirmation that those who wear political colours, whether red, green, white and black or blue, white and red do so for the opportunities they are looking for.
Otherwise, why would they even think about it? That President Mahama should cause a change of the provisions of Article 66 (2) of the 1992 Constitution– “A person shall not be elected to hold office as President of Ghana for more than two terms.”
And Fifi put it succinctly- You don’t love our country. That’s because any attempt to effect that change could have catastrophic consequences for this country. But do they care? Obviously not. For as long as that would guarantee them the opportunities they are looking for. Who cares?
You don’t love our party- This is the party whose founder is credited with Ghana’s return to democratic rule. This statement is debatable, you may say. But if you look just next door to Togo, you will see what ex President Rawlings could have done for his daughter Zenator or son Kimathi and damned the consequences.
And if you look a little farther to other African countries, you will find what the quest for one person to stay in power in perpetuity has caused them, in terms of development.
President Mahama’s take
Thankfully, President Mahama has pooh-poohed their desire.
Speaking during a bilateral meeting with Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam on a three-day state visit, President Mahama said, “I will not be a candidate in the next elections….”
I trust that he will let his word remain a bond.
Also, the Chairman of the Constitution Review Committee, H Kwesi Prempeh said during the presentation of their report to President Mahama that none of the stakeholders who appeared before them mentioned third term for the president, so it was not part of their recommendations.
I guess that should put paid to this third term for John Mahama campaign.
12 months of relief
To say that God loves Ghana, is to state the obvious. That is why he caused the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to lose the 2024 election with such level of humiliation. If that had not happened, one can only imagine where this country’s development indicators would be by now.
I am happy that in the last 12 months, JM is living up to the details of his victory speech delivered on December 10, 2024.
“My brothers and sisters, there is much to do to salvage our country and reset it. We have to start with the resetting of the relationship between citizens and elected officials. We must never forget that the people of Ghana have chosen us to represent their wishes and best interest,” Mahama said.
With inflation at 5.4% in December, 2025, Cedi exchanging at about GHC10.50 to $1.00, and fuel being sold at between GHC9.00 and GHC11.50 per litre, there is joy in the country. Every objective analyst is scoring the government ‘A’ in its first-year performance assessment.
Clearly, salvaging the country has been done, how to sustain these gains and take it to the reset stage is what remains to be seen.
I have offered my suggestion on how to reset urban transportation in the country. And I will believe it if someone tells me that the President reads this Column.
That’s because during one of his recent public statements, after my article on Greater Accra’s urban transport system, he mentioned that those criticizing the Accra-Kumasi expressway project have no case. He cited a 7-hour blockage on the Accra-Kumasi road two weeks ago due to an accident, as justification for the expressway.
Errm…, your excellency, a one off 7-hour traffic jam is different from a daily 3 hours to and 3 hours from work in Accra due to an inefficient public transport system.
Plus, he seems to be ticking the boxes in respect of some suggestions I made in an article published in November 2024 titled- As the curtains are drawn on Akufo-Addo’s government. Here is the concluding part of that piece:
“My hope is that JDM will make very good use of the second chance IF he gets it. That’s because the task is gargantuan, thus cannot be “business as usual”…
I add that four years are not enough to reset Ghana. That is why JDM must focus on getting the basics right immediately. Here is an abridged version of my long wish list:
- Address factors that cause the cedi to depreciate so rapidly- Done
- Focus on plantation agriculture to create jobs for the teeming unskilled youth- Mentioned in a speech recently
- Facilitate the creation of agro-processing industries- Mentioned in a speech recently
- Solve Dumsor once and for all- The word seems to have vanished from public discussions
- Scrap E-levy to facilitate e-transactions- Done
- Reintroduce road toll for maintenance of our roads- Heard about it in the works
- Reduce number of cabinet ministers to 20 (It is Possible- Use Chief Directors and their numerous technocrats to run the ministries) – Well, 60 is half of 120
- Review the 1992 Constitution- In the works
In sum, let’s see what people who get second chances do- They go all out to make up for what they failed to do.”
It’s time to go
It seems to me that the second chance has really touched President Mahama. He has realized the real essence of being entrusted with the power of the people.
Hear him when he spoke at the Thanksgiving Service held to commemorate this year’s Constitution Day on January 7- “Let us move forward with humility, let us lead with empathy and let us govern with courage. Let us not forget that leadership is stewardship, it is temporary and fleeting. Authority is a fleeting trust held on behalf of the people.”
Clearly, it is this realization that has made him task all those who matter in his government to fire on all cylinders- Ato Forson, Johnson Asiama and Sammy Gyamfi. Maybe it is the results that this reawakening has produced that the “bootlickers” want to see more of, hence the call for a third term.
Be that as it may, my view is that Ghana’s development lies not in the reawakening of one man, in 2026, to what our forebears put in the Constitution 34 years ago- “The State shall take all necessary action to ensure that the national economy is managed in such a manner as to maximize the rate of economic development and to secure the maximum welfare, freedom and happiness of every person in Ghana and to provide adequate means of livelihood and suitable employment and public assistance to the needy.”- Article 36 (1).
I will repeat- What we need is a national development plan and a renewed commitment, by all those who seek to govern this country, to the dictates of Article 35(7)- “As far as practicable, a government shall continue and execute projects and programmes commenced by the previous governments.”
Without that, we shall keep moving one step forward and three steps backward.
Sayonara- That’s goodbye in Japanese.
Let God Lead! Follow Him directly, not through any human.
The writer is the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Columnist of the Year- 2022. He is the author of two books whose contents share knowledge on how anyone desirous of writing like him can do so. Eric can be reached via email [email protected]
