Mahama: “Ozymandias” Reflects Ghana’s State
Former President John Dramani Mahama has likened President Akufo-Addo and his governance to Percy Bysshe Shelley’s poem titled “Ozymandias”.
According to him, the poem “mirrors” the present state of Ghana.
Explaining his allusion to the poem, he said, “the poem was a cautionary tale of the ruler who was so full of pomp, arrogance and deluded sense of self-importance. One was struck by the clueless ruler as he goes on to boast ‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings. Look on my works ye mighty and despaired’.
“Tragically according to the poem when one looked around to see these so called works, one saw nothing but sand and decay”, he said as prelude to his speech as he launched his flagbearership campaign in the Volta Region.
Addressing the congregation, he said Ghana’s hope has been dashed by the Akufo-Addo administration despite “mouthwatering” promises ahead of its election as into power.
“Instead of the prosperity and progress that was promised, the last six years have been perhaps the most difficult and challenging period of our history as a country. This government has been clueless and in many ways carlos. The unthinkable has happened and our country today is broke on all fronts. Ghana is bankrupt.
“We are saddled with debt we simply cannot pay and we have suffered the global humiliation of defaulting on our debt and being downgraded by all credit rating agencies to the lowest level ever seen in our history. Our economy is in the worst ever shape with suffering and pain on an unprecedented level. Hyper inflation and ever increasing prices basic items including food products have all combined to inflict unbearable pain on millions of Ghanaian households.
“Parents are being forced to make the choice for prompt health care for their sick children or providing needs with their meagre resources for their families. Our middle class face the risk of being wiped out on the back of an obnoxious debt restructuring programme. The poor who depend on the middle class for employment and sustenance are on their own and uncertain of their fate in the future. Our ace pensioners and the elderly have not been spared either.”
He said although the “comic collapse” of the country’s economy has been blamed on external forces, it “has been years in the making” and was “avoidable”.
He said the economic downturn due to “the systematic mismanagement, misguided and clueless policy choices and the incompetence of President Nana Akufo-Addo and his vice President Mahamudu Bawumia.”
Instead of taking delight in the failure of the government of the day, Mr Mahama said, he rather takes counsel from it.
“But my brothers and sisters, I’m not the kind of leader who derives pleasure from or who can smile at my country’s failings even the failings of my political opponents. As noted by Otto Von Bismarck, ‘a wise man learns from the mistakes of others’. As far as I’m concerned, there’s no vindication to be derived from the suffering of the Ghanaian people.”
He believes Ghana at this stage requires a leader with experience to overturn the economic downturn.
“I’m ready to be the kind of President that Ghanaians are looking for. In our present situation it is no longer sufficient to sit on the sidelines and offer suggestions which are most often ignored. I’m therefore coming before you in all humility and in response to the calls from my party and the generality of the people of Ghana to offer myself to serve this country and it’s people that I love dearly by first putting myself up for election in the oncoming NDC election.”
Source: opemsuo.com/Hajara Fuseini
