Leader of the opposition National Democratic Congress, John Dramani Mahama
It is a common belief that politics and politicians are incompatible with honesty, and therefore if a politician is honest and true in his dealings and political life, it is considered a sin.
Former President John Dramani Mahama committed this “sin” and it was part of the reason he lost the 2016 general elections. A lot happened in the country’s political arena before the 2016 elections. While the NPP and its presidential candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and his colleague at the time, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, were spinning lies and exposing fraud, then President Mahama was committed to clean and honest politics, was honest and sincere with the Ghanaian people and was never tempted to indulge in the politics of deceit. After all, integrity matters to him.
This view was expressed by the former president himself, who said that while honesty is a great virtue, his determination to be honest about all the difficulties the country faced during his first tenure may have been one of the major challenges of his administration.
“I was brought up to always tell the truth so when I was president, when things were not going well I would tell the people of Ghana what we were going to do about it. I think my honesty was one of the big problems I had because I didn’t think I should deceive the people,” he said.
Still, it’s nice to see that losing an election hasn’t suddenly turned him into a liar or a deceitful politician, and it has highlighted the importance of elected officials being candid with their constituents in order to build trust and credibility.
The dishonesty of the Akufo, Addo and Bawumia administrations, especially amid the recent unprecedented economic challenges, is disheartening and unfortunate.
During his first term, the former President was strongly convinced that replacing training allowances for teachers and nurses with student loans was in Ghana’s best interest. He was honest and forthright in nature and instead of dishonestly withholding and implementing that policy plan until he was elected for a second term, as any other duplicitous politician would have done, he ran in the 2016 election and implemented it in Ghana’s best interest despite knowing the consequences. Yet, he placed the interest of the nation above his own selfish political interests. This is what honesty and integrity are all about.
When the country was hit by a generation-long energy crisis that recurs at least once every decade, former President Mahama had two options: either manage the demand and supply shortfalls after winning the 2016 elections to prevent the problem from recurring in the future, or address the root causes of the problem.
The former president, deciding that it was important to be honest with the Ghanaian people and that it was time to end the recurring energy crisis, chose the latter and boldly declared, “I, John Dramani Mahama, am going to solve the energy challenge, not just manage it.” He opted for a more comprehensive, yet tedious and time-consuming, way of dealing with the challenge.
He tackled the problem head on as this approach was aimed at completely eliminating the energy crisis for good. This was a very bold decision with political repercussions but he chose this path for the good of the country. His political opponents took advantage of his honesty and used the prolonged but inevitable energy crisis to campaign against the nobles.
This bold yet honest decision, which ultimately addressed the root cause of the generational energy crisis, influenced John Dramani Mahama to prevail in the 2016 general elections. It is the perfect portrayal of a man of integrity – a politician who is synonymous with honesty, truth, sincerity and integrity.
These are the “sins” of former President John Dramani Mahama: honesty, integrity, candor and forthrightness.
It is important to appreciate and support honest and upstanding politicians like John Dramani Mahama. We should support and encourage leaders who are honest and forthright with us so that other dishonest politicians will learn to be honest. This is the only way we can achieve national development.
There are all indications that unlike the deceitful Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, former President John Dramani Mahama will remain true to the good people of Ghana even after winning the December 7, 2024 general elections.