From Sino-Phobia To Bawumia-Phobia?

December 7, 2020, may be roughly fifty months away, but for some strange reasons, certain developments from the camp of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), ostensibly as part of preparations towards that day, strongly recall the popular political maxim that ‘opposition is hell’.

What is more amazing is the glaring apprehensiveness and inconsistency demonstrated by the party in its bid to address political issues.

For the past one year, the largest opposition party had shown some apparition for anything related to China, to the extent that political observers are beginning to wonder why the sudden change in posture, barely two years after leaving office.

The seeming abhorrence became most evident after the Vice President, Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia, returned from that country with a $15 billion Marshal Plan package for some twenty categories of investments spanning the mining, industrial and railway sectors.

In addition to the package were grants intended to acquire 500 vehicles for the police, equipment for the Armed Forces, patrol boats for the Ghana Navy, construction of a new Accra Psychiatric Hospital, reconstruction and rehabilitation of 8,286 collapsing classrooms, ten industrial parks in 10 regions, among others.

The opposition party, in an apparent fright, did not only rubbish the deal by questioning the appropriateness of the facility, but also wrote to the IMF and World Bank to complain about part of our financial dealings with China.

They then attacked the Kelni-GVG deal and also described the $50 billion Century bond announced after President Akufo-Addo’s recent trip to China as a disguised colonization ploy.

Interestingly, however, the NDC seemed to have so soon forgotten how, led by John Mahama in 2009, the party knelt before the same Chinese for a much lesser loan under a certain STX loan intended for the construction of some imaginary affordable houses.

But just as reality was dawning on them that attacking the Chinese wouldn’t wash, the party leadership quickly turned its gun on Dr. Bawumia, the man whose economic wizardry, they fear, could overhaul the stagnant economy, elevate Ghana’s international image to its highest plane ever, and keep them (NDC) perpetually in opposition.

Seeing him as a mortal threat, no day had passed in the last three months without venomous invectives being poured on his person and his family by NDC communicators.

Even when the issues being discussed on radio or television had nothing to do with Bawumia, NDC panelists would seize the opportunity to attack the Vice President.

From John Dramani Mahama, through Koku Anyidoho, to Joshua Hamidu Akamba, the writing seems clear on the wall that people in the NDC are having sleepless nights.

As unproductive as the attacks on China, THE PUBLISHER thinks the unprovoked assaults on the Vice President would not garner the NDC any political currency.

Having performed so abysmally in the 2016 general elections, we think this is the most appropriate time for Mahama and his boys to put their house in order and stop wasting precious political bullets on Bawumia.

Regarding the coming of the Chinese, let the NDC come to terms with the undisputable fact that China is the world’s factory, and there’s nothing anyone can do about it.

When in power, Mahama chose the path to Dubai, so if today the NPP decides to go to China, so be it.
Finally, we call on the NDC leaders to rather gird their loins and start learning Mandarin because it is the New World Order.