The roundly advanced African proverb that a fresh sucker replaces an obsolete banana tree is what come to the fore of mind when I begin to put pen to paper to write about Alhaji Farouk Aliu Mahama. When, on November 16 2012, the late Former Vice President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama passed to eternity, many posited out of distress that a huge void has been created in the Dagbon political class and the league of accomplished statesmen.

Up to today, the late statesman has been gravely missed by the lives that operated on his bills, the admirers that drunk from his wealth of deep thoughts and experience and his philanthropic, discipline and moral character has been missed by all Ghanaians. Today, a protege of Alhaji Aliu Mahama who mirrors the set of principles his late dad epitomised is seeking rather forcefully to fill in the shoes of his father. It is a tall order but for Alhaji Farouk Aliu Mahama orders are always there to be challenged and walk over. He has manifested that giants birth giants and not lilliputs.

It is becoming a trite knowledge that Alhaji Farouk Aliu Mahama is nursing the ambition to represent the good people of his land of origin, the epicentre of Dagbon Kingdom and the revered Yendi Constituency in Parliament. He maintains that the tempo of our town's development has been arrested and delayed by some internal instability but he believes our hopes should not run short. He opines that " we as indigenes of Yendi must work strenuously to establish a foundation that fulfils the dreams of all, offers limitless opportunities worthy of our promising and one that gives limitless possibilities to us all that is if you are willing to work for it".

Alhaji Farouk Aliu Mahama is the grand model of renewed hope in the Yendi Constituency. He is the best architect to design and build a better, prosperous, fairer and a secured living condition in the Constituency. He is young, able, purposeful, naturally philanthropic, benevolent and modest. He is not an exhibitionist. He is sanely progressive and wisely cautious. He is the best man to unlock the fortunes of Yendi in a progressive gear.

We are at a crossroad as people to choose a leader who can lead us to the Promised Land or to continue with the tradition of stunted growth. We cannot afford to repeat some mistakes of the past. For the Parliamentary Candidate as the elephant fraternity, we will need to look out for someone whose aspiration is not just to be a lawmaker but to lead the substantive transformation of Yendi. The fate of our people deserves better and it falls on us to give our constituency the new positive direction and purpose it needs deepen our gains as ordinary folks. Alhaji Farouk Aliu Mahama has built a good network with captains of business hubs and political heavyweights to aid him move Yendi to its fullest potential.

Farouk Aliu Mahama is convinced that his late father had unfinished business for humanity and for the good people of Yendi and he endeavours to complete and seal it. He has been at the forefront of philanthropy and kept an open office to receive people of different shades and strata in life.

Farouk Aliu Mahama has demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt that he is ever ready to serve his people. His vision reflects the mission of our true tradition: a responsible leadership to create a society of opportunities and dignified life for the people. He brings aspirations, solutions and values to the Yendi Constituency that are not only built to last; but also are as relevant now as they have ever been. Our challenges as a Constituency are real and will need better hands and ideas with fresh blood to be able to confront them. We cannot continue a path that offers us little hope and solutions. Yendi has a great future within the reach and prying eyes of Alhaji Farouk Aliu Mahama.

He will be a true voice of optimism and hope for the ordinary, the downtrodden and the under privileged. We have a choice now as true people of Yendi to either go the path that offers the certainty of the future or one that drains out of us all our hopes and aspirations.