My random musings: if I were an NPP delegate for November 4…

There’s a fuel station on the outskirts of Kumasi where we often stop to refuel when I have the use of a private car to travel to the Bono Region. Its premises include a storey building which has on its frontage the inscription ‘Si podemos’ – which I found out is Spanish for ‘Yes, we can’.

Actually, it was the striking words that first attracted me to patronise that station.

Somehow I saw a link between the si podemos and the famous President Barack Obama catchphrase, ‘yes we can’, and both came to mind when Vice President Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia announced the slogan for his campaign to become the ‘flagbearer’ of the New Patriotic Party.

The slogan Dr Bawumia confirmed on June 16, 2023, when he filed his nomination papers for the contest, was ‘It is possible’ (IIP), whose meaning is similar to the Obama one.

On November 4, NPP delegates will vote nationwide to select their presidential candidate for the 2024 general election, and doubtless by now most, if not all, of the NPP’s 200, 000 powerful delegates know their choice. But if I were one of them, I would take slogans, too, into consideration because a slogan is supposed to sum up a candidate’s aspirations and purpose.

Again, if I were a delegate, the main qualities of a presidential aspirant on my checklist would be: Competence; Visionary; Innovativeness; Pragmatism; Affability; Integrity; Composure and Unifier.

As is well known, the three other aspirants who will be on the November 4 ballot paper with the 60-year old Dr Bawumia are: Mr Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto and Mr Francis Addae Nimoh.

I recall that some weeks ago, during a TV discussion, a panellist explained that to him by ‘It is possible’ Dr Bawumia is indicating that for the first time a Northerner from the NPP has the possibility of becoming President of Ghana.

But to me IIP is much more than that. I see it as a recognition that where there is a will, it can be done; encouraging Ghanaians to adopt a positive mindset because an ‘impossibility’ attitude, the ‘it can’t be done’ outlook, retards progress.

Evidently, the state of the country’s economy is what worries Ghanaians most. Therefore, I believe that as head of the Economic Management Team (EMT), the Bawumia slogan is affirming his conviction that it’s very possible for the economy to regain the strength of the pre-Covid and pre-Russia-Ukraine war era, when the NPP’s handling of the economy was being applauded by the international financial institutions.

Also, that it’s possible for a Muslim to have a part Christian upbringing; in his case, courtesy of his link with the Methodist Church and membership of the church’s Boys Brigade, before his mother, a Methodist, converted to the Muslim faith of her husband. Obviously, this unmatched background would in later life facilitate a role for him as a bridge between the two faiths.

I would be thinking along those lines if I were an NPP delegate.

Furthermore, the slogan illustrates that it’s possible for a relative newcomer to politics, a Paul amma ntɛm (like the Biblical Paul), to emerge as an outstanding performer. (Saint Paul wasn’t one of the original disciples of Jesus, but after his conversion his exceptional contribution earned him a special reverence and status in the Church.)

As a delegate, I would want to help choose a candidate whose capability, qualifications and demeanour will appeal to the Ghanaian electorate. This will assist to ‘break the eight’, the avowed aim of the NPP to make history as the party that shattered the rotational eight-year (two terms) limit for parties that has been the convention since 1992.

Remarkably, Dr Bawumia won the August 26 Super Delegates poll by a virtual landslide of 68 plus percent, despite the backdrop of allegations of unfair massive establishment coercion and vote-buying to support Bawumia.

Curiously, those levelling vote-buying accusations never offer any information about how much their own camp offered! Neither do they swear that they didn’t offer any inducements. If I were a delegate, I would take note of that!

Ahead of November 4, the Bawumia mudslingers have been at work again. They seem to forget the recent big lesson from Assin North by-election won by the NDC. Despite alleged huge incentives given by the NPP, when the results were announced, TV images captured, memorably, ecstatic Assin North people jubilating and jeering that they had “chopped” the NPP money but had voted for the NDC.

An economist and banker, Dr Bawumia’s passion for technology, has led to accusations and derisive comments that although he chairs the EMT, he has run away from solving Ghana’s economic problems, and instead turned into an Information Technology expert. His response is that digitalisation is a sure strategy to tackle corruption and boost the economy.

Furthermore, he has explained: “I have my own vision for Ghana. I believe that it is time to move Ghana to the next level by building on the foundations we have put in place so far.

“I want to see a Ghana where we leverage technology, data and systems for inclusive economic growth. I want to make Ghana the digital hub of Africa.”

On a personal level, like countless numbers of people, I have benefitted greatly from the digitalisation agenda, because I can now sit in the comfort of my home and renew my Health Insurance; and pay for utility services, as well as even my Property Rate by phone, or the click of a computer mouse. Similarly, I was able to renew my passport online and have it delivered to me at home.

I believe that delegates, too, are benefitting from the digitalisation drive and will remember who has spearheaded it.

To me Ghana needs a leader who can build effectively on the countless, innovative pragmatic measures introduced by the NPP under President J.A. Kufuor and President Akufo-Addo – including the Ghana Card, the National Health Insurance Scheme and the Free Senior High School Policy.

I believe that Ghana needs much more than a fresh pair of hands: someone who has essential institutional memory of the problems and the solutions initiated.

The monumental achievements of the ruling NPP during the Akufo-Addo administration, have all been accomplished with Dr Bawumia’s help. Therefore, he has the background and insights necessary to ensure that if he should win the presidency, he will ‘hit the ground running’. And he has shown in so many ways that he is innovative, hardworking and capable.

However, of course I’m not a delegate; just a concerned Ghanaian praying that come January, 2025, Ghana will have a visionary, competent captain sworn into office to steer the Ghana ship. I’m just an ordinary Ghanaian praying that on November 4, there will be enough delegates who share my prayer and will vote for Dr Bawumia.

Of course all the four contestants have their strengths and are qualified to be the NPP Standard-bearer. Nevertheless, in my opinion, Dr Bawumia is the total package.

Dr Bawumia himself best expressed his aspiration in an appeal on his website: “Let us journey towards a future of possibilities for our beloved Ghana.”

And I, too, believe that, si, podemos; yes, it is possible.

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