DINING WITH THE GODS… Hands off the big chair

Lobbying for positions and jostling for big seats and chairs is the next logical development after a party wins political power. Indeed, the yellow-haired gentleman (can I describe him as gentle?) is having his own headache now about filling important positions as he gears up to assume post again as the leader of Uncle Sam’s federal republic.

Back home in Ghana, the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC)has won both the presidential and parliamentary elections. This means in addition to exercising executive power, the NDC has the unique opportunity to exercise control over the legislature as well, and this time around, unlike between 2009 and 2016, it has a huge majority in parliament.

Long before the elections, however, interested persons in the party Flt Lt Jerry John Rawlings founded, had started lobbying for positions in their would-be government. As far back as April 2024, party chairman, Johnson Asiedu-Nketia, aka General Mosquito had cause to caution against internal struggles for positions in the next government, warning that this could demoralize party supporters.

“Some people are not only vying for positions; they are also positioning themselves as kingmakers who will make all appointments. This approach can dampen the enthusiasm of our followers,” the chairman stated.

 He added, “We are not there yet. Let’s focus on winning first and then discuss how to share the rewards.”

In response to the party chairman’s remarks, the then flagbearer and now President-elect John Dramani Mahama cautioned the so called position grabbers and kingmakers not to be  carried away by such fantasies.

“Let me say that, I don’t have any list and so for those of them who were referred to by the chairman as having chosen their positions, you may be very deeply disappointed,” Mahama cautioned.

But what the party leader and party chairman cautioned against seven months ago is now becoming a reality as the jostling for positions has hit a crescendo within the party with influential organizations in the country, including religious bodies, traditional authorities, civil society organizations and professional bodies also pushing their own cards.

The position of who becomes the next  finance minister for instance has become topical, with the likes of Majority Leader Cassiel Ato Forson and  former Bank of Ghana Governor, Abdul- Nashiru Issahaku, being pitted against Seth Emmanuel Terkper, who ordinarily would have been the first choice for any government due to his track-record and competence in debt management in this era when the Ghanaian economy reels under a heavy debt burden.

Indeed, the spokesperson for the newly-elected president had cause recently to disown a supposed appointments list put out into public domain by some who may also be seeking to influence Mahama for their favourites.

It will however not be surprising to see some names on that list also on the in-coming president’s list. Some of the names which appeared  have given a good account of themselves while in opposition.  For instance, Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa being named as foreign minister won’t be out of place due to his strong oversight on foreign relations matters. In the same vein, Samuel Nartey George being named as Communications minister won’t be outlandish, as he has been the voice of the voiceless in Ghana’s communications policy implementations over the past eight years.

Also, fine names such as Alhassan Suyuhini, Haruna Idrissu, Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, and many of the medical professors, engineers, economists, and social scientists  who are fresh entrants into parliament but highly qualified individuals in their fields of expertise, are all in line for consideration in the lean government promised by Mahama.

And so the days just before and after January 7, 2025, when he would have been sworn in as the sixth president under the Fourth Republic, Mahama would have a busy schedule, holding consultations with his advisors on who and who become part of his first selection.

Mind you, it was his promise in 2016 to split the position of Attorney General from the Ministry of Justice, and consider making the position of MMDCEs electable. He also has a decision to make on how to align water and sanitation issues in his new sector alignment to help Ghana achieve universal access to water and sanitation by 2030. Meanwhile the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) sector players would like to see the National Sanitation Authority established quickly while implementing the presidential compact on WASH which promised the allocation of 1.7 billion U.S dollars annually to the sector to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals on WASH are all awaiting his decisions. And everybody who feels qualified is free to lobby for any of the positions available.

FOOD FOR THE GODS

Notwithstanding the freedom everybody has to make choices and have ambitions, there are some food items that are reserved for the gods, and mere mortals’ salivating over such meals is considered sacrilegious. Moreover, when one is privileged to be invited to dine with the gods, one must choose their chair with care. Some seats are reserved.

In a recent interview, Alexander Afenyo Markin, Leader of the outgoing majority in parliament, urged NDC to endeavour to retain Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin in his position as  the speaker of parliament. He, however, urged that if the party won’t retain him, they should pick the next speaker from within parliament.

The temptation initially was to treat the advice from Afenyo-Markin  as just an ordinary rant by the Effutu member of parliament. But knowing how things work among Ghana’s political class, it looks likely that the NPP leader may have picked up signals that the NDC was considering a different person for the position of speaker, which would bring to an end  Bagbin’s work within parliament.

Already, the name of the former deputy chief of staff  Vallery Sawyer, a strong administrator, and that of former speaker Edward Doe-Adjaho  have popped up within NDC circles as some of those being considered to succeed  Bagbin.

The two would make excellent materials and have proven records in all their public service to support that. Indeed, Edward Doe-Adjaho was the pace-setter in the selection of a speaker from within the august house under the Fourth Republic, and he gave a good account of himself as Speaker.

