Five economy questions, did Mahama actually insult Bawumia? Let the facts speak.

Former President John Dramani Mahama, National Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate for Election 2024, has chosen the most appropriate time to pose some five precinct questions to the Vice President and New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential candidate, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia. This is the perfect description of accuracy and precision on the part of Mr. Mahama.

However, unsurprisingly, Dr. Bawumia has conveniently avoided the 5 economy questions and responded with some obnoxious 50 comments which he calls questions. You see, Dr. Bawumia cannot stand an academic debate based on practical. If he was really an economics who could link theory to practice, he would have meticulously and pedantically answered those 5 simple questions with both economics theories and practical examples.

However, an unrelenting and unflinching Mahama came back with a more and fierce clap back, urging Bawumia to stick to the economy and answer those 5 simple economic questions, because those were the concerns of the ordinary Ghanaian, Mr. Mahama went down the memory lane and quoted a popular American saying during the 1992 elections in the US “It is about the economy: Stupid!”.

Still unable to answer the 5 economy oriented questions, Dr. Bawumia and his team decided to play the victim in order to win sympathy from Ghanaians and make Mr. Mahama look bad. They disingenuously accused the NDC flagbearer of resorting to insults, when they so well know that it wasn’t. Dr. Bawumia, still unable to answer the 5 questions stated that, Mahama can insult all he likes, but will still lose the elections. Now let’s address the origin of the quote Mahama used.

"The economy, stupid" is a phrase that was coined by Jim Carville in 1992. It is often quoted from a televised quip by Carville as "It’s the economy, stupid." Carville was a strategist in Bill Clinton's successful 1992 U.S. presidential election against incumbent George H. W. Bush. His phrase was directed at the campaign's workers and intended as one of three messages for them to focus on. The others were "Change vs. more of the same" and "Don't forget health care."

Clinton's campaign advantageously used the then-prevailing recession in the United States as one of the campaign's means to successfully unseat George H. W. Bush. In March 1991, days after the ground war in Kuwait, 90% of polled Americans approved of President Bush's job performance. During the following year, Americans' opinions turned sharply; 64% of polled Americans disapproved of Bush's job performance in August 1992.

Clearly, Mahama did not insult Bawumia, and Dr. Bawumia knows it, his team knows it, his supporters knows it, they are just using the quote as a protective shield from the 5 simple economy questions. Dr. Bawumia must answer these questions, he should not play the victim, he should not ignore them, he should not throw jab, and we just need answers to these questions. Currently nothing is working in this country, local businesses are collapsing, foreign companies are relocating to neighbouring countries, unemployment is 15%, inflation and 25% exchange rate is skyrocketing all due to the mismanagement of the economy under the watch of Bawumia as head of the EMT.