Pay attention to yourself especially your spontaneous thoughts and oft vocalized effusions whenever someone you happen to loathe for no apparent reason and likewise someone you admire comes to mind.
Some people believe that the name Ghana is actually an acronym that means God Has A Nation Ahead (GHANA). Perhaps Ghana’s pre-independence and post-independence political and economic history show glimpses that attest to the meaning of the acronym GHANA.
Ghana emerged as the first country in sub-Saharan Africa in year AD 1957 to liberate itself from the political and economic bondage of colonialism and gained independence from Britain. Ghana also became the first post independent country in sub-Saharan Africa to witness unhealthy political rivalry between the leading rival political protagonists that culminated in a string of successive coup de-tats and forceful military take-over of political power up to the advent of the constitutional era of the Fourth Republic Constitution in AD 1992.
“Jealousy is just love and hate expressed at the same time” – (Aubrey Drake Graham – Canadian Rapper & Singer)
The 2021 Population and Housing Census (PHC) perhaps depicts Ghana’s fixation with mainstream religion and the somewhat pretentious religious proclivities of your average Ghanaian citizen as it revealed the religion demographic composition of the population that is currently comprised of Christians 71% and Muslims 20%. The PHC results shows that a whopping 91% of the Ghanaian population profess Christianity and Islam.
To a Theologian the name John (in Christianity) and Yahaya (in Islam) resonates as both are the names of Prophets. To a Christian two famous persons that were named John that readily comes to mind if the Jesus disciple John and John the Baptist.
Ghana’s Fourth Republican constitutional era has witnessed a succession of 4 John’s who emerged as presidents of Ghana in the persons of John Jeremiah Rawlings, John Agyekum Kuffuor, John Evans Atta-Mills and John Dramani Mahama. The political era of the John-presidents of Ghana was characterized with consolidation of Ghana’s democracy, respect for “the rule of law” and the Ghanaian economy blossomed and citizens thrived.
On 7th January 2017 and up to date Ghana has been governed by a president and presidential leadership team that is devoid of the name John. As if Ghanaians were not forewarned on what they were to expect during the presidency and era of a non-John president when he released those famous quips or Freudian slips to herald the presidency of NADAA by uttering “Yen Akan fuo,” “Atiwa ye be kyere bi-bi kakra”,
The Oxford dictionary describes a ‘Freudian slip’ as an unintentional error that reveals your subconscious feelings.
Perhaps as Ghana heads into general elections on 7th December 2024, citizens must ponder and reflect using a scale of Good or Bad to measure and compare the era of the John-presidents and the era of the non-John president to evaluate aspects of democratic political governance and leadership and outcomes chalked in the annals of the Fourth Republic era:
Corruption levels recorded actual versus perceived
Advancement in Ghana’s democratic credentials expressed using independence and fairness in the discharge of statutory obligations, responsibilities and performance of duties of state institutions like the Judiciary, Civil & Public Service, Police, Military, Bank of Ghana etc.
Conduct and performance of Parliament and Parliamentarians
Judicious management of the national economy vis-a-vis national public debt, growth in real sectors of the economy, inflation levels and stability in exchange rates of Ghana Cedi, interest rate, unemployment levels etc.
Physical development, maintenance, improvement and addition to the stock of public infrastructure and facilities
In a nutshell, Ghanaians must evaluate our Fourth Republic presidents and political parties and compare the era of the John-presidents, and the era of the non-John president and determine which prospective president and political parties deserves to rule Ghana in 2025?
“Who God blesses no man curse” – (song by Jamaican musician; Roy Shirley)
Is it not funny that today some people unashamedly say what new thing does John Dramani Mahama have to offer Ghana by seeking the presidency once more on 7th December 2024? They even go ahead to say that nobody reappoints a failed CEO or goes back to lick his own vomit.
The anti-John Mahama folks are at best betraying themselves considering that they have no rational basis when they compare and contrast the tangible performance records of all presidents of the Fourth Republic era and even those “phantom” untested leadership alternatives they appear to clamor for, or even the alternative presidential candidates who have so far declared their intention to contest 2024 elections namely; Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and John Allan Kyeremanteng!
Indeed, the anti-JM folks are merely expressing their Freudian-slips, and appear to be tribal bigots, disappointed NPP sympathizers and are smitten by the Covid virus variant called envy and jealousy.
Archimedes Owusu Ababio
(Senior Citizen of Ghana)
“In politics and in life ignorance is not a virtue” – (Barack Hussein Obama, former president of USA)
