On the 17th of April, 2015, a huge drama occurred at the Akatsi College of Education in the Volta Region of Ghana. It was a politically motivated and orchestrated demonstration against what I will call a “Ghost”.
Felix and Samuel both Deputy Ministers under the government of John Dramani Mahama had gone to Kumasi to hold a programme with Trainee Teachers.
These trainee teachers whose allowances have been cancelled by the government of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) saw the presence of the two young Deputy Ministers as an excellent opportunity to stage their abhorrence about the abolition of their trainee allowances which in the past was of huge benefit to them.
Not only did the students shun the programme, but also used it as an opportunity to do what I will mildly call hooting and heckling of those Deputy Ministers. So intense was the derision that the Minsters had to virtually run to safety. It was substantial embarrassment to the egos of these young Ministers to say the least.
For a reminder, this demonstration against these two junior Ministers was as a result of the cancellation of teacher trainees’ allowances in Ghana
Then on the 17th April 2015, Dr Mahamud Bawumia, the 2016 Vice Presidential Candidate of NPP, was to be at the Ho Polytechnic and also at the Akatsi College of Education to make presentations to the students.
On the Eve of the presentation and also the day of the programme, Dr Bawumia picked up intelligence about how plans were far advanced in the NDC circles in Volta region to do what was to be termed a reprisal hooting and heckling against Dr Bawumia in Volta Region. Gentle and humble as he is, he decided to return to Accra rather than proceed with his tour and other programmes in the Volta region.
Then at the time Dr Bawumia was back in Accra attending to other activities, some hired NDC hoodlums thought he was in the area and staged what they said was a demonstration against Dr Bawumia! Something which can at best be said to have been a demonstration against a Ghost or Papa Water!
The question is, what did Dr Bawumia do wrong to the Akatsi people to attract a demonstration? Was he the one who cancelled the allowances to trainee teachers in Ghana for which reason the students demonstrated against those two junior ministers in Kumasi? It was provocative and annoying to stage-manage a demonstration against Dr Bawumia, the fine, honest, humble and a gentleman par excellence in the Ghanaian political landscape.
I commend Dr Bawumia for returning quickly to Accra on picking up the intelligence about the intended ghost demonstration. It was the most laudable and decent thing to have done. Nobody could predict what the outcome of the demonstration would have been if Dr Bawumia had appeared at the place.
Dr Bawumia is not only a national figure but also an international personality. Any conscious or unconscious attempt to harm him using backdoor strategies will only lead to chaos in Ghana.
To me the reason this was done was just because of the many deep holes Dr Bawumia has been punching into the economic lies of the NDC government. They are not comfortable at all and prefer to do something through the backdoor to embarrass Dr Bawumia than face him intellectually.
What happened in Akatsi in the Volta Region is just a wake-up call. Dr Bawumia must beef up and also widen his intelligence network when visiting some regions in the country. The underwhelming performing NDC government can do anything to any person to stay in power. This must be known and care taken to avoid a nasty scene in future.
To the people of Akatsi in the Volta Region, your area is one of the most deprived in the country and one would have thought that you would rather demonstrate against your underdevelopment and not against someone who was nowhere near your community. Be smart and don’t allow failed politicians to always induce you to stage the kind of ghost and papa water demonstrations you held on the 17th of April, 2015 against a man who was nowhere near your college.

Your behaviour, it must be stated, is an embarrassment to your community and the Volta region. No wonder several groups in the Volta region have come out to disassociate themselves from your disgraceful conduct that day.
Once again, I commend Dr Bawumia exceptionally for not going to Akatsi and the Ho Polytechnic by cancelling all his programmes in the Volta region on that instance. God bless Ghana, God bless Dr Mahamud Bawumia, and God bless the NPP!
By Akilu Sayibu, Tamale North
Email: Akisayi@yahoo.com