Am l the only one who thought and felt that former President, Mr. John Mahama was being overly coy with his post election political ambitions? You harbored the same sentiments, right, didn’t you? Ok then, we are in the same boat.
Though he publicly declared his intentions on FACEBOOK — they have been a closely guarded secret for a long while —- vis a vis the 2020 presidential elections, Mr. Mahama’s recent spate of activities — leading NDC Unity Walks across the country and his not-so-subtle digs at Nana Akuffo Addo’s administration — were tell tale signs of a man laying the groundwork for a political comeback.
It is not for naught that the former president was suddenly so “active.” He is obviously not operating in a vacuum; there is a groundswell of support among the National Democratic Congress faithful for his candidacy and he is tapping into it with vigor.
Mr. Mahama is all geared up, rebooted and re-energized. He has every intention of throwing his hat into the NDC presidential primaries that most likely would pit him against up and coming party stalwarts like the clownish Mr.Joshua Alabi, the insufferable Mr. Albin Bagbin, the self-conceited Mr. Spio Garbah and a cluster of other wannabes?
Should Mr. Mahama emerge victorious — and the odds are overwhelmingly in his favor — he would face the NPP juggernaut, which as reports have it, is salivating at that very prospect.
The NPP is simply waiting for Mr. Mahama to declare his candidacy to pave the way for it to pounce, to dredge up its old and dirty campaign strategy of calling the former president all the ugly names in the book. Mr. Mahama would certainly be playing into the hands of his ardent foes. But determined to run he is, there is no stopping him.
l feel Mr. Mahama’s pain; his defeat in 2016 was devastating. He least expected the Ghanaian electorate to show him the exit. I am thus wondering if he has recovered from that shock long enough to mount an effective challenge to the man who put his political career on hiatus, Nana.
Mr. Mahama believes he has a reputation to salvage, and winning back the office he once occupied, he presumes, could provide him with the distinct opportunity to make amends to skeptical Ghanaians.
This may go against the grain; but I hold firmly to the conviction that Mr. Mahama is damaged “goods.” He has a record that will invariably expose him to public scrutiny; it will be exploited, abused and taken apart by his opponents for undue political gain.
I don’t begrudge the former president; after it is all said and done, it still remains his prerogative if he decides to run yet again for the presidency.
Nonetheless, it would be magical were Mr. Mahama to retreat and melt into the background and allow Alabi, Bagbin and Garbah to beat each other silly over the party’s presidential nomination.
The NDC is certainly not bereft of ideas that could win back the Ghanaian voter, but, crucially it has men and women capable of leading it to electoral victory and ultimately, political redemption.
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