Member of Parliament for Effia Constituency in the Western Region, Joseph Cudjoe is berating his colleague MP for Bolgatanga Central Isaac Adongo for what he sees as a “futile attempt to use the rather humbling life experience of Dr. Bawumia as a measure of his father’s ability to raise him”.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) lawmaker is said to have accused Dr Bawumia of denigrating his dad, Alhaji Mumuni Bawumia, when he recounted how he engaged in menial jobs to survive.
Delivering his victory speech after being elected as flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Bawumia said “My work experience includes a stint as a farm-by-day worker (with my good friend Dr. Abass Awolu (who is now in the civil service) during holidays in my secondary school years, to driving a minicab (taxi) in London and cleaning dormitories in Canada with friends like Richard Oppong of Vancouver (as I studied for my PhD) to make ends meet. God has brought me this far.”
Therefore, the Bolgatanga Central MP considers it an insult for Alhaji Mumuni Bawumia’s son, the Vice President, to have stated that he engaged in menial jobs to survive as a student.
“Dr. Bawumia’s father was a Minister of State in the First Republic for the entire northern territory. In fact, he became the Minister for Agriculture and Cabinet Minister at the time. Is he suggesting that his father was an irresponsible man and didn’t take care of him? So tell him to stop painting his father black,” Mr. Adongo stated while addressing journalists on November 8, 2023 in Accra.
In a response to Isaac Adongo’s recent charge on Dr. Bawumia when he related his life experiences to Ghanaians, Joseph Cudjoe challenged his colleague MP to share his life experiences and “it will be interesting to know whether he will be happy when it is used to measure his parents ability to raise him”.
He stated these in a write-up on Thursday, November 9.
Below is the write up…
Hon. Joseph Cudjoe writes:
High repute members of society in Ghana and elsewhere use their life experiences – often humble beginnings – to inspire and urge others on; it has worked and continue to work.
Their narration will expose how some of them had to do jobs they had never imagined doing; from selling cassettes, biscuits, buff loaves, newspapers all to make ends meet.
For those who had the opportunity to travel abroad, theirs will be stories of how they had to work for long hours at restaurants, supermarkets, warehouses, train stations among other places.
They will tell you how these experiences shaped their perspectives about life. Indeed for many, they look back on those periods and say “It was all to prepare them for what they have become today.”
These experiences, though excruciating, taught them to be humble, selfless, honest, reliable, determined, respectful, dedicated, caring and above all serve humanity.
Infact, for some of them it is not that their parents could not give them the best in the world but their idea for them to learn the world.
This is not to say, by any stretch, that their parents abandoned them, shirked their responsibilities or were wicked.
Rather the lessons thereof is everything.
Ask and their children will rather thank their parents for allowing them go through the mill.
Therefore, it is unconscionable for anyone to use such moments to measure whether or not a parent is or has been responsible.
That, NDC’s MP for Bolgatanga Hon. Isaac Adongo finds fault with Dr. Bawumia’s life experiences and make futile attempts to rope in his father is bemusing and quite unbefitting of a holder of a high office such as parliament.
It will be interesting to hear the life experiences of Hon. Adongo and whether it will please him that it is used to measure his parents ability to raise him.
Is it not rather remarkable to learn that in the face of all what Dr. Bawumia’s father had, his son found it worthy to engage in menial works?
It seems to me that, had Hon. Adongo been in the position of Dr. Bawumia he would have rather become self conceited, pompous and looked down on such jobs because he is more human than those engaged in such.
Well, the difference is clear now.
Many young people aspire to be politicians and it is incumbent on us all to elevate this political profession we have taken on.
By Eric Yaw Adjei