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18.02.2019 Feature Article

Why Goosie Tanoh, ‘Mud-Sniper’ Dela Coffie Can’t Destroy John Mahama

Why Goosie Tanoh, Mud-Sniper Dela Coffie Cant Destroy John Mahama
18.02.2019 LISTEN

Do Mr. Goosie Tanoh and his mercenaries know he wasted eight good 8 years of the National Democratic Party, NDC, chances of winning political power because of his big-headed and egotistical political ambition? Do the breakaway man and the likes of Dela Coffie, the thrower of dirty mud on the person of former President John Mahama, know that the NDC’s delegates cannot afford to fritter away the fortunes of the party into the hands of a man who caused them pain and agony in 2000 till 2009? Indeed, a person who forgets the gods that healed him of madness may soon be back to the roadside with the same madness.

I am convinced beyond doubt that they don’t know this naked truth. Because if Mr Tanoh and the black painter, my good friend, Dela Coffie do, they would not be carrying on as if they were angels who had just descended from above to rescue a political party that had been allegedly rendered impotent by former president John Mahama and his appointees during his government.

Is it not enthralling that, this is the same man who ahead of the year 2000 general elections, formed a militant group, which he later registered as the National Reform Party (NRP) with a mission to destroy the NDC? Is it not an open truth that he and his disgruntled militants' aim was to cause the defeat of the NDC so that late Prof John Atta-Mills would not win the presidential elections to become the President of Ghana? Was today’s ‘angel’ Goosie Tanoh not satisfied in achieving his wicked plot and that his agenda was well accomplished?

It’s common knowledge that Goosie Tanoh’s reason for betraying the NDC and causing its defeat by forming a sweet romantic pact with the then opposition New Patriotic Party, NPP, led by Mr John Agyekum Kufuor was ridiculously triggered by an enraged against Former President Jerry John Rawlings, the man he (Goosie) claims to love more than anybody in the party today. He said Mr Rawlings handpicking of late Prof. Mills at the Swedru declaration for the NDC flagbearership race was eerie. The man went ahead to describe his former boss as a tyrant, undemocratic and walked out of the party. This is the same man walking about and portraying himself as the saviour of the NDC in opposition today. Seen?

However, Mr Rawlings held his grounds and totally supported the late Atta-Mills into the 2000 presidential elections. And the party lost to the NPP. Though, as a young man growing up in the Upper East Region, precisely Zebilla Constituency and a then supporter of the People’s National Congress, PNC, I heard of how Goosie Tanoh and his cliques celebrated with the NPP around a romantic dining table with happy smiles and loud laughter. I cannot imagine the age of my brother and friend Dela Coffie then, the person whose obsession and dislike for Mr Mahama is conspicuously legendary and has now been officially commissioned to help paint the former president black at the time when the masses of the NDC were wailing in tears, trembling and cursing his ‘angel’ of today for causing them pain and agony.

My good friend, Dela Coffie’s ‘Angel’ Tanoh’s mission at the time was to completely obliterate the NDC and formed his own political empire to rule Ghana. Egoistic power was all he wanted. He wanted to be president of Ghana, at all cost. But few years down the lane, his poor leadership skills reared its ugly head and his beloved Reform Party went into coma. It never contested any major elections in Ghana. Mr Tano and his desperadoes were put to ignominy after 8 years of sabotaging the party when the late Prof John Evans Atta-Mills through the colossal help of former president Rawlings and other bigwigs of the party was elected the president of Ghana after a historic third round of presidential elections. That year marked the complete demise of the comatose NRP and Goosie Tanoh went into hiding. He became irrelevant in the politics of NDC and Ghana at large.

But the re-surfaced ‘angel’ of a man after the NDC’s 2016 defeat from his hidey-hole is back with another militant group with a mission to disgrace former president John Dramani Mahama ahead of Saturday’s flagbearership primaries. In the traditional media and social media front, is Dela Coffie, an avowed critique of Mr Mahama. He is constantly deployed to do the dirty work against the former president’s ambition to once again lead the party. He is also uniquely tasked to present Mr Goosie Tanoh as a saint who remains the only hope for the NDC come Saturday’s primaries and beyond.

How difficult work to be assigned to? No one should envy my friend, Dela of his new task. It is a difficult one because lies and half-truths are needed to market a bad product, which will require its peddler to be rabid because it is potentially risky for the party. How can you convince true NDC members to follow a man who stabbed them badly at the back when they trusted him most?

Followers of my friend’s articles would certainly applaud him for good work done so far. His continuous recycled reasons, why he thinks Mr Mahama deserves not to be given the knot one more time to lead the party into the 2020 presidential elections have been increased recently with much spleen. The personal attacks have reached their acme. But to some of us, there is really nothing new apart from his usual hate-rants against the former president’s return. Yes! Nothing new! Same old same old vituperations of how Mr Mahama disappointed the party when he was the president and how to him, the man hasn’t shown any bit of change in him after the 2016 defeat. Maybe Mr Mahama owes it a duty to write to my friend and explain in diagrams how he has changed. Haha!

