Last week, I drew the attention of John Dramani Mahama to the words of an Akan proverb that forewarns Baah about the cane that was used to lash Takyi.

I used election results over the past 12 years to show how Akufo-Addo squandered his goodwill and, in the process, allowing his electoral fortunes to dwindle within four years and fall, rather heavily, in eight years, the last straw being the loss of the fight against galamsey.

Using the same syllogism, I warned Mahama as follows: “Nine months after he swept to power, the people are beginning to taste a ‘small’ sourness in their mouths. All because of Galamsey and the President’s answer to the media’s question about the declaration of a State of Emergency.”

I went a little more into details, warning that “As a government in Ghana, when you have the Catholic Bishops Conference, the Christian Council, CDD, medical professionals and other civil society groups ganging up against a major policy, the warning to any President is: ‘Beware!’.

My conclusion was: “Over to you, President Mahama. Ghanaians did it to Takyi (Akufo-Addo). They will do it to the NDC if…”

This was only a week ago. As a yet-to-be-ordained prophet, I am asking Ghanaians to give me my stone.

A new survey conducted by the highly credible, almost faultless pollster, Global InfoAnalytics, shows that while President Mahama continues to enjoy broad public support, his approval ratings have experienced a slight decline between July and September 2025.

According to the poll, the president’s job approval dropped from 73% in July to 67% in September, a six-point fall. Approximately 22% of voters stated that they disapproved of his performance, while 11% expressed no opinion.

Despite the decline, the report noted that “every region in the country approves of President Mahama’s performance”.

On the broader direction of the country, the survey reveals a similar downward shift. While most voters still believe Ghana is headed in the right direction, the figure fell from 71% in July to 66% in September, representing a five-point drop.

The poll, however, highlighted that in every region, the majority of voters continued to believe the country was on the right track. Asked about the government’s overall performance, 18% of respondents rated it as excellent, 54% as very good or good, 12% as average, and 16% as poor or very poor.

The survey noted a five-point increase in the number of voters who now describe the government’s performance as poor or very poor, compared to the July 2025 poll.

Global InfoAnalytics concluded that while President Mahama and his government still command strong support nationwide, the recent declines suggest growing voter scrutiny of their performance.

Readers of this column with good memory will remember what I wrote only last week as follows:

“Because of visionary projects like Big Push, Goldbod and all of the above indicators, Mahama’s goodwill is still intact, to a large extent. Ghanaians seem to simply love Mahama’s personality and are willing to give him a chance to prove that the downward slide is temporary.

“Nine months after he swept to power, however, the people are beginning to taste a “small” sourness in their mouths... As a government in Ghana, when you have the Catholic Bishops Conference, the Christian Council, CDD, medical professionals and other civil society groups ganging up against a major policy, the warning to any President is: ‘Beware!’ Our ancestors said that one small load on top of another small load soon becomes an unbearable burden. Galamsey is one load too heavy to bear.”

The NDC symbol is not the elephant, but I will use a characteristic of this animal to warn Mahama. That animal is so huge that it takes those around it a long time to realise how lean it has shrunken in size.

             11 HONEST POLICEMEN

Having blown my own horn, some may say, I turn attention to great news coming from one of the least respected professions in Ghana – the police.

The Police Management Board has promoted 11 policemen for their role in dismantling a gang behind 11 rural bank robberies across five regions, an accomplishment described by the IGP as a “major breakthrough” in the fight against violent crime.

Three Chief Inspectors have been promoted to Assistant Superintendents of Police, three Inspectors to Chief Inspectors, two Sergeants to Inspectors, one Corporal to Sergeant, and three Constables to Lance Corporals.

The promotions come after a six-month intelligence operation that led to the arrest of 10 suspects and the killing of three others.

Six months of operation is a long time. A team of any number beyond two is too large to prevent leakage of intelligence. In a country where the Police Service has consistently topped the league of corrupt institutions and where, in the name of “unprecedented economic hardships”, everybody is taking a bribe to look the other way and permit the commission of crime, the 11 officers have displayed not only bravery but also honesty.