It appears the suspended member of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) Dr. Nyaho Nyaho Tamakloe, who virtually ‘betrayed’ his own party during the 2016 general election by supporting John Mahama of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), is saddened by the embarrassing defeat of his ‘darling’ party.

Dr Nyaho Tamakloe has not picked himself up nearly two years after his one-time friend, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, defeated his preferred candidate, John Mahama in the elections with about one million votes.

The suspended NPP member continues to make comments that suggest that he is still saddened by the defeat of former president Mahama whom he literally campaigned for at the expense of the NPP in 2016.

In a recent interview with Politics & Power Magazine in its October-December 2018 edition, he clearly demonstrated his unhappiness for the victory of the NPP.

He said Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia does not have a chance to lead the NPP as its flagbearer in the event that the term of President Akufo-Addo ends.

‘Strong Propaganda’

Dr Nyaho Tamakloe emphatically told the Magazine that the NPP succeeded in defeating Mr. Mahama and the NDC in 2016 due to “strong” propaganda.

He contended that “I think Mahama, even though he is a communicator, thought the work he had done would speak for itself.”

Although it was clear that the majority of Ghanaians, including even supporters of the NDC, were fed up with the previous Mahama administration due to the mismanagement of the economy, which led to four years of dumsor, Dr Nyaho Tamakloe accused the NPP of attacking Mahama with “strong” propaganda, saying “the attacks on corruption, and the need to have a change led to Mahama’s downfall.”

He debunked assertions that the previous Mahama administration mismanaged the country’s economy, saying “what really brought him down was the opposition repeatedly tagging him with negative things which unfortunately his party couldn’t absolve him of.”

Desperation

Asked whether claims by the then opposition NPP against the Mahama’s government were “pure propaganda,” Dr Tamakloe said “the opposition was then desperate for power so anything that they will do that will convince the people, they will do.”

He added “look at free education, they brought it in and people believed; free this, free that, one community, one this. These are all things that are constraints in the African setting so you come and tell him that you will give free this, free that and then you paint black the leader then, naturally they will try you and see what you can do, and that is what we are in now.”

Interestingly, the NPP has actually fulfilled most of the promises made to the Ghanaian people in 2016.

The free SHS policy, One District, One Factory, One Village One Dam, and many more, which he described as “strong” propaganda, have been successfully implemented by the NPP administration.

Attacks On Bawumia

Dr. Tamakloe went on to cynically state that Dr. Bawumia would never lead the NPP due to the beliefs of some people in the party.

The former Ghana’s Ambassador to Serbia and Montenegro stated unequivocally that “looking at my party and some of the beliefs we have, that might not even allow Bawumia to come to the forefront to win an election.”

Mr. Tamakloe explained that “no, not at all. He is an intelligent man, well-educated but looking at the way we have set up our own…”

He added “the arrangements that we have now one way or the other, make it impossible for Bawumia to come to the forefront. This is the way I would put it.”

But some political pundits are of the conviction that Nyaho Tamakloe raised the highly divisive issue due to his bitterness towards the Akufo-Addo administration.

They argued that it is not opportune to discuss who leads the NPP into election, since President Akufo-Addo is only half-way through his term and likely to seek re-election.