Open letter to Ex-president John Mahama from a concerned Sissala East constituent

Your Excellency,

I extend my fraternal greetings to you, your family and your campaign team. I understand you will be coming to Tumu today as part of your 2024 ‘campaign’ tour. We are actually excited to welcome you to the land because as a "slave" of ours, we need your continuous servitude.

Your Excellency , there are some concerns and fears from well meaning constituents of Sissala East. You won't hear it from the very fanatical NDC loyalists because they just want to be in your good books. But as a proud "king and overlord" of the Gonja people, I wish to ‘leak’ them out to you in this open letter.

Your Excellency, during the era of president Kuffuor and the NPP administration, Tumu had a functioning cotton ginnery that employed hundreds of youths and thousands of Sissala people were encouraged to engage in cotton farming. During that time, there was a real 24 Hour economy in the Tumu cotton industry as recently attested to by the Sissala East NDC constituency chairman.

Your Excellency, in January 2009, the NDC was sworn into power as the new government with you as the vice president. Your party, the NDC, in 2008 promised to improve further on the already existing 24Hour economy in the Tumu Cotton Industry. In a typical PNDC/NDC style, the Tumu Cotton Industry which hitherto was in the hands of the government was sold of to Olam Ghana in 2010. We were promised big monies in the new "white gold" industry. Unfortunately your Excellency, in just four years of your government selling the Tumu Cotton Ginnery off to Olam Ghana, the industry collapsed in 2014. It was very sad because it happened under your presidency and direct supervision. Our revered Tumu Kuoru consistently reminded your Excellency on the need to revamp the Tumu Cotton Industry but throughout your stay as president, you consistently ignored the Tumu Cotton Industry.

Your Excellency, as you are coming to Tumu today, would you be humble enough to apologize for this deliberate pain and discomfort you caused we the constituents of Sissala East and by extension the Sissala people? Will you be bold enough to look in the eyes of the Sissala people and tell them you will revamp the cotton industry? Will you deceive them again as you did in 2008? NO SISSALA PERSON WILL EVER TAKE ANY PROMISE OF YOU TO REVAMP THE COTTON INDUSTRY SERIOUS.

Your Excellency, between 2013 to 2016, you consistently refused to give any respect to the Sissala people and you consistently refused to attend any of our annual Paragbielle Festivals. You remain the only president in history to ever refuse to attend the Sissala people Paragbielle Festival. When in 2016 you came for your final campaign in Tumu, you indicated that you'll attend the next Paragbielle in "whatever capacity". Your Excellency, we had a number of Paragbielle Festivals since then and you never made an attempt to attend even one. Your Excellency, if you cannot maintain this simple promise nobody coerced you to make, should the Sissala people trust you again? What will be the motivation for that trust?

Your Excellency, when you came for campaign in 2012, the constituents of Sissala East through their revered chiefs indicated to you that they wish if you become president you should elevate Sissala East into a Municipal, get a bus for the St. Claire's Vocational Institute, construct a new Technical school and equally complete the Kanton SHS Dining Hall project. God was good and you won power in 2012 and equally won the Sissala East constituency for the NDC. However, throughout your four years as president, none of these promises was fulfilled. Your loss of power in 2016 became a blessing for the Sissala people as Sissala East was finally given its well deserved municipal status, St. Claire's given a bus and the Holy Family SHS in Wellembelle now elevated to a Senior High Technical and enjoying the NPP Free SHS policy.

Your Excellency, the list is long and endless but I wouldn't want to bother you too much. I only wish you well in your campaign and I wish you and your team a safe drive on the Wa to Tumu road that your government refused to fix. Enjoy the smooth road from Nahadaqui to Tumu that the Akufo Addo and the NPP is fixing for you. When you equally finally settle in Tumu, visit the Tumu sports stadium and admire the Astro-turf the NPP and Akufo-Addo gave to us. You can equally have a tour of the Tumu Water Supply System that is currently ongoing.

Your Excellency, kindly do us a favour by thanking president Akufo Addo, Dr. Bawumia and the NPP for all the good they bestowed to we the constituents of Sissala East. As our ‘slave’ do well to extend our gratitude to them and assure them that Dr. Bawumia breaking the 8, In sha Allah, and Hon. Amidu Chinnia breaking the Sissala East 4, In sha Allah, is a communal labour.

Thank you your Excellency and welcome once again former President Mahama to the Sissala East you abandoned when you were once president. May you enjoy your stay...

Fuseini Abdul-Fatawu

A concerned Sissala East voter