The Bawumia Project

The efforts by some elements on the other side of the political divide to dilute the Bawumia phenomenon in Ghanaian politics is interesting and revealing. It points unambiguously at the role of mischief in a highly polarized country: the mischievous persons being those at the helm.

Their efforts so far represent a classic instance of political backwardness by a group of people who are more obsessed with staying in power than seeking the welfare of the citizens of an impoverished country.

Such nonsense, as in the case of the mysterious accident Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia survived in the Northern Region when he went there on a visit a few years ago, is still fresh in our memories.

We recall the accident in which Dr. Bawumia's car somersaulted many times after its tyre burst under yet-to-be established circumstances. So many theories were posted about what happened: postulations which necessitated an investigation and release of a report from the Driver, Vehicle and Licensing Authority (DVLA). This neither came nor ever will: the authorities preferring such a blackout erroneously think that that inures to their interest.

The gentleman has suffered orchestrated yet useless attacks on his person anytime he deals with the many self-inflicted challenges facing our economy and governance in general.

He has always been vindicated in his observations and their resolve to find faults with him and crucify him has metamorphosed into a political project being prosecuted by a gang of propagandists.

They have failed to deliver on their mandate of damaging the reputation of a man who has so far proven blemish-less.

It is appalling how mischief can take the most part of some politicians. This is one reason we appear not to be making appreciable headway in our nation-building efforts.

The latest in a series of the mischievous manouvres against Dr. Bawumia is the allegation that he bribed Electoral Commission (EC) officials to come and verify him in his house for which he offered a relative whopping amount of GH¢10,000.

It is unimaginable that the orchestrators of this ploy would settle on such an incredible amount of money for a simple assignment of verifying the status of one's details on a voters' register.

The desperation to undertake such a scheme is beyond our ken, honestly. For the mischievous person on a character assassination assignment, this is fair game, not so however with the honest and sincere.

It is equally intriguing why even after EC's clearance of Dr. Bawumia, as it were, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), who think that there is a political dividend in advancing this project, would continue on the trajectory.

As for the law enforcement, they continue to exhibit a worrying disposition for selective treatment of issues. Very serious issues have been left to gather dust because such marginalization serves the parochial interest of the political establishment.

It was amazing how the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) jumped into a case which is devoid of any iota of criminality.

Doing so to please the political big men at the helm, professional breaches notwithstanding, reflects our ailing institutions, especially the law enforcement establishment. How sad!