To be tagged or labelled as a liar is extremely demeaning. To be called a liar is no joke, but Ghanaians for the sake of politics can choose to give unprintable and unacceptable names to score political points.
There are some vices that should not be associated with any individual who seeks to lead a nation, and for me lies top the list. That is a leader must not be a liar, dishonest, wicked, a thief, incompetent, indulge in flamboyance, heartless, arrogance, extravagant etc
Bawuliar started as a joke by the opposition National Democratic Congress, and like play like play the coinage ended up in the Wikepedia, where it easily pops up by googling; who is the biggest liar in Ghana?
Smartly, the opposition envisaged that Dr Mahamudu Bawumia would be the likely successor after President Akufo-Addo has finished his two terms of office. This conception formed the genesis of attacks and the woes of Dr Bawumia from the largest opposition. And prophetically, they got it right.
Let us establish who a liar is, and see if the Vice President qualifies to carry that humiliating tag. According to standard English definition, a liar is someone who does not tell the truth, or a person who tells lies.
NPP’s response
It appears the New Patriotic Party did not see it as a tool that was going to be used to destroy the hard earned reputation of one of its potential flagbearers.
The opposition NDC had calculated rightly that Bawumia was likely to succeed his boss, President Akufo-Addo, and started to blame the former for the seeming failing economy and some major policies of the NPP government. And to crown it all, some leading members commenced the name calling and tagged Bawumia as a liar. Repeatedly, the label appears to have caught the attention of many citizens, and even surprisingly including many folks within the governing NPP.
Now, it is becoming difficult for the NPP to fight the unholy tag, leaving the 2024 flagbearer to his own fate to defend the ‘lies’ albatross. Any good and objective political analyst will agree that the ruling party failed to match up with the energy the opposition exerted in that negative branding of Dr Bawumia.
Do You Agree that Bawumia is a Liar?
In Ghanaian politics, it is normal for political opponents to throw jabs against one another where decorum in political communication is usually not respected. But politicians ought to know that Ghanaian voters are becoming discerning and will not fall for anything at all.
Prior to 2016 general elections, Dr Bawumia as the then running mate took the task of leading the attacks particularly on the economy run by the NDC government, which he claimed was being mismanaged. He spoke through series of public lectures, and many political platforms and rallies. When and where did he lie?
Foremost, Dr Bawumia was simply criticizing the government then on some of the failing policies and programmes in a bid to paint the NDC government as incompetent. He played the role very effectively and this has made him number one enemy of the opposition NDC.
Secondly, the then running mate was propagating the party’s manifesto, which was going to be the official reference point document when the NPP formed the government. He provided alternative and better solutions to the myriad problems which confront the country. And which political party seeking to come to power would not do that?
Come with me and let us ask some questions. Do political promises during an electioneering campaign amount to lies if unfulfilled? Has any political party fulfill all campaign promises after winning political power? Should political parties refrain from making promises to the electorates?
I wish to state few political campaign promises made by NDC and former President John Mahama. The National Democratic Congress in opposition during 2008 polls promised to implement what it termed as one-time premium payment for the National Health Insurance Scheme, but the party never executed it while in government. Again, it would be recalled former President Mahama promised to build two hundred Senior High Schools for day students across the country, and it was christened as Community Day schools. At the time he was leaving office, President Mahama had managed to erect about fifty school buildings, he could not carry out the good intentions of putting up all the two hundred. The promise of giving forty percent appointment to the womenfolk also never happened, and the list can go on and on but hell never broke loose.
From the foregoing, can we say political parties and their leaders are liars because of some unfulfilled campaign promises?
He Never Lied
Winning political power in Ghana is not easy at all, you must come hard at the ruling government by pointing out the weakness and the failures to make it unpopular in the eyes of the voters. Dr Bawumia set out some questions, about 170, directed at NDC government especially the then sitting Vice President, Amissah Arthur, who was in charge of the economic management team.
The NPP economics wizard was not particularly happy about the NDC government mishandling of the economy and consistently took the officials on the unresolved inflation, pontificating that when the fundamentals are weak the exchange would expose you. This phrase appears to have earned Bawumia the tag of a liar.
Dr Bawumia spoke facts on the economy then, spoke from the 2016 NPP manifesto, and made pronouncements about what programmes and policies NPP intended to execute in power or government.
For the sake of argument, if almost eight years the NPP government led by President Akufo-Addo is unable to implement some of the campaign promises, who takes the blame? Does inability to fulfill all campaign and manifesto promises amount to lies? And therefore the person who spoke excerpts from the manifesto of a political party becomes a liar? This is illogical.
Advice to Bawumia
There are myriad of problems confronting the nation and I dare say that even ordinary Ghanaians know them at their fingertips. Therefore, any person seeking to lead the country should know better than the compatriots.
What many Ghanaians are looking forward to is action oriented President, who would listen to majority views on national topical matters and take the best decision for the national interest, and not parochial partisan decisions.
Ghana’s problems are roads, health facilities, good management of the economy, corruption, youth unemployment, illegal mining, etc, all these need a problem solving leader to fix them.
Dr Bawumia should maintain his humility posture, continue to be truthful, respectful to all manner of persons, and above all stay away from corrupt deals.
May Allah crown your efforts.
By Nana Obeng-Danquah.
NPP Activist.
Akwatia Constituency.