So yes, former President Mahama on Tuesday filed his nomination for the 2024 presidential run that could make or unmake him.

Of course, it goes without saying that he's the man to beat, at least in the NDC.

Quite frankly, we all know the probable outcome of the NDC primaries. You don't need to be a clairvoyant to see what's coming - It's more clear than ever that the NDC rank and file have resolved to endorse Mahama on May 13th to lead the party into the 2024 general elections. Most party folks believe Mahama is better placed to wrestle power from the governing NPP and they're leaving no stone unturned to hand him the nomination.

It really is that stark, and it does not matter where nonconformists like my good self stand, nor how much anyone actually cares about the Mahama bubble. We may even be annoyed at this reality but re-writing it to suit our personal views on Mahama may sound bizarre and far-fetched.

Then again, by every objective measure, the Bawumia candidature for the NPP irrespective of their current challenges in government could be a portending difficulty for the NDC 2024 campaign.

Indeed, as we've seen in the midterms in the US and recently in Nigeria, troubling economic indicators and general hardship alone are not enough to turn away the hearts and minds of the electorates from the establishment, which is why the Mahama NDC needs to shift approach and develop a positive new agenda that enables unified opposition to the ruling regime.

Somehow, the Mahama frontmen who are already counting their chickens even before they're hatched need to stop wearing that perpetually complacent expression as if 2024 is a foregone contest. Truth is, it ain’t over till the fat lady sings and she hasn't sung yet.

And that means Mahama and friends need to resist their core instinct to turn the party into a more doctrinaire closed shop that tolerates less discussion and intellectual dissonance. They must welcome challenges in the form of ideas and debate.

Again, they must protect, not encourage, the hounding of activists who hold a different but no less valid approach to NDC principles. If they fail to do so, the party will end up as a hermetically sealed, intellectual cocoon, loved by its strong membership – and overlooked by the wider electorate.

I shall be back!!