Opinions of Tuesday, 16 August 2016

Columnist: Badu, K

Olympic gold medal insults: Has Mahama achieved legendary fame?

President John Mahama President John Mahama

Unfortunately, President Mahama’s persistent cavorting and needless insinuations are really getting out of hands.

Apparently, President Mahama cavorted once again during the NDC’s campaign launch in Cape Coast on Sunday 14 August 2016.

Strangely, President Mahama asserted that the opposition NPP Party has won an Olympic gold medal in insults. See: ‘NPP has an Olympic gold medal in insults’-Mahama; starrfmonline.com; ghanaweb.com, Sunday 14 August 2016.

“President John Mahama has taken a swipe at the main opposition New Patriotic Party, claiming the party has ‘won an Olympic gold medal in insults’.”

According to President Mahama, “the party is quick to commend any member who is able to hurl insults at him and his administration”.

I am afraid President Mahama is either being economical with the truth or just engaging in frivolous escapade in this instance.

Has the President withdrawn the appointment of John Oti Bless who needlessly castigated the Supreme Court Judges?

If he hasn’t, does it mean that the President actually supports the needless insults on the eminent Supreme Court Judges?

And more so why was the President silent over the Montie three insults on the Supreme Court Judges during his speech?

Is the President oblivious to the naked insults by the three Montie boisterous brats on the eminent Supreme Court Judges?

Well, it appears that the President is bias. For he only hears the insults by his opponents, but not that of his appointees and party members. How bizarre?

Actually President Mahama has been creating a niche of sarcasm for himself over the years.

For example, last year, in one of his press conferences, President Mahama strangely tag the opposition NPP’s press conference as ‘rabbit’.

President Mahama then went ahead frolicking by giving needless epithet to the acting chairman of the NPP, Freddie Blay.

President Mahama sarcastically referred to the gentleman as ‘OPANA’, (literally means ‘trouble maker’).

, Apparently, it is on record that apart from the humongous corruption allegations that were bothering late President Mills, he was also worried about the persistent shenanigans of his appointees, including then Vice President, Mahama.

Sources have it that late President Mills (The ‘Asomdwehene’) did not appreciate Mahama’s acerbic tongue.

According to the sources, late Mills was disgusted with his Vice Mahama’s sheer impertinent boldness and the persistent monkeyshines.

And more so it was not only the late President Mills who was appalled about Mahama’s relentless shenanigans, other decent people in NDC like Mr. Martin Amidu showed concerns as well.

For example, Mr. Amidu has revealed that in 2010, he told the late President Mills and the then Chief of Staff that if the late President could advise his appointees to reduce corruption, abuse of office and arrogance for the remaining two years, the NDC would win the 2012 elections hands down.

But unbeknownst to many Ghanaians, President Mahama can be pugnacious. Thus I find it really difficult to understand why he is being labelled with the appellations: ‘Humble, respectful, peacemaker etc. I do not think President Mahama deserves those cognomens.

Well, the preceding assertion may seem disputatious to many of his apple-polishers, however President Mahama’s recent condescending comments on Alhaji Dr Mahmoud Bawumia really exposed his hypocrisy.

In one of his recent ‘changing lives’ speeches, President Mahama sarcastically suggested that Bawumia has not been a president before and therefore cannot impugn incompetence on his government.

President Mahama went ahead and uncharacteristically asserted that only our two former Presidents, Kuffour and Rawlings have the pedigree and therefore may criticise him.

Apparently, according to our President’s logic, the rest of Ghanaians do not have the right to criticise him and his government because we have not sat on the presidential seat before.

Obviously, such thought process is extremely dangerous and undemocratic and does not fit the lips of a humble president.

I recall not long ago, President Mahama went to Kumasi and labelled the entire people of Ashanti region as ungrateful lots. He referred to Ashantis as ungrateful lots who would never even be content with gold plated roads. How bizarre?

As a matter of fact, it was ignoble on the part of a supposedly humble President to impugn that all Ashantis are unappreciative.

I recollect in one of the Parliamentary sittings, President Mahama had the cheek to insult Ashantis indiscriminately. He openly said: “People of the Ashanti origin have problem with letters L&R”. In other words, Mahama was implying that Ashantis cannot pronounce words that have letters L&R.

That was indeed an impertinent boldness from a supposedly submissive President! Do Ghanaians call such a bigot as humble and respectful?

Again, in the wake of the public discourse on the suitability of the proposed burial place of our departed president Mills, President Mahama incoherently stated that Ghanaians who took part in the debate both on radio, television and even in their private homes and work places engaged in a “USELESS” discourse.

That was uncharacteristic of a President who is being tagged as humble, respectful, God fearing etc.

With due respect, Mahama’s ceaseless sarcasm is out of this world. He is simply not submissive.

As a matter of fact, President Mahama has an innate predilection for abusing those who show divergent views to his.

I recall during a debate on the STX Housing deal, President Mahama, then Vice President, abused our Members of parliament who opposed the deal.

He told them: “BALONEY”. In other words, President Mahama was implying that the Parliamentarians were engaging in “foolish discourse”. How bizarre? Humble indeed!

I also remember when the Attorney General’s office charged Kennedy Agyepong with Treason, Terrorism & genocide and former President Kuffuor humbly appealed for calm, and suggested that we should avoid ‘killing a fly with a Sledge Hammer. President Mahama replied hastily and lividly: “We will kill a fly with a Bulldozer”.

Honestly speaking, that incoherent remark can only come from the lips of a bellicose, but it should never come from the lips of a supposedly submissive and peaceful President.

Again, during the Launch of the NDC government’s Green Book volume 2, the then Vice President, Mahama, shamefully discriminated against visually impaired people indirectly.

President Mahama impolitely said: “It is only those that are blind that do not see the good work of the NDC government”.

Well, what can I say here; I am really struggling to find euphemistic language to condemn the preceding insolence. In fact, President Mahama was really indiscreet. With such a discriminatory statement coming from no lesser person than the President of the nation, I can daresay President Mahama is indeed naive. How on earth can a President, who is being tagged as humble, respectful and God fearing abuse disabled people in that way?

Actually, President Mahama comes across as an insolent person. Let us remind ourselves that we (Ghanaians) have been taught to respect the dead. So I was extremely befuddled when after the death of Professor Mills, I heard President Mahama impoliticly suggesting: “God in his own wisdom has taken the old man, Professor Mills away to pave the way for youthful Mahama to take over the mantle”. How bizarre?

Subsequent to that infamous declaration, President Mahama went to the Northern region and asserted that it was about time ‘Northerners’ took over the mantle of Presidency, because they (Northerners) were fed up serving in the Vice Presidency post.

If that was the case, my question to President Mahama and his NDC apologists then is: For argument sake, if we still have Professor Mills around as President, and ‘fed up Northerner’ Mahama as his Vice President, was he then going to resign from his post or depose the President anyway?

Fellow Ghanaians, we must not and cannot keep a President who is fond of ‘talking plenty and delivering less’; we rather need a President who would ‘walk the talk’.

References:

www.ghanaweb.com

www.starrfmonline.com

www.martinamidu.com