Because I�m Related To Prez Mahama, I�m Being Branded A Traitor � NPP Women�s Organiser

Martin Luther King once said in a speech that he has a dream; �that one day a man would not be judged by the colour of his skin but by the content of his character�. And it appears National Women�s Organiser of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Otiko Afisah-Djabah, has become a victim of - this time not skin colour - but blood relations. The NPP National Executive member claims some in the party have chosen to brand her a �traitor� because she is related to the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) President of the Republic, John Dramani Mahama. Speaking on AdomFM, Otiko-Djabah pointed out that there is political tolerance in Ghana because there are relatives of a family scattered all over the country, some of whom are members of the opposition party or the ruling government.. ��because President John Mahama is my brother, I am being labeled a traitor. I want the loose cannons, who are always quick to create confusion by claiming it is wrong for an NPP member to have a relation in the NDC to note that it is because of the fact some of us have relations on both sides of the political divide that is why there is tolerance,� she stated. Describing herself as a �quintessential Ghanaian� and a gift to the nation, because she is the daughter of Henry Kojo Djaba (a staunch CPP activist), who was chased into exile by the Rawlings regime, later step-child of a former Minister in the Rawlings regime. �Interestingly enough, my mother later got married to a member of the Rawlings, John Bawa, who was a regional Minister. So I believe I am a gift to Ghana. That is I why I call myself a quintessential Ghanaian. I have roots in Krobo and in the northern part of Ghana�. �My father was a CPP man before joining the Popular Front (party). And my step father who took very good care of me is an NDC man,� she stated with pride, pointing out that it is important she traces her antecedents to drum home to the �loose cannons� the improbability of picking up arms against a family member.