By Iddi Muhayu-Deen
There is no denying the fact that in the body politic of our country, the name, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, embodies HOPE and PROSPERITY not only for the New Patriotic Party but for the rest of the country. It is the name that convinces even the greatest cynics in this world that the Ghanaian dream can become a REALITY. That, Ghana can become the cynosure of the world in the area of digitalization, industrialization and economic transformation.
It is the name that convinces the Ghanaian that, some of the difficult things to do in life can be made easy and convenient by a simple click of a computer button or a mobile phone. That, we can easily transfer money from our bank accounts to our MOMO accounts and the vice versa without visiting the bank. That, we can easily make mobile money transfers from one network to another. That, we can sit at the comfort of our homes and buy ECG credits with our phones without visiting any ECG vendor.
That, we can renew our health insurance subscriptions with our phones without visiting NHIS offices. That, we can visit any location in the country without asking anybody for direction. Ultimately, it is the name that convinces the Ghanaian that, we can formalize our economy in a manner that makes life easy while at the same time enhancing revenue generation, bolstering the fight against crime and saving the Ghanaian taxpayer millions of Ghana cedis which would have otherwise been lost through corruption and systemic wastage.
Loyalty personified
In the NPP, the name, Bawumia also personifies party loyalty, commitment, tolerance, sacrifice and selflessness all of which are the very principles underpinning the founding of the NPP. It would be recalled that Dr. Bawumia is that person who, for love of his party (NPP), left a lucrative job as Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, to support the NPP as Running Mate in 2007, at the time everybody was tipping him to become the next Governor of the Central Bank. He only cared about the NPP.
When the Party lost the 2008 General Elections, he remained true and loyal to the New Patriotic Party, one of whose antecedent can be traced to the Northern Peoples Party, a political tradition founded by his biological father, Alhaji Mumuni Bawumia. Indeed, the Bawumias have always been rooted in the NPP. They are never strangers. They also remain a significant part of the present day NPP, and will remain a significant part of the Party’s immediate and foreseeable future.
No intimidation
No amount of intimidation and attacks will make Dr. Bawumia even dream of resigning from the NPP unlike others who chickened out from the NPP in the past citing intimidation of their perceived supporters. Interestingly, today, these same people who sought to leave the Party under the guise of suffering intimidation tell us that they are more loyal to the NPP than Dr. Bawumia. Clearly, the facts do not support their position. On the contrary, the facts show that, unlike them, Dr. Bawumia’s loyalty to the NPP is unconditional, and cannot be shaken by any occurrence.
Job opportunities rejected
In the buildup to the 2012 general election, Dr. Bawumia had, owing to his scholarship and industry, been offered several employment opportunities by the World Bank and some top Universities in Europe and Canada. He however, declined all these big offers just so that he would yet again focus on the NPP’s 2012 election bid. Dr. Bawumia was subsequently appointed as Running Mate to the then Presidential Candidate.
At the end of the polls, the Electoral Commission declared the NPP as losers. After initial reservations, many NPP members and party kingpins later came to accept their fate. They gave up. But, Dr. Bawumia would not give up. He was convinced that many things had gone wrong in the elections and that, the NPP didn’t lose the elections. Dr. Bawumia gallantry inspired the rank and file of the Party to share in his strong conviction. He led the NPP to conduct an intensive audit into the elections and all pink sheets leveraging on technology.
After this exercise, the Party was able to successfully uncover the rigging machinery that was deployed in the elections. Dr. Bawumia who had virtually become a full time employee at the Party Headquarters with no salary, was vindicated. The Party then mounted an unprecedented election petition. Dr. Bawumia again abandoned all his schedules to become the Party’s Star Witness in the 8-month election petition. Interestingly, at the time Dr. Bawumia was risking his life and fighting for the NPP in this unprecedented election petition, some of his competitors today, had left the jurisdiction and were busily chasing for jobs at the World Trade Organization.
The petition indeed revealed many of the rots that characterized the 2012 elections. As many as five (5) out of the nine (9) Supreme Court judges upheld at least one of petitioners’ claims. The five judges that agreed with the Dr. Bawumia-inspired election petition included Justice Jones Dotse, Justice Rose Constance Owusu, Justice Julius Ansah, Justice Anim Yeboah and Justice Baffoe-Bonnie. It had to take the mathematical ingenuity on the part of the presiding judge, Justice William Atuguba, to declare the petitioners as losers of the election petition, a development many lawyers are still yet to come to terms with.
That notwithstanding, all the nine (9) Supreme Court Judges UNANIMOUSLY agreed with Dr. Bawumia that there were several irregularities with the 2012 general election. The point of departure was the extent to which the irregularities impacted the election outcome announced by the EC. Equally, all the nine (9) judges concluded that having regard to the revelations in the election petition, the subsequent conduct of presidential elections by the EC, would not be the same.
Election reforms
Indeed, as a result of this Bawumia-inspired election petition, the EC, taking a cue from the recommendations of the Court, undertook several election reforms making it practically impossible for elections to ever be rigged in this country. These reforms, coupled with lessons learnt by the NPP from the election petition, was what SET THE STAGE for the NPP’s historic victory in the 2016 General Elections, where the Party won by over a million votes.
Again, in the run-up to the 2020 General Election, Dr. Bawumia chaired the NPP Manifesto Committee which Manifesto, delivered yet another resounding victory for the NPP in the presidential election. The NPP won the 2020 presidential election with over 500,000 votes, which is the highest margin of victory in the history of the Fourth Republic for a political party seeking a second-term in office.
All in all, Dr. Bawumia has proven to be the biggest revelation and addition to the NPP’s electoral fortunes in the last two decades. He has consolidated the NPP’s support-base among the middle class. He has delivered the Universities to the NPP. He has delivered his home region [the original Northern Region] to the NPP. I’m not sure anybody had ever thought the NPP could ever win more Parliamentary Seats than the NDC in the original Northern Region, but it happened in the last General Elections, with the NPP winning 16 parliamentary seats against the NDC’s 15.
This is, of course, largely because of the ‘Bawumia Factor’. In fact, Dr. Bawumia has delivered even the Zongos to the NPP. It is also noteworthy that his emergence in the country’s political landscape has drastically changed the face of our body politic. He has changed our appreciation of politics from propaganda to facts and data. He is the all-time biggest threat to the NDC’s political fortunes. Dr. Bawumia is down to earth and trustworthy. He is only focused on getting the job done and delivering prosperity to Ghanaians and the NPP. How much more can a man be a blessing to his Country and Party!
A blessing to NPP
H.E Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, you are indeed a great blessing to the NPP, and to every Ghanaian. We have all lived and felt your wonderful leadership. Accordingly, on the occasion of your 59th birthday, I gladly join the rest of the World to wish you a Happy Birthday. May Almighty ALLAH continue to grant your heart desires. Your best is indeed yet to come, and Insha Allah, you shall be the next flagbearer of the NPP, and eventually become the next President of our country. You are, indeed, the ‘THE NEXT TO LEAD’ FOR THE PROSPERITY OF OUR COUNTRY AND PARTY.
Assalamu alaik
Your ardent follower
