Former Ghanaian President John Mahama now says he lost the 2017 presidential election because his party’s time was up and no campaign promise could have persuaded the electorate to keep him in power.
Speaking during his concession speech Mahama said he couldn’t retain his seat even if he was endorsed by celebrities and even buying off votes.
“No amount of monopolization of the media space could save us. No amount of money could stop our defeat. No amount of local and international celebrity endorsements could help us. And no amount of vote buying could stand the irresistible hurricane of change that shook our nation on Wednesday,” said Mahama.
The former President called on his party members to stop blames games and brainstorm how to get out of the mess.
“The future of our great party looks gloomy and we have to start work on how to get ourselves out of what appears like an eternal stay in opposition.
“In life, when you are hit by the subduing blow of misfortune, you have two options. You can allow that blow to crush you. You can also move on with the enormous lessons such misfortunes often present,” Mahama pointed out.
He noted that he could not announce his next political move and if he returned to politics he would have learnt a lesson from the defeat.
“I have learnt that the Ghanaian voter, though mainly uneducated and simple, is more sophisticated than we thought. I have learnt that it is unacceptable for the people to loot, hoard and splash during elections,” the ex-president stated.
Mahama further said he learnt that the calls of the noisy minority cannot be ignored because they largely shape the opinions of the silent minority, who politicians exploit for selfish gain.
“I have learnt that the hate of the obscene display of ill-gotten opulence wins. I have learnt that hate of mediocrity and deception definitely wins. And I have learnt that hating evil will forever triumph over the love of evil. That was what happened on Wednesday.”
Additionally, Mahama said the success or failure of a leader depends on the kind of people he or she surrounds themselves with.
He regrated not appointing of Ben Dotsei Malor and Dr. Raymond Atuguba as deputy ministers during his administration.
“While Rawlings appointed the likes of Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas as deputy ministers, I made the mistake of giving that respectable position to the likes of John Oti Bless. I have now realised, rather too late, that if I had kept the likes of Ben Dotsei Malor and Dr. Raymond Atuguba around me, they would have injected some semblance of sanity into the presidency and given that high office an aura of respectability and decency,” Mahama remarked.
“The praise-singing sycophants who act on the dictates of their stomachs are only specialized at telling you what you want to hear. Unfortunately, I did not listen to voices of reason. Our elders say a disease that will kill a man first breaks sticks into his ears.”
