Kofi Bentil, Ghanaians won’t buy into any repackaged deceits of the NPP again

Before heated political campaigns for the 2024 General elections start, Ghanaians must be watchful of any repackaged deceits of the NPP again.

It is evident that this governing NPP government led by Akufo-Addo and Dr. Bawumia overdosed Ghanaians with mouth-watering promises only to perform so poorly in government. Apart from the NPP’s failed promises, appalling leadership, escalating corruption scandals and general underdevelopment, a whole lot of economic hardships and piling of taxes under Nana Akufo-Addo and Dr. Bawumia have engulfed the nation for the past over 7 years.

Kofi Bentil, the Vice President of IMANI Africa, and the likes of Kweku Baaku, Ace Ankomah, Kofi Kapito, etc., made Ghanaians believe that the current President Akufo-Addo was the best fit for Ghana’s woes in the built-up to the 2016 General elections.

For this piece, let me stay with Kofi Bentil. It is highly curious to observe the twist and turns of Kofi Bentle regarding his subtle attempt to repackage the discredited Vice President Bawumia for Ghanaians in this election year, 2024.

Kofi Bentil is someone who has been critical of the past Mahama-led government and even the current Akufo-Addo-Bawumia-led government. His public endorsement for Dr. Bawumia has now highly exposed his questionable credibility and open-mindedness on national issues because of his unmeritorious reasoning to urge Ghanaians to give Dr. Bawumia a ’fair hearing’.

In 2014 at the Occupy Flagstaff House demonstration, Kofi Bentle ascribed ‘bad leadership’ affecting basic things in life such as water, education, health, energy, transportation, etc. He admitted that he vigorously campaigned for Akufo-Addo to be become President in 2016.

Kofi Bentil has been on record to have said that he was appalled by the disappointing governance style of Akufo-Addo like many other Ghanaians. The poor performance of Akufo-Addo and Dr. Bawumia in government produced the first-ever hung Parliament in the Fourth Republic in 2020 and associated skirmishes that took place.

I have a few rhetorical questions for Kofi Bentle:

• Isn’t Kofi Bentil in this country where his favourite Presidential candidate, Dr. Bawumia pontificated the so-called best economic solutions to Ghana’s Guggisbergian economy in 2016 and turned round to create huge economic mess and mounting national debt as the Economic Management Team (EMT) Chairman?
• How does Bentil want Ghanaians to buy into his subtle repackaging of a discredited candidate who proffered all kinds of economic solutions and called a sitting President ‘incompetent’ and turned to be 'super incompetent' himself?
• How can Dr. Bawumia be better than former President Mahama when the former is not his own man?
• Kofi Bentil, do you think that Ghanaians will be fooled again with your subtle repackaging tactic to call on Ghanaians to try Dr. Bawumia like President Akufo-Addo before?
• Is Dr. Bawumia not part of this currently bad leadership that Kofi Bentil talked about in 2014?
• How is Dr. Bawumia going to unravel the stringing rot of the Akufo-Addo-led government of which is part as well as being the Chair of the EMT, if he were to be made the President After Akufo-Addo his boss?
• Does it take the same person Kofi Bentil to tell Ghanaians to try Dr. Bawumia now like Akufo-Addo again?

In as much Kofi Bentil has his views like all of us, his credibility and open-mindedness are seriously challenged now. The public uproar with respect to Kofi Bentle’s assertion to give Dr. Bawumia a ‘fair hearing’ is appropriate and timely as his position smacks intellectual dishonesty to say the least.

In these crucially vital General elections in 2024, Ghanaians won’t buy into any repackaged deceits of the NPP again through deliberate attempt of Kofi Bentle who wants the same Ghanaians to choose between 'the devil and deep blue sea', which I hereby mean 'the NPP Party and Dr. Bawumia'.

Ghana badly needs rescue from the economic, social, and environmental mess that has been on the ascendency under the watchful eyes of Akufo-Addo and Dr. Bawumia.

There is good reason for Ghanaians to be doubtful of Bentle’s assertion that Bawumia will be a better President. The uninspiring ‘economic strategist’, Dr. Bawumia, cannot suddenly become a better and visionary leader than former President whose sterling records are still speaking loudly for him and the NDC Party.

Kofi Bentil has injured his reputation, in my opinion, as a vociferous contributor in the CSO space when it comes to discussions on national issues of the country. Even the NPP itself know that they have don’t any good message for Ghanaians in the upcoming General elections. The Ghanaian voters are no gullible and let’s take them seriously.