Beginning with the Merchant Bank to the role of his company, Engineers and Planners) in the drainage of the Odaw river after the June 3 disaster at Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra, those loudmouthed doomsday activists made so much noise to create the impression that Ibrahim was abusing his ties with President Mahama to intensify corruption and to fleece Ghana.
Many comments condemned him to death and pushed him to the point where he had to go to court against the NPP’s Ashanti Regional Chairman, Wontumi. The matter is in the maze and dragging on forever. Probably, someone has to give the trial judge some sacks of fresh snails, containers of cocoyam, huge tubers of yam, a long-lasting massage by Ghana’s Beauty Queen, and other goodies to activate his system to expedite the trial.
As if not satisfied with the extent to which they have dragged Ibrahim and President Mahama’s image in the mud, these elements have ratcheted their calumny in the wake of the AMERI power deal that they are twisting out of all reasonable bounds to involve Ibrahim and President Mahama in the so-called corruption that they associate with this agreement.
Having soaked up all that calumny to this point, Ibrahim can’t take it anymore and has shot out of his shell to take on his detractors, He is firing on all cylinders, telling them what they won’t want to be exposed. He has gone abroad on several issues to say that:
1. He pays Akufo-Addo’s monthly medical bills (Akufo-Addo has issued a statement denying this claim, even at the time that he said he was yet to verify the veracity of Ibrahim’s claim. So, on what basis was he denying that claim?). Is Akufo-Addo so sick/ill as to have monthly treatment to warrant the payment of such bills by Ibrahim? And why is it Ibrahim who should be responsible for his medical bills? What is the motivation (mere altruism or philanthropy? To what end?). Yet, Akufo-Addo claims not to be corrupt or susceptible to corruption!!
2. He doesn’t own Merchant Bank (now Universal Merchant Bank); he has paid his debts to that bank and won’t be foolish to buy a bank if he wants to remain in business. He has challenged all NPP people owing that bank to repay their loans.
3. He doesn’t do shady business. He has exposed Kennedy Agyapong and all others benefiting from the NDC government’s openness in awarding contracts. From his reaction, we can tell that those NPP people are profiting from the Mahama-led administration more than expected. Why, then, will they turn round to condemn it as if they are not doing business with it or benefiting from its policies?
4. Rumours that he is taking advantage of his brother’s ascension to the Presidency to win state contracts and amass wealth are baseless and malicious. Anybody ready to prove him wrong with incontrovertible evidence?
5. He has more friends in the NPP than in the NDC and that he is more in bed with the NPP than with the NDC. Very serious!! Should the NDC people fear that Ibrahim will “steal” secrets from his brother and leak them to the NPP? I don’t think so because unlike the NPP, paranoia is not in the NDC’s dictionary, clearly because it knows how to do productive politics to connect with the electorate. Only the NPP people are paranoid and looking over their shoulders at the least sign of the mirage that they themselves have erected around themselves. Poor lost political souls!!
And here is his bombshell: “He has advised the NPP to desist from using him to score partisan points. “I don’t do shady deals, let’s get serious… I will not win [for] the NPP the election,” he said.
The main nub now is not who will win the elections for the NPP but what will do so. In truth, the personalities leading the NPP to Election 2016 can’t win the elections. Only WHAT they have to offer Ghanaians for them to see a huge difference between their problem-solving strategies and what the Mahama-led administration has been using all this while will do so.
Many question marks are still hanging over the WHO aspect, which makes nonsense of any claim of incorruptibility on the part of Akufo-Addo and his gang. Now that they are at each other’s throat, they have turned up their underbelly for poking. Only the WHAT part can save them. Unfortunately, it is elusive. So, where do they stand? On a quicksand that will swallow them.
If they doubt it, let them consider what happened in the bye-election in Amenfi West, which endorsed the NDC despite all the barrage of negative propaganda launched against it. The Amenfi West experience is replicable in many parts of the country because the WHAT element isn’t forthcoming from the NPP to assuage doubts about Akufo-Addo’s leadership skills. Ibrahim Mahama is taking them on now.
Folks, there is a lot more; but for now, let’s pause here with a clear understanding of Ibrahim’s effusions. He has pushed the ball into the court of those loudmouthed detractors, most of whom are in the NPP camp. His coming out at this time will add a new complexion to public discourse on current happenings, especially as they will influence people’s perception of what exactly lies behind the allegations made by the NPP people. Are they sure they can stand Ibrahim?
I shall return…
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