Dr Bawumia, the sacrificial lamb who ‘shed his blood’, deserves a second chance!

Everybody who has any iota of political acumen knows that the dire results of last year’s election was a backlash and a protest vote against the likes of Cecelia Dapaah, Wontumi and Ofori-Atta and ultimately President Akufo-Addo for the scandals they triggered, foolishly publicised and defended; backward utterances and base public conduct they championed; the introduction of some of the most inexplicable policies in Ghana’s history-witness the National Cathedral fiasco; and the brazen refusal or inability of the extant leadership to intervene decisively in that order.

What or who the protest vote was not about in any shape or form was the flag bearer of the NPP in the person of the flagbearer, Dr. M. Bawumia. Indeed, even NDC members in their critique of the NPP hardly ever levelled direct accusations at Bawumia’s person.

Rather, such criticism was almost always levelled because of his association with Nana Addo who had by the time of the election become so vilified [whether justified or otherwise] that nothing but a metaphoric ‘shedding of blood’ was required to appease the populace.

Like the shedding of blood required to atone for the sins of biblical Jewry and present-day born-again Christians, the NPP had to shed blood to atone for the sins ascribed to it. Indeed, without the shedding of blood, no forgiveness of sin was possible.

As in the case of Jesus, the sacrificial lamb is supposed to be without sin and without blemish- two traits that characterize the humble Doctor, at least as far as political scandals were concerned; and had to be subjected to the cruellest of treatments. Actually, Bawumia’s historic swift concession of the results can easily be construed as the political equivalent of Jesus’s last cry- it is finished!

Sadly, after this unprecedented sacrifice, certain elements in the party are calling for his replacement-something which is well within their right, but symptomatic of an acute lack of understanding of what happened in election 2024.

To be clear, the result of 2024 was not a rejection of Bawumia but a rejection of the whole NPP on the back of the many inexplicable scandals that occurred, and the eerie silence maintained by those who had real power to act.

Indeed, nothing short of a miracle of Old Testament proportions could have saved the NPP in 2024; nor could any other flagbearer made the amount of difference Bawumia made. I dare say that Bawumia himself, and this is speculative on my part, knew of the gargantuan, almost insurmountable burden he faced going into that election.

The man was confronted with a stark choice - either to break ranks and abandon the NPP and the legacy of his boss Nana Addo, or to stay loyal and make the ultimate sacrifice for the party. That brave and honourable man chose the latter. And so being found in appearance as the personification of the NPP, he had no choice but to humble himself by becoming obedient to ‘death’— even this disgraceful crucifixion that was meted out to the NPP on the 7th of December 2024.

With that grand sacrifice Bawumia had brought closure to an incessant racket of complaints and the palpable rancour from pitch-fork wielding sections (fuelled of course, by the NDC) of the Ghanaian populace who were hell-bent on drawing blood at all costs.

As a result, and in line with the preceding sacrifice like that of Jesus, it behoves party members and well-wishers alike to once again ‘exalt him [Dr. Bawumia to the highest place within the NPP] and to give him the name that is above every name’ [within that party]. This is not just morally sound but also the most politically strategic line of action in the light of Mahama’s single term and his likely replacement with a neophyte whose clout and legacy is likely to be dwarfed by that of Bawumia.

Any other choice of flag bearer (charismatic, loyal and bellicose as they may be) is tantamount to accepting that the NPP will face yet another humiliating defeat in 2028. You just mark my words!

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By Dr. Bernie D Asher, Lecturer of Business Management, Faculty of Management Studies, University of Professional Studies-Accra. Email:berniedangelo@mail.com