The greying of John Dramani Mahama
He looks stout and more vigorous these days but you cannot escape the grey in President John Dramani Mahama’s hair.
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The last time he was in Paris, his hair was a bit overgrown and the grey was more evident. Maybe he forgot to take his barber along to give him that down cut.
And during the Christmas yuletide, I noticed from Mahama’s post on facebook that the grey had become more pronounced and distinctive . Some would describe the development as a sign of maturity. Others would describe it differently.
The fact is in Ghana, all roads lead to Mahama; innuendos, criticisms, problems, appointments and solutions.
Some would have resorted to dyeing the hair . Where I grew up in New Takoradi, the use of hair dye was as common as smuggling goods from the Takoradi harbour anchorage and wee smoking. Now I know so many people who constantly use it. When I asked my wife to dye my hair so that it could look like that of former government minister, she vehemently refused and said she wanted my women to know that the vicissitudes of life had taken its toll on me.
Fancy President Mahama in a ‘Yoomo’ or more appropriately dyeing the hair to look more appealing to Ghanaians.
Some time ago, there was an uproar in Germany when it was suspected that their former leader Schroeder had applied some chemicals to his hair to make it look darker .Some called him a vain man.
President
The problems associated with the business of being the leader of a country called Ghana can make any leader go grey. Is it any wonder that most of Ghana’s recent leaders age and grow grey on the job?
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Former President Rawlings had his share of the grey before exiting office. Now he has virtually opted for the grey bushy hair as a style.
President Kufuor was not spared the “whitening” distinctiveness in office even though his was more graceful.
In 2011, I spotted some strands of grey on the head of the then veep when I met him up close at Awaso at the anniversary celebration of the Sefwi Wiawso Secondary School .
And since assuming the hot seat after the death of former President Mills, the rate of the greying has become more pronounced.
Problems
Mahama has moved from problems to problems . He has been assailed by Ghana’s cyclical problems of the unstable cedi, strike actions, a penchant to import everything , unemployment and the mighty Woyome recurrent “wahala.”
Other difficulties include a corruption tag, youth unemployment and the growing national debt.
The single spine pay policy and its related labour agitations are not going away any soon.
And with the latest “Gitmo” issues that has taken centre stage in the country, the agitations have been gigantic.
Dumsor
Dumsor has been one of Mahama’s Achilles heels and if not contained, will prove to be his undoing as we head into the November general elections this year. The power crisis had kept too long and we needed a respite for life to go on.
In my neighbourhood, anytime the lights go out, there is a general chorus of “Mahama” followed by the insults, the vituperations and the name callings. Some people in my household have resorted to joining the general opprobirum and sometimes even me, with my social democrat pretensions, do join them with light-hearted jokes.
Youth Employment
Another bane of Mahama would be the problem of youth unemployment.
Many political pundits have said the spectre of unemployment ,especially among the youth, could tell on the electoral fortunes of Mahama and his party.
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From all indications, the private sector is not expanding enough to absorb the growing number of youth into their sectors.
Currently, there are over 200,000 unemployed graduates in Ghana. And every year, over 71,000 graduates are pushed onto the job market from both private and public tertiary institutions . With over 48 private universities and eight public universities producing thousands of people,our President’s hair will continue to grey at a rapid rate.
The International Labour Organisation has recently warned that unemployment will continue to rise in the coming years as the global economy enters a new period of combining slower growth, widening inequalities and turbulence.
The recent AMERI power controversy, coupled with the bus branding episode, have further blunted the President’s swagger leading to the deepening of the grey of his hair .
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But still, he soldiers on. His recent display of his communication skills during a meeting with the media in Accra has not only portrayed him as someone who is on top of his job, but as a President who had grappled with the single spine, dumsor, the depreciation of the cedi and undertaken massive infrastructural projects. He has also of late mastered the art of communicating to his audience more competently and going straight to the point.
It is instructive to note that grey hair denotes reliability, professionalism and maturity, however it can also be an indication of indecisiveness.
As Ghanaians head for the polls, the reaction of the President, over the period he has been in charge of the many problems that confront Ghanaians, will prove the kind of grey he gets.