In the past couple of days, I have seen the internet flooded with insults by many young people targeted at Alban Bagbin, the aspiring NDC Presidential Candidate for committing the crime of saying exactly what we all know led to the defeat of NDC in 2016.
Every Member of MP who was in Parliament between 2004 and 2008 knows at least a part of the story I’m about to tell vividly. Same applies to most party executives who have been with the party since 2000.
Prior to elections 2004, the late Mills approached Bagbin to have him serve as his running mate.
Bagbin told Prof that there are equally good Northerners who can play that role and that he’d still prefer to nurture the new crop of NDC MPs and put more pressure on the government as the opposition leader in Parliament.
Mills asked him to make suggestions. Bagbin made a list with Alhaji Idrissu Mahama as number one, Mohammed Mumuni as number two and John Dramani Mahama as number three.
President Mills opted for Mohammed Mumuni and lost the elections.
At this time, the NPP wanted Bagbin out of Parliament at all cost and so President Kufour himself went to Nadowli to campaign against him. Up North at Bole Bamboi was Hon Dramani Mahama, his people wanted him out at all cost. Bagbin left his burden in Nadowli, spent weeks campaigning for him. On each campaign platform, he’d take Mahama by hand, tell the people he is being prepared for Presidency in future and so they should keep faith in him. The result was that, Mahama won that elections and as you know, Bagbin defended his known seat too.
After the 2004 elections, Bagbin called Mahama, ‘John, we want to prepare you for the Vice President’s position in 2008 and so I will put you on strategic committees to give you the needed exposure. He moved him from Communications and made him ranking member for Foreign Affairs so that he gets the necessary international exposure. He placed him on the Pan African Parliament even though there were senior like Doe Adjaho who were more qualified for that. It affect the relationship between Bagbin and Doe Adjaho but Bagbin held his ground and supported our former President in spite of that.
Then Bagbin told Lordina to upgrade in education because her husband was being prepared for a high of office of Vice and hopefully President.
Lordina resisted this at first but Bagbin insisted. He practically forced her to upgrade from GCE O-Level at GYIMPA. You know Lordina graduated the say day as Samira Bawumiah at GYIMPA?
Even after all these, Mahama wasn’t sure of himself about the Vice position when called upon. It took same Bagbin to make him accept that role after several meetings
NDC wins 2008, Mahama is Vice President of GH Republic.
Fast forward January 2013, NDC wins,
Mahama comes to power and decides to close his door to the man who practically made him. Bagbin made a lot of enemies for trying to push Mahama within his own party.
Prior to the 2012 elections, it was a common rumor within Bagbin’s constituency that Mahama favoured Bandi, the NPP candidate to do one past Bagbin. In 2016, Bernard Monah of the PNC, a friend of Mahama and one person who enjoyed a lot of personal support from our former President made posters featuring himself and Mahama. It was all over the Region that Mahama was for Mona and our President did little to quench the rumor.
Bagbin thrived, won and Mahama lost.
Today, he is a villain because he is telling the truth that Mahama wasn’t strategic in his appointments and key decisions.
Anyone who has an idea of politics between 2000 and 2008 knows that it was Bagbin and Rawlings who brought NDC back to power.
By opting to back Mahama, Bagbin was hurting his own presidential prospect. Mahama should have known this and treated him well but on the contrary, he shut his door at him until Bagbin made his frustration public.
He changed him as health minister and gave him a nonexistent portfolio called 3 wise men and yet with the respective ministries directly without involving them.
When Hon. Kumbour was moved out to defense from Majority Leader, it took the opposition NPP and MPs of NDC to get Bagbin back as Majority Leader because to them he was the best for the job. Mahama didn’t like that and so immediately he was forced to succumb, he decided not make the Majority Leader Minister in charge of government business. Kumbour was Majority Leader and Minister in Charge of Government Business and so participated in Cabinent meetingsband so is Osei Kyei Memsah Bonsu, but Bagbin wasn’t.
Bagbin has every right to express his disgust at how Mahama managed the government and party based on his personal sentiment and as a party elder.
In politics, you work with those who toiled and the last time I checked, you can’t 10 top politicians in this country without mentioning Bagbin.
‘No one knew’ Mahama when NDC went to Opposition, it was all about Bagbin and Rawlings.
If such a person decides to go blunt, expose the problems that led the party to opposition so that they are not repeated, people should shut up, listen and think of how to prevent future reoccurrence instead of attacking him.
Bagbin would always be Bagbin, he challenged Rawlings on Polytechnic publicly while Rawlings was President and so powerful. He speaks his mind and I doubt he is going to change after 60 years.
The above infos are hard fact anyone who knows the ins and outs of NDC between 2000 and now would corroborate.
Politics doesn’t mean lie till you die.
Isaac Kyei Andoh