I have always resisted the temptation of responding to my friend’s destructive articles against the person of the former president especially when he was not yet commissioned to intensify his vitriolic attacks on Mr Mahama because of the party’s interest after these internal competitions. Given our cordial relationship over years now, I have always ignored him, thinking that one day he will see the light. I must quickly confess that I was another critique of the former president. But along the line, I saw the light in him. I hope my good friend will see the light in him someday to come. I am not a hypocrite!

But what got me sick, was his recent article calling on delegates to out-rightly reject Mr Mahama come Saturday’s primaries because he has absolutely nothing to offer them ahead of the 2020 elections. Dela Coffie who is doing the dirty work of Goosie Tanoh further described Mr John Mahama as an “uninsightful” person only skilled in supporting policies that call for the exploitation of hard-working footsoldiers and enrichment of his friends and family. Really? I will avoid delving into some of the issues he raised in that insulting write-up. With a calabash of pito in my hands, I will go straight to the point.

What Dela and his likes should know is that their ‘angel’ Goosie only sneaked back to the NDC in secrecy, the very party he once attempted to collapse for his selfish interest. What they also need to know is that their supposed ‘angel’ is more ‘uninsightful’ than any politician in Ghana. The comatose of the party he formed out anger and its subsequent collapse is a clear testimony for all to see. In simple language, their so-called insightful leader is clueless and lacks the qualities of a great leader.

The delegates of the NDC know the truth and cannot be deceived by people like Dela Coffie and his cohorts. Members of the NDC are hungry for political power and know that former president Mahama is the best bet, not traitors who left them during the difficult times. So Goosie Tanoh and his cartel behind the denigration of former president Mahama ahead Saturday’s ceremonial primaries and that of 2020 elections have hit the rocks and are bleeding badly. Mr Mahama is already the flagbearer of the NDC despite Dela’s vitriolic attacks on him and with God, before the 2020 elections, Goosie and his cartel will be exposed for Ghanaians to see who they are if they remain in their path of selfish desire.

After Mr Mahama declaration and subsequent picking of forms to contest, he has so far conducted clean campaigns without calling to question his supposed contenders though, some of them are bad baggage for the party to carry. He has been telling delegates as well as Ghanaians that no president could finish his programmes for the people during the first term in office, especially when the country was facing financial difficulties.

Nobody, including the mud thrower, Dela Coffie has disputed that the country was not facing financial difficulties, because the records are there for them to see. So if Ghana was facing financial constraints, and yet the president did his best, what prevents him from being a good leader after being elected once again? Could the then president meet the yearnings of all the people in just a term? The answer is no. Dela and his cohorts have not also logically averted their minds to the fact that the NDC as a political party had been in power for two solid terms and that Ghanaians, as usual, needed a change. That has been the tradition since the inception of democratic rule in Ghana.

The delegates, who are literally going to endorse Mr Mahama on Saturday, are aware that the dirty and dangerous scheming and blackmail against him are antics and handiwork of politicians who are seeking for relevance in the party the betrayed many years ago. The timing of all these including their attempts to frustrate the process is very clear. While Goosie Tanoh has the right to seek for the flagbearer position of the party, he should know that his posture and actions are closely being watched. It’s like a prodigal child who has been accepted back to a home after many years of exile, desperately trying to become a dictator in the same home he/she abandoned. That would be weird, absurd and will be resisted.

Dela Coffie and those prodding him now will abandon him when he messes himself once again as he did in 2000 and that will finish him politically. He should know that this is only an internal contest and the real enemy is waiting patiently for the real fight to begin. Hiring people to tear Mr Mahama’s reputation ahead of Saturday will not ensure and maintain the prevailing peace and political understanding in the party after the primaries. The delegates and true members of the NDC know all these things more than he and his militants who are trying to deceive or hoodwink them. He should know that apart from Mr Rawlings, Mr Mahama is the only face of the party in the country today.

The delegates know that as the Reform Party, Goosie Tanoh founded is as good as dead, handing over the NDC to him is just like pouring petrol on oneself and dancing around a naked flaming fire. It is rather in the best interest of the delegates to do what is right by endorsing Mr Mahama for an easy win in the 2020 elections. Goosie and his mud throwers should know that Mr Mahama is a beautiful bride and the delegates including those pretending to be following them are waiting to tie-the-knot with, so the former president has not taken these internal competitions as a do or die affair. I shall be back!

The writer is a Senior Journalist, Managing Editor of The National Tribute Newspaper, a columnist with Ghanaweb.com and Modernghana.com. and an activist of the National Democratic Congress, NDC. Contact; [email protected]

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