John Dramani Mahama
From: Catherine Ofeibea
Mr John Mahama,
I would like to thank you for your swift response to my earlier letter firstly. I advised you in my first letter not to contest the 2020 election and stated my reasons to support my position. I was struck by your [ads1]honesty and openness. Portions of my letter sounded harsh and unpalatable but you responded to all the points I raised without being harsh or antagonistic.
A week before I drafted my first letter, I was reminiscing about some of my former jobs, colleagues, contracts and bosses. I was thinking about the people in my past that had the greatest impact on my career. That’s when I started visiting facebook walls of people who impacted me when I started my career in Ghana. After reading their posts and comments, I noticed a common trend; most of them are your “secret admirers” as we call it in our local parlance. They admire you but because of their profession, cannot openly make that declaration.
One of them on her Facebook wall appealed to you not to contest the 2020 election. If I understood her well, she made the appeal because of the respect she has for you. She couldn’t take the propaganda against your person and government and felt the best way to curb the trend was staying away from the political arena. Based on my understanding of her post, I made the same appeal to you through my letter.
Your response kept mine in a more complex situation. Your response focused on your party’s reorganization and your international engagements. You spent a whole paragraph discussing how we can make our music and film industries the best on the continent. After reading your response, I concluded that; I have been misled.
During our recent conversation the friend and mentor whose facebook post inspired me to appeal to you not to contest in 2020, told me she was going to write formally to you to contest the 2020 election. I inquired why the sudden shift in position and her response a heartwarming. I narrated the conversation that ensued between me and my mentor to my husbands.
He jumped from his seat and surprisingly told me, will join this come back crusade. Personally, I had settled on the same decision after my two visits to Ghana after the election. Kojo based his decision to join the crusade on your achievements and the fantastic way of communicating which to him, educates and inspires. He said, when “when you hear him speak you are struck by how honest, straightforward, articulate and smart he is. Whether he is composing a tweet, addressing a conference room, or leading a brainstorm on international platforms, he knows his audience and works to engage them”.
Kojo is not the political type despite his father’s political exploits. I forced him to give me other reasons why his current disposition and the little he shared with me was “wherever I met him during his presidency, he gives informative, thoughtful presentation, stay for questions, and leave the door open for queries that later arise. He didn’t ask his ministers to take the job. He saw projects through completion and took the high road instead of the easy way out.
Mr John Mahama, Ghana needs you. I am not the type graced with the trait gift of hiding my feelings. I don’t know how to pretend. I have shifted from my earlier position because of events in the country currently. I have had the opportunity of watching your party’s unity walk and if what I saw on my screen is real, then, you have no option now. Great leaders often get applauded, appreciated and thanked.
Sir, you may face so many challenges from your immediate family, and friends- few personal issues may influence your decision to contest or not. These are normal challenges we encounter when taking such critical decision. That notwithstanding, the interest of the thousands who shed tears when you appear in public, the market women who cry for your return, the businessmen who look disappointed must be considered by you and all around you.
Thank you !!!