Dr Samuel Sarpong Ankrah has denied allegation of being the man behind the mask on billboards mounted at vantage points in Accra.
Prior to this development, many believed him to be the man behind the mask after he issued a statement announcing his presidential ambitions, with a preceding image of himself holding the said mask.
But Dr Ankrah, in an interview with TV3 said, “I saw the billboards announcing a new candidate and I was totally appalled, that at the height of our plight as Ghanaians, in this economy, we have another political candidate using a mask as the symbol to launch themselves. So, my campaign is a counter campaign to reiterate and send across the message that Ghanaians don’t need another masked leadership. I am not behind the boards. I’m only here to send a message of transparency and accountability.”
In a statement announcing his candidacy for the presidential slot, he touted the country’s current performance as “highly indebted, financially poor and aid-dependent”, as a result of what he says is 60 years of “Self-mismanagement”.
Dr Ankrah intends to change the narrative with what he calls the BIG TEN, which involves 10 affordable deliverables, consisting of;
Affordable Housing, Healthcare, Education, Food, Fuel, Transportation, an Affordable Business Environment Through a Vigorous Fight Against Corruption, Affordable & Sound Economic Policies, Affordable & Sustainable Job Creation and Affordable & Efficient Government Machinery.
“I wouldn’t mind if I’m called Mr Affordable. Ghanaians can’t afford a living as we speak. Salaries don’t take us anywhere,” he lamented.
In effect, he intends to promote economic transformation, unity in diversity and become and inspiring leader.
But who really is Dr Samuel Sarpong Ankrah, if not the “Man in the Mask”?
He is an economist and investment banker and claims to have made “significant contributions to the field of economics and investment banking.”
He earned his economics degree from the University of London, and he currently serves as the President of the Africa Investment Group.
He speaks of grand plans for Ghana, yet the history of independent candidates doesn’t hold much promise for him. There have been three independent candidates in the 4th republic but their total votes over four elections since 2008 does not even measure up to 1%. But Dr Samuel Sarpong Ankrah intends to break that cycle.
He said, “Einstein said some profound words centuries ago, he says it’s only an insane person that keeps doing the same thing over and over again and expects to get different results. How far or how worse do you want to go. So, the time is now, it’s gotten to the point in our political history that we need to sit down and access things critically as people and analyse our situations and make decisions that will help us to chart a new path.”