Hold it, Dr Bawumia
How could it not have occurred to Dr. Bawumia that a single irresponsible statement can outlast all the points he had in the past sought to put across through the power point presentations and excel spread sheet that he is so accustomed to.
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How could he have said the things he said right after the widely condemned tribal laden statement made by former transport minister, Dzifa Attivor. How could he have missed the similarity between what he had in mind and what Ms Attivor had said?
Having built a reputation as the man capable of all economic trouble shooting, the least expected of Dr Bawumia was to stand before electorates and declare that the flagstaff house is skewed religiously in favour of Christians and against Muslims.
Such a move is not his strong point. And it is never going to be his strong point. An economic jab or two at the government would have sufficed.
He is quoted as saying: “Another major issue that I want to bring to the attention of the people is that; if we look at the flagstaff house today, it does not reflect the people of Ghana in terms of religion.”
He goes on: “We are in this country living peacefully and nicely; Christians and Muslims. So we believe in the NPP that Christians and Muslims should work together and that is why whenever we pick a flag bearer as a Christian, we pick a Muslim as a vice. And when we come and pick a Muslim as a flag bearer, we will pick a Christian as a vice.”
Make no mistake. Just like in the Attivor incident, Dr. Bawumia is not the first person to have made similar comments in relation to the flagstaff house. Mr. Daniel Bugri Naabu, the Northern Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is on record to have accused the President of neglecting the Konkomba people by excluding them in appointments to the flagstaff house.
This statement does not in a large measure reflect the truth and practice of politics, as we know it. For starters, why is the respected economist directing his attention to the flagstaff house (unless he is using the flagstaff as a representation of government.); and who says that the only evidence of cohesion and unity is when a Christian flag bearer appoints a Muslim as her running mate.
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And how is a vice president in the flagstaff house going to transform the inequalities in representation in government. A vice president may wield some influence but he may not.
Dr. Bawumia probably might have forgotten that the choice of who is in government as a minister or staffer is purely a matter of expertise, exigency and real politick. It has nothing to do with any cast in iron formulae. John Mahama is a Christian and Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur is also a Christian. And so what?
This statement coming on the heels of the widely condemned comments by Ms Attivor, former Minister of Transport, is clearly a sign that politicians would exploit whatever loop holes and weaknesses there may be just to further narrow self-actualisation needs.
The bar should be held evenly. Religious and ethnic tensions can easily lead a country on the path to destruction.
There might be pressures on Dr. Bawumia to win more votes especially from the Northern part of the country. There might be pressures on him to sound tough and hard. There might be pressures on him to indulge in rabble-rousing as a means of winning political power.
But Dr. Bawumia ultimately has to remember that if there is anything that we have learnt from politics in recent years, it would be that we should be slow in making promises - especially on questions of representations and size of government.
Many a president have taken the path of retreat after discovering that it is easier said in opposition than done in government.
I am not too sure of how much influence a vice president brings on board when it comes to the nomination and appointment of ministers. The consultation processes are broader and wider. At the very least, he may recommend. But that is subject to the party’s own thinking and view of the person. He clearly missed the point.
Aside being deprived of the requisite resources, being an opposition politician is the easiest job on the political landscape. After all, there is no obligation on you to prove anything. You just have to keep saying the right things; and hopefully the next moment you are being sworn into office. That should not be too hard for Dr. Bawumia to do.
I believe nobody should vote for another just because of social, religious or familial affiliations. This is our seventh election. There is still more to come.
Let’s eschew all traces of ethnicity and religion in our politics. It makes us backward.