Understandably, the minions of former President John Dramani Mahama would never agree with some of us for constantly choosing to analyze current affairs through the lenses of the past. But I am afraid we cannot make sense of the present happenings if we refuse to take stock of the past.

In Ghana and Africa as a whole, our conduct is mostly guided by the hackneyed and somewhat crude majoritarian African culture of respect.

The acceptable norm is that one must always seek to discharge his/her emotional intelligence and show deference at all times in order not to upset the seemingly banal African concept of respect.

So it becomes extremely worrisome when an elected president infamously chooses to chastise his subordinates for expressing their grievances over the issues that affect their lives.

Once upon a time, President Mahama promised that he was going to put money in Ghanaians' pockets, but unblushingly turned his back on the electorate after winning the ultimate power.

Ghanaians rightfully questioned President Mahama over his failed promise. President Mahama bizarrely turned around and replied, ‘There is no president on this planet (earth) that will physically put cash in people’s pockets’ (see: ‘No president will put money in your pocket’-Mahama; atinkaonline.com/ghanaweb.com, 13/10/2016).

Let us be honest, it is quite ironic for the admirers of Mahama to create the impression that he provided exceptional governance through unmatched humility.

The crucial question we should be asking the Mahama praise singing bandwagon is: since when did humility become a tool for economic transformation?

Well, I am not sure if there was any humility about the revoltingly ugly ‘boot for boot’ comment by ex-President Mahama following the Ayawaso West Wuogon incident.

The former president was reported to have poured his heart out: “We are not going to joke in 2020, and I’m sounding a warning to the NPP—we are going to match them boot for boot. “I want to sound a caution that NDC has a revolutionary root, and when it comes to unleashing violence, no one can beat us to that.”

Where was his humility when he blatantly refused to withdraw the appointment of John Oti Bless, who disgustingly castigated the Supreme Court judges to the utter disgust of Ghanaians?

Was the ‘humble’ ex-President Mahama in support of the sickening insults and threats to the eminent Supreme Court judges?

What is more, why did the ‘humble’ former President Mahama keep silent over Montie's three abhorrent insults and threats to the Supreme Court judges during his time in office?

Was the ‘humble’ ex-President Mahama oblivious to the naked insults and needless threats by the three Montie boisterous brats on the eminent Supreme Court Judges, and hence remitting their sentences?

Dearest reader, what did the ‘humble’ former President Mahama do when his then assistant, Stan Dogbe, cruelly assaulted a Ghana Broadcasting Corporation’s journalist and maliciously damaged his audio recorder to the disgust of discerning Ghanaians?

I am afraid that former President Mahama’s much touted humility is questionable, so to speak.

Take, for example, in one of his countless press conferences during his time in office, former President Mahama outlandishly went ahead frolicking by giving needless descriptive epithets to the then acting chairman of the NPP, Freddie Blay.

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

Well, unbeknownst to many Ghanaians, former President Mahama can be cheeky. So I find it really difficult to understand why he has been given the appellations ‘Humble, respectful, peacemaker, among others.

Apparently, Ex-President Mahama’s condescending comments on Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu
Bawumia, during the 2016 electioneering campaign, really made nonsense of his so-called humility.

I remember in one of his then ‘changing lives’ speeches, President Mahama sarcastically suggested that Bawumia had not been president before and therefore could not impugn incompetence in his administration.

Incredibly, former President Mahama went ahead and asserted that only former heads of state have the pedigree and therefore may criticise him.

According to ‘the respectful and humble’ former President Mahama, the rest of Ghanaians did not have the right to criticise him and his government because we have not sat on the presidential seat before.

Obviously, such a thought process is extremely dangerous and undemocratic and therefore should not have come from the lips of a supposedly humble president.

My dear reader, if you remember, former President Mahama once went to Kumasi and labelled the entire people of the Ashanti region as ungrateful.

Unfortunately, he referred to Ashantis as ungrateful people who would never even be content with gold-plated roads. How bizarre?

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

I remember in one of the parliamentary sittings, former President Mahama had the impertinent boldness to insult Ashantis indiscriminately. He openly said, “People of Ashanti origin have problems with the letters L & R."

In other words, ex-President Mahama was implying that Ashantis cannot pronounce words that have the letters L and R. That was not funny by any stretch of the imagination.

That was indeed an unpardonable cheek from a supposedly submissive leader! Do Ghanaians describe such an individual 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, ex-President Mahama condescendingly stated that Ghanaians who took part in the debate both on radio and television and even in their private homes and workplaces engaged in a “useless” discourse.

I am afraid that was uncharacteristic of a leader who had been tagged as humble, respectful, God-fearing, etc.

With all due respect, Ex-President Mahama’s ceaseless sarcasm is out of this world. He is simply not humble.

Former President Mahama, to be quite honest, has an innate predilection for abusing those who show divergent views to his.

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

He unkindly told them: “BALONEY”. In other words, ex-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 Agyapong with
Treason, terrorism, & genocide. Former President Kufuor humbly appealed for calm and further suggested that we should avoid ‘killing a fly with a sledgehammer. Ex-President Mahama replied hastily and lividly, “We will kill a fly with a bulldozer.”.

Honestly, that cheeky remark can only come from the lips of a bellicose, but it should not have come from the lips of a supposedly humble and peaceful president. Frankly stating, ex-President Mahama can be very unkind in his pronouncements at times.

Former President Mahama, more often than not, fails to anticipate the dire consequences of his pronouncements.

I recall during the 2016 electioneering campaign, a number of prominent Ghanaians and civil society groups, including the then Chairman of the Peace Council, Professor Emmanuel Asante, and the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), admonished Ex-President John Dramani Mahama to refrain from making comments deemed ethnocentric against the NPP and its running mate, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.

“President Mahama, while campaigning at Lawra in the Upper West Region, said the NPP will not allow Dr. Bawumia to be their flagbearer because the party is largely not in support of northerners taking up such positions” (cityfmonline.com/ghanaweb.com, 21/11/2016).

Former President Mahama pontificated somewhat fecklessly: “Sometimes I feel sad when I see some of our northern brothers running and also doing this. They will use you and dump you. Let anything happen today, and let our brother Bawumia say he is standing for president in the NPP. They will never give it to him, I can assure you”.

My dear reader, you may believe it or not, but the fact remains that ex-President Mahama’s much-publicized humility is a charade more than anything else.