Bawumia’s Presidential Bid of “Bad Belle”: Ghanaians Not Addicted to Nonsense

As an unsuccessful economic jihadist and crusader, the Vice President of Ghana, Dr. Mahmud Bawumia, must have been the last Ghanaian to seek to lead this country in the highest office of the land. But because the current political gladiators and gang of looters have found manna, peace and comfort in corruption accentuated by unimaginable level of “bad belle”, the economic anti-christ has the temerity to wish to lead the country.

Unfortunately, it appears some group of misguided intelligentsia, uneducated graduates, certificate forgers, and psychopathic tribal jingoists, are really beating the Tom-Tom for Bawumia’s presidency.

Indeed, several political fortune tellers have been propounding rather conspiracy theories predicting the electoral fortune of our nation’s economic terrorist. For if not economic terrorism and destruction, what at all would Dr. Bawumia become president to do again? To further use 13 billion to create unemployment under the pretext of financial clean-up exercise of the banking sector? Or to borrow money to digitize hunger and agony further? I don’t get it.

For me, I believe the recent 4:1 defeat of Tottenham Hotspur by Chelsea “the Blues” even at their lowest form, immediately after Dr. Bawumia was declared winner and the next torchbearer of the now “New Pain Party”, NPP, was an indication of the Veep’s defeat in the 2024 general elections in advance. And, In Sha Allah, there’s no two ways about it. Ghanaians are not addicted to nonsense and suffering.

The Vice President has been a diehard fan of Tottenham Hotspur, but his electoral victory celebration was abruptly and summarily thwarted when Tottenham got a shocking defeat by Chelsea FC which pulled them down from the number one (1) position they occupied on the League Table.

The signs are therefore clear for those who care enough to see, that God has decided to rescue Ghana, and would not allow the sufferings of Ghanaians to continue. And Ghanaians have, in the last seven years, been subjected to the most excruciating economic pain and drudgery under the economic management of Dr. Bawumia.

At a public toilet facility in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region, I recently witnessed a war of harsher words between a middle-aged woman and the caretaker of the public toilet. The woman kept yelling, hissing, and cursing at the facility caretaker. His crime? He charged the woman's 7 year old daughter one Ghana cedi (GH¢1) as entrance fee to the public toilet without adding a toilet paper for the girl to use. "Things have increased." the caretaker said without any fuss.

At most public toilet facilities today, T-role goes for 3 Ghana cedis and T-paper goes for 2 cedis. So 1 cedi would allow a citizen to accnbess the facility but neither T-role nor T-paper would be given. Unless you visit the facility with your own T-role or paper, after you have pulled your “stool”, you will have to use your bare hands and water to wash your backside. This is the state of Ghana today.

Truly, things have increased (in prices). There’s unacceptable decline of living standard today in Ghana, and the hardship is hitting us hard. And nobody needs presidential debate to attest to this reality. In fact, anyone calling for a presidential debate on this economy, is in a dire need of a psychiatric assistance.

But wait a minute, is it today the NPP would call for a presidential debate on the economy? It is imperative for Ghanaians to appreciate that the economy of Ghana was under IMF from 2015, under former President Mahama, to 2019. Although the Akufo Addo administration profited from the Mahama-initiated IMF, they lampooned, lambasted, and branded him as incompetent for going to the Fund.

Some citizens have rightly asked what happened to warrant Ghana’s IMF under Mahama in 2015? It was the Ebola outbreak which occasioned that IMF program. Fellow Ghanaians would recall that Ghana went to the finals of the AFCON Tournament against Ivory Coast in Equatorial Guinea that year. It was the Ebola outbreak which made Morocco to reject that year’s AFCON Tournament as the host nation. Though individual countries didn’t experience lockdown as in the case of Covid-19, the rest of the developed world shut their doors at Africa. At the same time, prices of crude oil and gold declined creating unexpected fiscal deficit for Ghana. These were the factors which prompted Ghana going to IMF in 2015 under Mahama.

The Heritage Fund was at the disposal of the Mahama administration they could rely upon without going to the IMF; and of course, the Mahama administration could as well recklessly borrow like the current “official thieves”. However, the NDC decided to opt for economic prudence over careless opulent economic management, which really paved the way and marshalled the Ghanaian economy in the right direction.

But the NPP after taking over in 2017 could not manage the economy for a complete year immediately that IMF program ended in 2019. It’s embarrassing to note, that even at the time the government and tbhe Finance minister Ken Ofori Atta bragged about superior and braggadocio of economic management when he said Ghana was a proud nation and Beyond Aid of IMF, Ghana was surprisingly under IMF the government was enjoying. What a shame?

This means that, since Akufo Addo and the NPP came to power, they only managed the economy without IMF intervention for only less than two years. Why won’t they have the gusto today to call for presidential debate on an IMF-assisted economy? In fact, even with the IMF intervention, Ghanaians still groan and experience the brutal effect of NPP’s incompetence and economic mismanagement.

Today, it takes almost 40 cedis before a cup of corn becomes flour at the mill for the preparation of "TuoZaafi" in the Northern Region. It costs about 50 to 60 cedis in the south. This is without ingredients for the soup. The price of cassava and plantain for Asante Fufuo, today, is untouchable. Prices of cooking oil, tomatoes, and rice have climbed above the reach of the poor who are majority in the country. Today, to buy salt, fish, onions, or meat etc. for cooking, is like organizing a wedding ceremony in the Zongo – it’s a death wish – very expensive. Today, coffin sellers in the country are worried. Not because Ghanaians no longer die, but people buy the coffins on credit to burry loved ones whose causes of death hunger was a key factor.

