GHANA IS NOT CURSED – MAHAMA IS LEADING WITH CARE AND COMPASSION
By Amega Awadzi -Corridors of Aborlove Nolopi.
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Charles Opoku Presidoo, your post under the heading “General Insecurity, Tragedies and Violent Killings under Mahama” seeks like you want to create fear and paint Ghana as though it were under a curse simply because of natural tragedies, accidents and isolated violent incidents. Such claims are not only alarmist but also misleading and disrespectful to the resilience of the Ghanaian people.
It is important to state clearly that the unfortunate incidents catalogued are not peculiar to this era nor are they the creation of President John Dramani Mahama. Fires, floods, road crashes, communal violence and natural disasters have occurred under all governments since independence and indeed, they occur globally in every society. To suggest that Ghana is cursed under Mahama’s leadership is to mock the victims of these tragedies rather than honour them.
I decided to respond to this falsehood because of the very foundation upon which the NPP (your casket darling ) as a political party was built. If you care to know, kindly ask your elders about the propaganda book launched years ago by the late Jake Okanta Obetsebi Lamptey, which served as a manual on how to propagate lies in order to win political power. The strategy outlined was simple: create a lie, spread it widely, and continue to repeat it until it sticks in the ears of the population and everyone begins to believe it as truth. This has been the bedrock of the NPP’s political communication.
The party was built on deceit, distortion and negativity, but presented to Ghanaians in such a way that it looked like truth. We saw the height of this during the eight years of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s administration, which was full of propaganda governance, empty promises and false claims about competence. The true state of Ghana’s economy became exposed only when compared with the solid foundations laid by the John Dramani Mahama administration. Nana Addo ruled Ghana as though it were a family company, turning state institutions into private holdings and reducing the dignity of governance to partisan patronage.
With respect to the statistics Mr. Opoku Presidoo quoted, let us place them in their proper context. Fires in markets such as Kantamanto, Kejetia, Suame or Kasoa are unfortunate but they are not new and certainly not unique to the Mahama era. These are accidents caused by congestion, poor wiring, illegal electrical connections and human error. The same markets have burnt under previous governments and even under Nana Akufo-Addo’s government we witnessed repeated infernos at Makola, Odawna, KJTR and other centres. To list them as if Mahama set the fires himself is to deliberately twist reality for propaganda purposes.
On road crashes, it must be stated that Ghana records an average of over 2,000 deaths annually from road accidents due to speeding, overloading and careless driving. This is a national problem that every government has grappled with. Accidents on the Asuboi road, Nkawkaw highway or Konongo stretch are tragedies we mourn, but they are not political creations. Mahama’s government actually invested in road safety campaigns, enforcement of seatbelt laws, and provided new ambulances to improve survival rates. To cite these crashes as a curse of one man’s leadership is baseless.
As for communal violence and ethnic clashes, no one can pretend these did not exist before Mahama. From the protracted Bawku conflicts that have lasted for decades, to land disputes in the north and chieftaincy matters in the south, Ghana has long experienced such incidents. Mahama rather established new peacebuilding mechanisms through the National Peace Council, expanded community policing and encouraged dialogue among chiefs to calm tensions. That is leadership in action, not neglect.
Even with natural disasters such as floods, lightning strikes or boat accidents, the truth is that no human being or government can stop rain from falling, lightning from striking, or rivers from overflowing. What government can do is to improve disaster response, provide relief and build resilience. That is exactly what Mahama’s administration has been doing through NADMO, through drainage projects in Accra and through direct relief funds to victims.
Therefore, the long statistics being paraded are not proof of leadership failure but proof that Ghana, like every other country, faces natural and social challenges. If we were to list similar events under Nana Akufo-Addo and Dr. Bawumia, the catalogue would be even longer: the Takoradi girls’ kidnappings and killings, the Ejura military shootings, the Techiman South election violence, multiple Makola market fires, military brutalities in Wa and Ashaiman, countless road crashes and devastating floods across Accra and Kumasi. Yet when such events happen under NPP, they quickly sweep them under the carpet as though they never occurred. That selective memory is the very definition of propaganda.
The truth therefore remains that Ghana is not cursed. Ghana is a blessed nation which, like every other, faces challenges from time to time. What matters is leadership that rises to the occasion, and John Dramani Mahama has consistently shown care, responsiveness and determination to build systems that will endure. To compile a list of tragedies without acknowledging government’s interventions is not only dishonest politics but also an attempt to sow fear and despair. Ghanaians deserve hope, not alarmism.
The real story is that under John Mahama, institutions are being strengthened, victims are being supported, and long-term solutions are being pursued. He cares, he responds and he leads with humanity. Our nation will continue to rise above its challenges and we must never lose faith in our collective destiny. Ghana is not cursed, Ghana is safe, and Ghana is moving forward with hope.