And as for Madam Sawyer, she is a real daughter of her father, Harry Romulus Sawyer of blessed memory. A lady with a grasp on issues, and fearless in her assertions. Staunch and firm in her convictions, and meticulous in her work. Some have even gone as far as pairing Madam Sawyerr with Hon. Haruna Iddrisu, the former hardworking Minority Leader, a smart individual whose record with the party, from his days as National Youth Organiser and 20 years as lawmaker has been impressive, as the First Deputy Speaker.

THE MAN BAGBIN

These qualities of the two, notwithstanding, it would be bad timing for the NDC to change a winning formula.  Bagbin became one of NDC’s  strongest selling points in the 8th parliament, and his accension to the big chair was a collective effort  by the party’s  leadership both in and outside  parliament.  He vied for the speaker’s position when  the ruling NPP had already printed the  brochure of the swearing in of  speaker embossed with the photo of  Rt. Hon.  Mike Aaron Oquaye. The intrigues and shenanigans that unfolded on the night of January 6, 2021 notwithstanding, Bagbin carried the day to set the record as the first speaker under the fourth republic who was from the opposition party, albeit in a hang parliament.

Bagbin’s tenure has seen some of the boldest reforms in parliament. Starting from the speaker’s outfit, Bagbin promoted various Ghanaian cultures, in terms of dressing code with his position.

The experienced former MP for Nadowli Kaleo also established the  Citizens Bureau to bridge the gap (Perhaos wider than the wide gap of Dr. Bawumia)  between parliament and the public. In addition, Bagbin’s tenure has witnessed the introduction of the new Standing Orders for the house with new committees to make the work of law-making more independent and beneficial to the citizens whom the MPs represent.

Bagbin’s assertive nature, combined with his experience, tact, fairness, and firmness,  has brought a lot of changes to the house, Bagbin has sent a strong signal that parliament cannot be bullied by any of the other arms of government, thus endearing himself to majority of Ghanaians and giving the house a more purposeful look.

The main arguments being pushed for the replacement of Bagbin is regionalism, with the question that why should the president and the speaker be northerners? This question is as flawed as the assumption that every northerner is a Muslim.

In the first place, Bagbin did not contest the position of speaker on the ticket of  regionalism, but on merit. His years in parliament, from 1992 to 2020 made him one of the most experienced lawmakers in the country. Moreover, he gave a good account of himself as a minority leader when the NDC first tasted opposition.

What the NDC parliamentary caucus lacked in numbers, Bagbin’s leadership ensured that they gave in the quality of their debates and how they held the John Agyekum Kuffuor-led NPP government accountable.

He became a thorn in the flesh of the NPP government to the extent that government spokespersons with no potent arguments to countering him had to resort to personal attacks.

 As an astute lawyer and experienced lawmaker, Bagbin’s appeal as a would-be speaker was not restricted to the NDC caucus, but as the votes turned out, he was also popular among the NPP MPs.

Merit, quality, forthrightness, and assertiveness  were what Bagbin brought on board as Speaker of the august lawmaking body.

In the recent case of determining  the fate of the NPP and NDC MPs who had filed to contest parliamentary elections as independent candidates, Bagbin demonstrated why he still enjoys the unofficial title of Leader.

Not to belabour the points, let’s admit that Bagbin is a northerner, but who says Northern Ghana is a homogeneous region?  Bagbin is a Dagao from the Upper West Region, while President Mahama is  Gonja, a Guan ethnic group now in the Savannah Region.

It must be noted that, apart from some versatile individuals who may speak two or more languages in Northern Ghana, most of the northerners today do not necessarily  understand one another’s languages.

It is therefore a lame argument that the Speaker of  parliament should not be from the North when the president is also from the north.

What is more interesting is that these people did not have a problem when during the tenure of late President John Evans Atta Mills an Akan (Fante) from Southern Ghana(Central Region), the Speaker  Joyce Bamford-Addo (JSC Rtd)  was also an Akan from Aburi (Eastern Region).

They did not have a Problem when during  President  Kuffuor’s second term, the Speaker, Ebenezer Begyina Sakyi Hughes was also an Akan from the Western Region.

Did people have a problem when under the eight-year term of Flt Lt. Jerry John Rawlings, a Southerner from Dzelukorpe (Now don’t look at me like that), the Speaker, Mr. Justice Daniel Francis Annan was also a Southerner from Accra.

If we did not have problems with the above examples, why are we cooking up problems with the current situation where Speaker Bagbin has proven his given a good account of himself as a stewardship during  his first term as the Speaker? Or is it the case where we find nothing wrong if there were two southerners as number one and number three, but find everything wrong with having two Northerners as Number one and Number three?

 Is it also that we accept that the south is not homogeneous, but want to impose homogeneity on the five northern regions?

What is good for the goose is equally good for the gander, so if we were ready to accept two southerners as numbers one and three in the past, and accepted the pairing of two Akans on two separate occasions, then it will be the height of hypocrisy and double standards to say that because both President-elect John Dramani Mahama and Speaker Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin are northers, they cannot be President and Speaker at the same time.

Let’s allow Speaker Bagbin the time to deepen the reforms he has embarked upon in the running and position of parliament and allow these reforms to become the norm before he bids farewell to the legislature some time in the future.

Author: Justice Lee Adoboe