There is this Akan proverb which says that one does not need light, even in the dark, to look at the face of a woman one knows, to ascertain whether she is beautiful or not. 

In effect, a man does not need any more convincing to settle on a woman he wants. His years of acquaintance would have been enough to make a decision. That may not always be the case otherwise how does love at first sight come in?

It was in early 2020 that I wrote an article entitled, “The Bawumia Factor” for my column. Before then, I had met Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia on two occasions both of which were before he ever became a running-mate or a Vice President.

In that column of Saturday, February 15, 2020, published in the Daily Graphic, I mentioned that Dr. Bawumia, then the Vice President, was someone one could not wish away. 

In saying so, I was referring to his appearance a few days earlier, at a Town Hall meeting which was held in the Ashanti Regional capital, Kumasi. He had gone to the garden city, his party’s stronghold, to account to the entire people of Ghana, his government’s fulfilled and yet-to-be-fulfilled campaign promises.

At that Town Hall meeting, the Vice President was in his usual best element. I studied him closely, picked on and applauded his communication skills and how he succeeded in holding his listeners spellbound with some rapt attention and deep interest.

That was not the first time I had followed him closely on stage. In all of my observations, he came across several times as someone who was on top of issues. No matter the topic, he always spoke with some passion, and flair, with messages from a concerned heart.

My observation of him made me conclude in my article of February 2020 that he was a great asset to his party.

Was I a prophet looking into the future? I certainly was not a prophet and neither was I a witch.  I was purely speaking from having observed him over a period of time and said it the way I saw him come across as Vice President after three years in office.

Presidential slot

So I was not surprised he decided to put himself forward to contend for his party’s presidential slot in the 2024 general election for which the party hierarchy did not object. Luckily for him, the Bawumia brand he had created for himself surprisingly still carried strong, irrespective of the hardships and disappointments in the system. 

An affable, intelligent, good communicator who communicates to enchant and carry others along, he had the searchlight focused on him and three other party stalwarts, also equally qualified, to vie for the party’s leadership role. 

That the primaries went well and the mantle settling on his lap is another attestation of his popularity in his party.

Show of confidence

Despite all the jolts his government has suffered especially in their second term in office, it was settling to see his people’s show of confidence in his future leadership as was evidenced in his performance both at the super delegates voting and the recent presidential primaries where some 203,439 delegates of his party cast their votes in 276 constituencies.

The Bawumia factor stands out even taller, learning from some analysis coming out in the course of the week. One is being told that so far, for the party’s primaries that have been run since Professor Adu-Boahene’s candidature, at the very first attempt, Dr Bawumia has been the first candidate to have garnered 61 per cent votes at the party’s presidential primaries. All the others got marks well below 60 per cent at their first attempt.

Those results notwithstanding, I have had cause to admit in the presence of some friends that my man of the party’s presidential primaries of last Saturday was Mr. Kennedy Ohene Agyapong. He won my applause because he put up a spirited performance and did not allow his spirit to be dampened. 

He stood out at the end of the contest last Saturday, as an outstanding candidate with so much charisma going his way. The votes he pulled at the super delegates and the flagbearer race of last Saturday were just impressive.

Both Mr. Agyapong and Dr. Bawumia have exceptional charisma and one can imagine what the outcome will be were they to run together as prospective candidates and running mates respectfully. The balance promises to be a very interesting one.

The period ahead of us would be an interesting one in Ghana’s politics and certainly in the politics of the ruling New Patriotic Party. At the crossroads, some thirteen months to the 2024 general election is going to be a long wait but the anticipation is one that we all will certainly look forward to. 

Interesting times await us.

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The writer can be contacted via email at email:vickywirekoandoh@yahoo.com