In a surprising turn of events, former President John Agyekum Kufuor has put an end to speculations regarding his preference for Alan Kyeremanten as president of Ghana, declaring his steadfast support for Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
The announcement was made during the “Dr. Bawumia Speaks” event held at the University of Professional Studies (UPSA) in Accra on Wednesday.
Mr. Kufuor, often hailed as the most successful president in the history of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), had long been associated with Alan Kyeremanten.
However, Mr. Kyeremanten’s decision to break ranks with the NPP and form the Movement for Change reshaped their political dynamics.
During the 2008 presidential election, John Kufuor openly expressed his preference for Kyerematen over Nana Akufo-Addo and did everything to get his Trade and Industry Minister elected as flagbearer.
Despite John Kufuor’s endorsement, the NPP delegates ultimately favoured Akufo-Addo, his Foreign Minister at the time, and he emerged as the NPP’s presidential candidate.
Mr. Kufuor has now thrown his weight behind Vice President Bawumia, whose choice as running mate, recorded protests from various NPP bigwigs.
However, at the “Dr. Bawumia Speaks” event, John Kufuor praised Dr. Bawumia as a man destined for greatness, commending his visionary leadership and emphasizing the need for widespread support to continue his commendable work.
The unexpected endorsement from the influential former president is expected to have a significant impact on the dynamics of the upcoming December elections.
As the political landscape in Ghana continues to evolve, the NPP finds itself navigating a new course with Bawumia at the forefront, backed by the influential support of a party stalwart like Kufuor.
Mr. Kufuor, declaring his unflinching support for Bawumia, described him as a man of destiny who must be supported to continue his good works.
The former president expressed confidence in Bawumia’s ability to effectively guide the country, urging Ghanaians to rally behind and support him in his leadership role.
“I have always seen him as a man of destiny. When I first saw him in 2002, he was a research assistant to the governor of the Bank of Ghana. He delivered a paper at an international conference in London. There was something about his presentation. I was the president of Ghana by then. Till then I hadn’t even spoken to him before.
“I congratulated him and I don’t know what came in me, prophetically, I told him to carry on the light and that he will go far…In 2008, Akufo-Addo picked this man again to be his running mate.”
“…This man is on a mission. A mission determined by destiny. Let’s all support him to continue.
Quality leadership is very scarce,” he stated.
The former president also indicated that the country needed a visionary leader.
“Ghana has come to a crossroads. It’s not the regular politics we want. We want a leadership with vision, even in the complex world I spoke about. We should be talking about the nation and not so much as the party. We must get competent people to work with him to bring us out of the challenges we are in now,” he added.
He asked the citizenry to give Dr. Bawumia a chance as president to showcase his capabilities for the country.
He said Dr. Bawumia possessed what it took to succeed and deliver the country from its current social and economic quagmire.
“He is hallmarked by humility and the temperament requisite for the job of leading the country in search of a way forward,” Mr. Kufuor said.
Mr. Kufuor noted that, globally, there is a scarcity of quality leadership that understands the current technological innovations and the geopolitics of the time.
Ghana, he explained, needed a leader with vision in the current complex world who could marshal the new technologies to pick up the requisite manpower to propel the country to growth.
The former president said Dr. Bawumia was unique because he understood the issues of the time and had knowledge of the technologies required to solve those challenges.
Mr. Kufuor said: “We happen to be living in times where the whole world is in a flux. leadership is very, very scarce, quality leadership.
“If anybody aspires to be a leader without command of the new technologies, like digitalisation and also without a deep grasp of geopolitics, I tell you, he may be a good man in terms of mastering some of the old disciplines like economics, politics and all that, but I tell you very likely they will be found wanting sooner than later.”
He added that the Vice President had “this instrument under his belt — digitalisation, geopolitics, and additionally, we have seen him perform loyally under President Akufo-Addo and has been also in the public view since he got selected as the vice presidential candidate in 2008.”
Former President Kufuor also described the Vice President as a man with the right “humility and temperament” for the job as President and appealed to Ghanaians to give the Vice President a chance.
“Ghana has come to a crossroads, and I’m serious here. It’s not the normal regular politics we want; we want a leadership with vision, even in the complex world I have talked about, the leader that will be able to marshal the new technologies to pick the requisite manpower,” he said.
He added that “we must get people of competence to work with him to find our way out of the confusion our society and economy have plunged into.”
