The unthinkable looked like a remote possibility until it snowballed to the doorstep as would a meteorite fall on the earth. A certain Bawumia looks like the shadow of Mahama. He is seeking his party’s ticket to replace his boss President Akufo Addo who retires in January 2025. That wouldn’t be the first of its kind in Ghana’s 4th republic, that is, to see a Vice President step in the shoes of the President.
Bawumia’s quest is the mirror of John Mahama, albeit under a very different set of circumstances. Mahama was the Vice President to John Atta Mills from 2009 to 2012, his fortuity being the unexpected death of Mills who was 5 months away from the frays that accompany re-election bids. So Mahama became the president without politicking, even though he was considered the heir apparent in the period he played second fiddle.
While Mahama became the consensus candidate of the NDC and won the 2012 elections, Bawumia would have to deal with colossal opposition within his political stable, the NPP before setting sights on the horizons. The voice of another flagbearer contestant, the maverick Ken Agyepong is pitched against him, even in the face of the strong rivalry emanating from the Alan Kyeremanten campaign.
Arguably, Bawumia and Mahama have been the most visible among Vice-Presidents Ghana has ever had. The former has been a champion of the digitization drive. His controversial statement that the digital economy, inclusive of mobile network interoperability, is far better than a maze of flyovers was gleaned to be a political strike on Mahama whose platform is physical infrastructure. The Mahama campaign also attaches itself to the digital. It was in his tenure that the eastern corridor fibre optic cable was laid underground to enhance internet connectivity in the area, previously considered a digital backwater.
The Mahama camp provides further mileage on its case stating that as Deputy Minister to Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah at the Communications Ministry in 1997, Mahama worked in the combined team to trigger the modernisation of the sector.
Another frontier of their contest is the northerner citizens’ rivalry, and this percolates to the depths of religion. Bawumia, a Muslim, has started visiting churches whilst the Christian, Mahama, has been throbbing towards every enclave including that of Muslims. One pundit has said, it seems Ghana might get a president from the northern region as a matter of course, should any of the two scale their challenges to face the national ballot. That isn’t Mahama’s problem, Bawumia is still within the clutches of stalwart competitors who do not think his affinity to the party’s parliamentary caucus could change the course of party tradition, being the first come first served principle.
Dr. Hilla Limann was the first Northerner to become Ghanaian President. He lasted between September 1979 and December 1981. He was overthrown by the military. He tried to stage a comeback in 1992 but this time his party failed at the polls, beaten by the NDC the party of the military leader, Flt. Lt. J.J. Rawlings who overthrew him.
Back into the present, there has been a tussle over the numeral 8. The NPP says it will break the 8-barrier by going a third straight term. The NDC has dismissed that as ambitious and told the NPP to confine that dream to the convention. The opposition says, the government has failed to deliver on its promises and that will be the decider as to who gets the ticket to cross the famous bridge called 8. The success of the NDC will hand John Mahama the presidency a third time. For the NPP it will be a third-consecutive win.
Bawumia, the irremovable block. Mahama, the irrepressible force. Alan is lurking with surprise on his sleeves. Others say Dr. Akoto beba.
Trust The Ghana Report to keep monitoring this boiling front for your update.