With these realities of economic jamboree, one is at a lost when those who have been the cause of this national disaster and hunger still brand themselves as the only panacea for the economic suffering. Fellow Ghanaians, if not out of politics of “bad belle”, which intelligent leader would want to continue leading in a portage of mess like this? What would Dr. Bawumia and the NPP offer Ghana again? Debt?

A former editor of The Punch in Nigeria, Bola Bolawale, defines politics of “bad Belle” and “bad blood” as a political situation where a political figure has both enemies without and within. And these two cross-fertilize their evil against their victim.

Speaking on the annulment of the 1993 presidential election of Nigeria which was worn by Mashud K.O Abiola but was annulled by the military regime led by Ibrahim Gbadamosi Babajinda (General IBB), Bolawale regretted that, that victory of MKO Abiola was quashed due to the combination of both politics of “bad belle” and “bad blood”. Pure envy. IBB was so jealous of the winner so much so that he decided to withhold his victory and eventually cancelled it.

In Nigerian parlance, a person accused of “bad belle” of others, is simply envious of them – jealousy.

Fellow Ghanaians, the restlessness of the Akufo Addo government about the possible come back of former President Mahama, which is certain than the devil’s place in hell, is nothing but excessive “bad belle”. Overwhelming envy! The NPP finds it tragic to swallow and digest the fact that, President Mahama has been blessed by God with the formula to undoing the economic messed up situation of Ghana.

It is the same politics of “bad belle” which has motivated both president Akufo Addo's comment in the aftermath of Dr. Bawumia’s victory as the next torch bearer of the NPP, and that of the case filed against former president Mahama in the Supreme court by Kuranchie, to seek the disqualification of the former president’s eligibility as far as the 2024 presidential election is concerned. Hatred and envy.

Recall after the election of Dr. Bawumia, president Akufo Addo shamefully blurted out one of the most democratically criminal and thoughtless statements in our time that, he shall do everything in his power to make Bawumia the next president.

What kind of shameless leaders do we have in this country? Can’t someone educate Akufo Addo and Dr. Bawumia that it is part of leadership to know when to lead and when to step down? Well, they seem to have a different but dangerous agenda than just leadership. And the number of ministers Akufo Addo appointed was quite bone-chilling and revealing. A tiny country like Ghana has the greatest number of ministers of over 127, with more than one thousand (1000) presidential staffers?

Apparently, useless comments like this is due to the customization, paralyzation, and personalization of our state institutions. Today, Ghana has literally become president Akufo Addo's personal fiefdom as he misuses and abuses levers of government. And with the heads of every state institution being the habitual ass-licker of the president, the man has become a deputy God in the country.

It is this same anomaly which has motivated Kuranchie to file the most unintelligent and offensive lawsuit against former President Mahama, asking the apex court of the land to obviously quash a fundamental constitutional provision as well as a judicial precedence in order to debar the former president from contesting the 2024 presidential election. Such a legally sick-minded case, tolerated by the Supreme court? How disgraceful and contemptuous our justice system has become.

The truth is, anybody with Akufo Addo’s stamp can manipulate the justice department today and get away with it because the custodians of our justice system have become puppies of the president. A reason why the Electoral Commissioner got away with the 2020 electoral heist when the Supreme court twisted the arm of justice and allowed her not to even testify and defend the credibility of the very election she herself conducted.

Kuranchie’s case is rather embarrassing, an open insult and contempt of the nation's highest court. It's an affront to the credibility and independence of the Supreme court, and has depicted it as a court of “anything goes”.

But inasmuch as the Supreme court has become a relentless bootlicker of the Executive branch of government, and has also become Akufo Addo's personal property with almost every Supreme court judge appointed by him, it is obvious that this politics of “bad belle” has been the chief architect and motivator for all this.

It is rather interesting the level of envy president Akufo Addo and his cronies have developed for the former president, Mr. John Dramani Mahama. Basically, it is the former president they hate to see lead the country. After bad-mouthing his government while in opposition, Akufo Addo and his "men" turned out to be the most incompetent group of government officials in the history of Ghana. One would have thought that with such a degree of cornucopia of embarrassment, Akufo Addo and his men would have vacated the presidency with immediate effect and handover power to Mr. Mahama, having messed up big time. But no. Rather, these political cowards are preparing to tighten the noose of power out of envy.

Fellow Ghanaians, our men of old said a blind person who promises to throw a stone at you has already stepped on it. This latest threat by President Akufo Addo to keep Ghana in the cannier economy of Bawumia, must not be taken lightly.

Like Prof. Adei observes, there could be societal uprising when careless political criminals exploit the nonchalant and weakness of the Ghanaian population. And Ghana actually risks going to war should this thieving and incompetent NPP government attempts to perpetuate their foul leadership.

There shall be an apocalyptic civil war in this country if another electoral heist is instigated by the current gangsters who have been very dwarfed in thinking.

It shall be a war for the soul of our motherland; a war against national molesters and enablers of evil; a war we shall wage, to destroy an empire of corruption and hopelessness!

“It is Possible”.