To Be Forewarned Is To Be Forearmed!

There is an Akan proverb that literally translates, “The animal that will bite you is the kind that will bare its teeth.” The import of the saying is that, to be forewarned is to be forearmed. In other words, being aware in advance allows one to be better prepared or equipped to deal with whatever may come.

As we gradually approach the December 2024 polls, which is less than 12 moons away, political analysts expect the campaigns to be very fierce and dirty. Those under the eagle-headed Umbrella have not hidden their intention to descend into the gutters in order to wrestle political power from the hands of those riding on the Great Elephant.

One of their main weapons, which they have openly declared to the world, is to throw as much mud as possible on the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, with the hope that some will stick and stain his image.

Whether on radio, television or in the newspapers, you hear and read the Zu-za folks gleefully proclaim that they only need to play back some videos and speeches of the Dr. Bawumia in the 2024 campaign to paint him as a man who lacks credibility, since some of his speeches are at variance with the reality on ground today. No less a person than Joyce Bawah Mogtari, Special Aide to President Ogwanfunu, has joined in singing the chorus.

I think it is an interesting strategy. And since it takes two to tango, I hope those from the Osono camp have been given advanced warning and would be adequately prepared to match those from the Zu-za camp, boot for boot. After all, President Ogwanfunu is not the Angel and ilk Joyce Mogtari want us to believe.

President Ogwanfunu was once a vice president and president in this country and we remember the things he did and said. So all that the Elephant fraternity needs to do is to reciprocate Zu-za's gesture by playing back President Ogwanfunu's videos and speeches to show the electorate that all the promises he is making for the 2024 polls is only to hoodwink his compatriots to vote for him.

We have not forgotten how as president, he proclaimed that he was not a magician to put money in people's pocket. If I may ask, now that the Mr Dead-Goat seeks to resurrect, is he now a magician to put money in people's pockets? The video is available and I implore the campaign strategists of Osono to play back that video to raise the consciousness of the masses over the grand deception by President Ogwanfunu.

From his days as Vice President till now, his mouth has always exuded very foul smell. I vividly remember how he once referred to a suggestion by chiefs from the Western Region as “baloney”, an American slang which means ‘foolish’. Their only crime was that they had suggested to the then Atta Mills government to reserve 10% of the oil proceeds specifically for the development of the Western Region, where the oil was being drilled.

As president, we saw how he castigated his compatriots for having the guts to complain about the hardships he had infringed on them. He called their complaints and rants 'useless lamentations'.

While in Faraway Botswana, he declared to the whole world that he was a 'dead-goat', in reference to his decision not to heed the cry of the suffering workers. Again, he gleefully rubbed salt into the sores of many businessmen, who had endured the negative effects of ‘dumsor’, when he referred to them as not being ‘smart’. That was how stinking his words could be!

If you would recall, it was such actions that emboldened some of his appointees to go on an insulting spree. One person that comes to mind is Madam 'National Women’s Organiser', who happened to be a deputy minister in his government. She is the one credited with the infamous “sexy old fool” comment directed at then candidate, Nana Dee.

Even after losing the 2016 elections, he did not stop exuding bad breath. Few moons after his defeat in the said election, he started calling the electorates ‘naive’ for voting his corrupt government out of power. As he continued his campaign for the 2020 polls, his main narrative was that the electorates ‘ignorantly’ voted for President Nana Dee and the Great Elephant in 2016. In other words, his compatriots did not have a modicum of intelligence to decide which party or government was good for them.

Yes, he has now rebranded, brushed his teeth and claim to have very fresh breath. But he is only telling his compatriots all the sweet things they want to hear in order to deceive them into believing that a resurrected 'dead-goat' will be better than the ones already living.

As for Zu-za's threat to engage in dirty campaign by playing back Dr. Bawumia's speeches and videos, I say, bring it on. And to the leadership of the Elephant, do remember that to be forewarned is to be forearmed for the dirty campaign ahead.

See you next week for another interesting konkonsa, Deo volente!