The Resurgence Of Nkrumahism: Analyzing Mahama's Vision For Ghana

The Ghanaian president, John Dramani Mahama, is among the nation’s leaders who had publicly revered, respected, and supported the legacies of the country's first president, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. In addition to honoring the late Nkrumah, Mahama has been carrying on with his legacies in terms of actively engaging in developmental projects, which I have collectively dubbed "Nkrumahism." The question is, can Mahama be successful with his Nkrumahism to provide Ghanaians what they need?

The late Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and President John Mahama both worked hard to transform Ghana, but they encountered a network of deceitful adversaries who were motivated by their own desire for fame rather than the country's advancement. Nkrumah's adversaries persuaded Ghanaians that he was a dictator who was solely concerned with the country's wealth. This is one of the reasons he established a one-party government to protect the country, but many misunderstood his motives.

While his enemies were pouring baseless accusations on him, no leader has ever had a record as successful in Ghana's development as Nkrumah had. Nkrumah engaged in a flurry of industrialization projects, such as the Abosso Glass Factory, Akosombo Dam, Akosombo Textiles Limited, Asutuare Sugar Factory, Bolgatanga Meat Processing Factory, Bolgatanga Rice Mill Factory, Kade Match Factory, and a lot of educational institutions. He achieved unending success as a statesman, thinker, and visionary.

Nkrumah’s enemies weren’t only interested in opposing and thwarting his efforts; they were also more concerned with assassinating him than they were with his achievements. Before being ousted in a coup orchestrated by his adversaries and the US CIA, Nkrumah escaped many assassination attempts on his life by his foes. The progeny or remains of Nkrumah's enemies continue to be a threat to Mahama’s administration, leading to the NDC loss of the 2016 elections, despite all of his achievements.

In Ghana, tribalism has been more powerful than the tornado and has been a major tool used by politicians to seize power. If my statement is incorrect, Matthew Opoku Prempeh would not have claimed that Ashantis would turn out in big numbers to vote for the NPP because all that they needed was the party's T-shirt. It is this very statement that changed the minds of many Ghanaians who believe tribalism has caused their downfall to vote against the NPP in the 2024 election.

Similar to Kwame Nkrumah, Mahama's developments include the Kumasi Kejetia Ultramodern Market, Tafo Market, Asawase Market, and the Atonsu Market. Yet he was labeled as corrupt and incompetent, which led to his defeat in the 2016 elections. In addition to building several hospitals, including those of Sawiya, Fomina, Kumawu, and Tepa, John Mahama also extensively constructed roads, including Suame and Tafo roads, and affordable housing units, and left many projects unfinished.

Ghanaians wouldn't have realized the difference between the NDC and the NPP in terms of competent leadership, successful governance, and keeping promises if Mahama hadn't lost the 2016 elections. The NPP failed to fulfill its promises throughout its eight years in power. They stole a great amount of money, notably from the IMF and COVID-19, without significant projects and left behind a staggering GHC 763 billion in public debt, while Akufo-Addo renamed institutions he hasn’t built.

Many Ghanaians now view John Mahama's second return as a blessing after eight years of life in a dark and hopeless tunnel. They can take pride in a government that, prior to opposition, had completed a number of projects, whereas the government that succeeded the NDC has nothing noteworthy to brag about other than the fabrication that it created 2.5 nonexistent jobs and ran many institutions, including the Electricity Company of Ghana and the COCOBOD, bankrupt.

As his administration works to fulfill important campaign pledges, President John Dramani Mahama's return to the presidency has been characterized by a rush of activity, changes, and policy rollouts. As promised, Mahama has canceled the Covid-19 Levy, Emissions Levy, Betting Tax, and E-Levy within the first 120 days in office. He has effectively fought corruption by assembling a group known as "Operation Recover All Loot—ORAL" to recover the nation's embezzled funds and looted assets.

Other noteworthy accomplishments of Mahama include the launch of the One Million Coders program to help young people develop their digital skills, the creation of the Mahama Cares social protection framework, the Adwumawura program to help create jobs, free tertiary education for people with disabilities, the free sanitary pad initiative for schoolgirls, seed funding for the Women's Development Bank, the Accelerated Export Development Council, and other new projects.

John Mahama has an infinite vision to transform Ghana into a great nation for the benefit of all its citizens, including the creation of a new capital to decongest Accra. However, to achieve a successful sustainable economy, Ghanaians must help him to achieve that and the only way to do this is to protect the nation from being ruined by any political party that has no interest in the progress of Ghana