I don’t know about now but when we were in secondary school, testimonials were very relevant documents. Indeed, they were as good as the final certificates.
I know a few colleagues who secured admissions into institutions of higher learning and even jobs, based on testimonials issued by the schools they attended.
When it comes to politics, all you need is a highly placed person touting your credentials and capabilities and you could become a vice president, possibly president.
“He is a very clever man and I needed his brain to help me govern the country effectively. He is an honest person, and he speaks with honesty. He is not one of those people who you have to guess what they try to say. He says what he has to say very directly and I like that. I prefer to deal with people who are also very direct, these are some of the reasons I chose Dr. Bawumia to be my Vice President.”
That was the testimonial that President Akufo-Addo gave of Dr Mahamudu Bawumia on October 26, 2023 when some students of Association International School called on him at the Jubilee House for a familiarization visit.
That was in the heat of the campaign towards the presidential primaries of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) on November 4, 2023 in which Dr Bawumia was a leading contender. Clearly, this endorsement was needed for those who had doubts about the President’s opinion of Dr Bawumia’s candidature, to get convinced that he is solidly behind his vice president. This happened against the backdrop that the President had earlier declined to disclose his preferred candidate in the race publicly.
Nonetheless, for objective observers like me, this was expected. Because, if for nothing at all, among all the candidates at the time, it was only Dr Bawumia who Akufo-Addo could count on to defend the record of his administration. That’s because Dr Bawumia is the second in command- Constitutionally speaking.
Having received this presidential support, coupled with all the glaring machinations to get Dr Bawumia to win the party’s flagbearship, one would have expected that he would have no cause to distance himself from the current administration in any shape or form after he has secured the ticket. That is to say Dr Bawumia will defend his boss’ legacy to the hilt.
However, considering the current state of the economy, with only NPP sympathizers being the ones not complaining about hardship, it is only logical for Dr Bawumia to try claiming not to be part of those who caused the mess. But how can he do this so that discerning observers like me would not see through the charade?
It came to pass that on the day he launched his vision, the NPP flagbearer spent more than half of the over three hours that he spoke, to defend the record of President Akufo-Addo, ostensibly to show what he is capable of doing if given the chance. Then he used the relatively shorter period remaining to turn round and tell us that, as for the difficulties we are experiencing, he does not know anything about it because he was only a driver’s mate.
Wearing my communication and reputation management lenses, this approach seemed so confusing, I could not help blaming his communication advisors. That is, if he has any besides the usual hangers on, whose knowledge of the subject, from what I have seen so far, is using scarce on-air opportunities to condemn their opponents, rather projecting their key messages.
Read Dr Bawumia: “As Vice President, I am like a driver’s mate. But if, by the Grace of God, you make me President, I will be in the driver’s seat with constitutionally mandated authority to pursue my vision and my priorities,” he said amid cheers from NPP members and supporters in the UPSA auditorium.
He went on to say that his position as head of the Economic Management Team (EMT) was only advisory.
“Thankfully, I was appointed as chair of the EMT. As a sub-committee to Cabinet, we do not have decision-making powers, but I am very proud of the quality of advice we have been providing over the years to Cabinet,” he explained.
‘You go explain taya’- You will explain to no avail
‘You go explain taya’ is one of the new pidgin phrases that I have picked up from Facebook as mentioned in my previous article. Each time I hear or see it used, I get so amused.
While having fun at the predicament of the person on whom it is applied, my human side makes me feel sorry for them. That’s because the phrase is usually used in circumstances where the individual involved has no way of extricating him or herself from the faux pas that has been committed.
For instance, there is this story of a woman whose husband decided to pay her a surprise visit at work. Fortunately for the husband, when he arrived on the office premises, he saw the wife heading somewhere with her back towards him. As a gesture of love, he blind folded her from behind with his two palms. In reaction, the wife said, “Director, please stop. I have told you not to do these things when we are in the office!!” Director? Who is Director? How can she explain what just happened to her thoughtful husband? A clear case of ‘You go explain taya’.
In my considered opinion, that is the kind of situation Dr Bawumia finds himself in.
Let’s do some logical reasoning here. How can one say that “…as a sub-committee to Cabinet we do not have decision-making powers, but I am very proud of the quality of advice we have been providing over the years to Cabinet?”
Is it not ironical that you say in one breath that your advices were not binding and in another, tell us that you gave quality advice? Are the quality advices those that have brought us to this current state of hardship, or the ones that were ignored?
Hold on. Why am I surprised? Dr Bawumia’s main contender for the presidential race to be held on December 7, 2024, Mr. John Mahama, is on record to have said that Ghanaians have short memory. May be, that is why Dr Bawumia could look us in the face and tell us that he was a driver’s mate whose advice was not binding, when President Akufo-Addo few months earlier, had told us that “He is a very clever man and I needed his brain to help me govern the country effectively.” Who do we believe? The driver or the mate?
