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Cherished reader, do you not think it is weird on the part of Mr. Mahama to dream of becoming president in Ghana on another occasion? This is a personality who was given ample opportunity to prove his mettle on what he can do as president. The opportunity he was given was misapplied and abused.

He messed up all that was entrusted in his care - not knowing what to do as president. He plunged the entire nation into a total abyss.

The hopes and ambitions of the Ghanaian were truncated and the entire nation became hopeless. It was no surprise therefore when Alban Bagbin, NDC flag bearer contender intimated that ‘they rushed Mahama to the presidency’.

This same Mahama is back promising us heaven when it is clear he does not know the route to heaven; the destination he himself is promising – unless he has his own definition of the heaven he is talking about. Was the eight years not enough for him? It is mind boggling isn’t it?

Recently, Mahama’s ally in the 2016 elections, Akua Donkor sarcastically hinted that Mahama is not coming back to do anything new for Ghana except the desire to complete his personal projects.

Well, we must not be too surprised about his desire to recapture political power. After all, according to John 10: 10a (ASV) ‘’the thief cometh not, but that he may steal, and kill, and destroy’’.

Mahama perfectly fits this description. Otherwise, there would be no motivation for him to run again for president. Mahama showed no sensitivity when citizens and businesses stifled as a result of the protracted power crisis that struck the nation for almost five years.

Proliferation of corruption scandals including the SADAs, the GYEEDAs, the watervilles, the isofotons, the Woyomes, the Smartys plagued the nation. When agitations for relief persisted, he kept proclaiming his dead goat attributes. Integrity and Mahama were far distance off. Inflation was at 15.36% in 2016, debt to GDP ratio arose to an unsustainable level of 73.41% in 2016; growth rate took a nosedive from 9.3% in 2012 to 3.7% in 2016, exchange rate dived from GHC1.88 in 2012 to GHC4.20 in 2016.  

Mahama who was custodian of the nation’s coffers in the capacity as president should have called his cronies to order. He never did because he was an integral part of the entire scheme. The situation was so bad that a competent court of jurisdiction described actions of government at the time as create, loot and share; that is few people ganging up to share among themselves the national booty - leaving many impoverished and in extreme poverty.

In all these instances, Mahama was expected to come out clear with a policy to halt this wanton dissipation of the nation’s purse by unscrupulous people. Instead, he scurried to the IMF for a bail out; always looking for the easy way out. What magic can we then expect from him in an unlikely event that he succeeds in his bid except to cause more damage. In fact Mahama’s come back will be more disastrous for the nation.

On the other hand, John 10: 10b (ASV) says that ‘’I came that they may have life, and may have [it] abundantly’’. This was the assurance given by the then candidate Akufu-Addo and his able Vice Mahamudu Bawumia in the run up to the 2016 elections. As a result of the decisive win in the 2016 elections, the thief is jolted giving way for Akufu-Addo administration to restore, redeem and revive.

In effect, shortfalls of Mahama have been dealt with by the Akufu-Addo led government. Integrity has been restored to our governance structure because Akufu-Addo is widely acclaimed as incorruptible. Inflation now stands at 9.4%, debt to GDP ratio is 53.9% excluding bail out costs, GDP growth rate currently is around 9.3%, the arena of ‘galamsey’ has been sanitized - our water bodies gradually are taking shape compared to the reckless way it was handled under Mahama’s tenure.

All the above and even more have happened in just two years – this is something that the avowed critics of government must consider.

On a broader spectrum, hardships have eased down if not totally eliminated. Life is gradually being restored to the lifeless sectors of our national economy especially the banking sector. The mess created have been mopped out giving us another chance to do it better. Free SHS has been implemented, providing room for more students to enroll at no cost, NHIS has been revived, job creation has been tremendous, one district one factory is on course, one village one dam is also on course and electricity has been stable as well as cheaper; we are moving out of the dictates of the IMF to pursue goals of our national destiny - and which has been christened ‘Ghana beyond aid’. Certainly, there has been a great sigh of relief.

Mahama got elected in the just ended presidential primaries to contend for the presidency in 2020. This has pushed a lot of people to inquire what he is coming back to do at the presidency.

According to the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), "marketing is the management process of anticipating, identifying customer needs and wants and satisfying them at a profit". Mr Mahama must anticipate and identify the needs and wants of Ghanaians, come up with clear policy initiatives or alternatives on how he intends to deal with the mirage of challenges confronting Ghanaians.

Mahama must stop his ‘I will review’ stance and be innovative for once; for you cannot better another’s ideas for lack of understanding of it than thoughts you conceived on your own. The policies you hope to review were policies you said were never plausible. I remember Mahama describing everything about the free SHS at the time as ‘hocus pocus’. Mind you, Ghana’s political landscape has become issue based. Ethnocentric sentiments, tribalism, regionalism or personality attacks are issues of the past. Talk about your plans for the people and the nation at large and leave the people themselves to decide.

Going forward, Mahama should let Ghanaians know his unique selling propositions to gain relevance in Ghana’s politics. The mere fact that you have been there before must not be your number one guarantee to get back to the presidency. It is imperative that as a presidential hopeful and the leader of the largest opposition party, you provide alternative policies for electorates to weigh the options and not just to think of coming to review existing ones.

Mahama’s campaign in the presidential primaries was described as one that was bereft of a clear message. Mr Frank Somiah Andoh, NDC’s former director of elections at the Evalue-Ajomoro-Gwira constituency expressed disappointment at the campaign message carried out by Mr. Mahama. He said Mahama’s campaign message lacked the kind of focus that delegates were looking for, as Mahama failed to give them new messages that could help to unseat President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in the 2020 general election.

He also said “His message lacked the reassuring ingredients during his stopovers in various constituencies – and that left many of the delegates disappointed and disarmed of the fervour that is needed for the 2020 election.” But he won the primaries irrespective of these.

Mr Mahama must think of what he will do with the presidential power when he is entrusted with it. Ghanaians will not make a second mistake of voting him into power for no reason. The mess he caused is just enough and I believe it has taught the entire nation a great lesson upon which such a mistake will never be repeated.

Yes, he can apply the principles of political marketing in his campaign to remain visible and conspicuous. However, the vital and reassuring ingredients must not be missing in his campaign for 2020. Electorates will be voting on the offers available so, just tell them what you can do and how you intend to do it. Ghanaians will surely resist all dead goats and anyone who will cast smears on them as having short memory.