Thursday,
December 5, 2013
The only issues that may portray
President Mahama as not enjoying the “company” that Kwesi Pratt envisions may
be his inability to act firmly to give us a clear direction in which the
government’s implementation of the NDC’s agenda of “Social Democracy” is moving
the country.
For far too many times, policies
have whittled away benefits meant for the people and created the impression
that the government is insensitive. There is no clear departure from the past,
which is unfortunate. Should policies lessen the pressure on the citizens,
perceptions might change.
If President Mahama can be resolute
enough to determine for himself how he wants to be remembered by Ghanaians and
put in place policies and programmes with a long-lasting positive impact on
national development and national consciousness, he should be disarming his
political opponents and those people of little faith who rashly conclude that
loneliness will be his lot at the end of the journey.
I have in mind the necessity for
a legacy that he can bequeath to the country. As of now, I haven’t seen anything that I can
attribute to him. Is there any particular policy or programme that he has up
his sleeves to implement and be remembered thereby because of its expected
positive and long-lasting impact on the country? What is preventing him from setting
it in motion?
I have in mind what is happening
in the US with President Obama’s policy on health insurance. Despite the hiccups,
the Obamacare is a major policy shift for which Obama will be remembered for
good or bad. If for nothing at all, it distances him from all his predecessors
and marks him out as someone with an initiative.
Does President Mahama have anything
to mark him out as such? It is not prudent for him to be implementing anything
anyhow. How will he be remembered by Ghanaians when he leaves the scene?
I think that’s where Kwesi
Pratt’s claim comes in for further scrutiny. If President Mahama follows the
herd mentality, he will end up unsung, absorbed in the herd and lost
altogether. He needs to separate himself from the herd and lead us such that we
can see where exactly he wants us to go.
That is why it is imperative for
those advising him to separate the trees from the forest and remember that the
President can’t be a jack of all trades. He will end being master of none. A
wash-out!!
I know how difficult it is for
him to work with all manner of people at the Presidency or elsewhere
propounding theories and ramming down his throat, especially if he is
surrounded by the “book long” people. So also is the problem posed by the
parade of sycophants shouting themselves hoarse and engaged in all kinds of
dances to catch his eyes and retain their perks.
Indeed, Ghanaian politics is
fraught with disturbing intrigues. And for the President to scale through, he
needs more than what he has been given so far. Nation building is not a one-man
show, which is why those sitting on the fence and making the loudest, ugliest
noises of disapprobation of everything coming from the Presidency have to be
watched closely and put where they belong.
Sometimes, it is good to insist
that no one should claim to be more Ghanaian than we all are. The unfortunate
sequel, however, may be that when those who should help build Ghana stand aloof
and turn themselves into the most adroit wolf-criers and “undercutters” ever
lived, nothing done by the President will merit commendation.
They will waste their time
praying hard that nothing works well for the President so in the end, they will
conclude that he is a failure to be taunted. Then, they can comfortably claim that
he is indeed lonely.
I am confident that President
Mahama himself knows the enormity of the challenges facing him and that he will
roll up his sleeves and do the job. Those who are willing to support him should
do same and stop crying wolf.
Having just celebrated his 55th
birthday, it is worthy of note to wish him well and reassure him of success at
the end of the rough road if only he remains focused and determined to do what
he is in office for. Every country gets the kind of leader it deserves in each
historical epoch. It is his turn, and he must function as the proud leader of
Ghana, even for those wishing him ill and thinking that he is fast preparing
the grounds to be the loneliest President Ghana to think otherwise.
In the long run, even if
disappointed or deserted by all those in whom he has reposed trust and
confidence for nation building, he has his immediate family and admirers
elsewhere to rely on for succour. He won’t be lonely in this life or the hereafter.
Never!! Loneliness is for those who
fail; not those who have succeeded in achieving the ultimate to become the
Number One Citizen of Ghana. Loneliness begone!!
I shall return…
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E-mail:
mjbokor@yahoo.com
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