Undoubtedly, Dr Bawumia is in a fix. And every objective person seems to recognize this, except his close confidantes. They have been trying oo! If you ask me. “Ooh, no two human beings think alike. You cannot equate the driver to the driver’s mate. The mate is only a help. The man is bold enough to say that he will have his own vision if you make him president. They cite his declaration to abolish E-levy, tax on betting etc to indicate his independent mindedness, blah blah blah!
Prof Baffuor Agyeman Duah is a governance expert. He is one of the few resource persons used by producers of programmes on radio and TV, whose comments on current affairs I respect a lot.
When asked on TV3’s Ghana Tonight programme by Alfred Ocansey, about Dr Bawumia’s driver’s mate claim, he had this to say.
“The reality is that generally, vice presidents do not make the last call. They provide advice, and the buck simply stops on the desk of the president which has been the reality of all vice presidents in republican states.
“But in this particular case, it seems to me Dr Bawumia was very vocal. In fact, in a way being loquacious in articulating the economic policies of this government. Therefore, a lot of people look at him as spearheading the government’s economic policies. And therefore, if there is a failure in those policies, it has been difficult for many people to delink him,” he said.
Actually, one can say without equivocation that as a vice president, Dr Bawumia has been at the forefront of government operations than all his predecessors, including John Mahama, when he occupied that position. Not to mention Kow Nkensen Arkaah, John Evans Atta Mills, Alhaji Aliu Mahama and Paa Kwesi Amisa-Arthur.
It’s time to go
In fact, some have pointed out, that rather than a driver’s mate, Dr Bawumia is a co-pilot. Indeed, when faced with a similar situation in 2012, then Vice President Mahama chose the description ’spare driver’.
“I am certain that Ghanaians will vote for me and turn me from the spare driver that I have been described as, into the actual driver leading us to our destination,” he said. That’s because of the role of the Vice President as enshrined in Article 60 of the 1992 Constitution.
For the avoidance of doubt, Article 60 (4) for example states that “A candidate shall be deemed to be duly elected as Vice-President if the candidate who designated him as candidate for election to the office of Vice-President has been duly elected as President in accordance with the provisions of Article 63 of this Constitution.
The gist of this clause and the ones that precede it, give every indication that a person has to be qualified to be president before being considered for the position of vice president. That is why Article 60 (6) provides that, “Whenever the President dies, resigns or is removed from office, the Vice-President shall assume office as President for the unexpired term of office of the President with effect from the date of the death, resignation or removal of the President.” Article 60(8) adds that, “Whenever the President is absent from Ghana or is for any other reason unable to perform the functions of his office, the Vice-President shall perform the functions of the President until the President returns or is able to perform his functions.”
In this arrangement therefore, the President is merely primus inter pares (the first among equals) if you ask me. Granted, that if or when the president disagrees with the vice on any matter, the preference of the former will hold sway.
But if we are told by the President that “He is a very clever man and I needed his brain to help me govern the country effectively,” then we can only feel short-changed if the brain behind the administration comes to tell us that his advices were not binding. Someone is definitely being economical with the truth.
If we are to believe Dr Bawumia, then that explains why although he told us prior to assuming duty, that when they assume power, there would be a shift from taxation to production, yet we have been suffocated with taxes including one on sanitary pad.
That is why although he assured us that they have arrested the dollar in respect of the exchange rate, when it was GHC4.00 to $1.00 in 2017, yet we now have to have GHC12.00 to get $1.00.
That is why after reinstating teacher and nursing trainee allowances, the payment is in arrears. That is why although he told us everybody will have Ghana Card, my mother-in-law who registered three years ago, has still not received hers.
That explains why private hospitals and clinics have served notice that they will not accept the National Health Insurance card for their services. That is why his darling free SHS programme is fraught with so many challenges that can be traced to lack of funding. One could go on and on like Dr Bawumia did when he was in opposition- Drivers are suffering, teachers are suffering, kayayei are suffering…
Well, the campaign has just started. With his manifesto team in place and a running mate in the offing, one can only wait patiently to see how the clever man whose brain was used by President Akufo-Addo to bring Ghana thus far, will be able to convince 50% plus 1 Ghanaian electorate to vote for him.
I am aware that it is God alone who crowns Kings or leaders. It is He who has all our destinies written out for us. So, all I can say is that from where I sit, Dr Bawumia, ‘you go explain taya’.
Hamba kahle – That’s goodbye in Zulu.
Let God lead! Follow Him directly, not through any human.
The writer is the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Columnist of the Year- 2022. He is the author of two books whose contents share knowledge on how anyone desirous of writing like him can do so. Eric can be reached via email [email protected]