Opinion: Welcome Home, Mr. Vice-President! – By Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., Ph.D.

Ghana’s Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia

Twelve days ago, when he reportedly took seriously ill and, upon the advice of his doctors, he had to take a medical leave and seek treatment in the UK, there was widespread speculation among both members of the general public and the political opposition over precisely what the nature of the illness of Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia was. The key operatives of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) who, by the way, never publicly disclosed either the terminal illness or the circumstances leading to the death of President John Evans Atta-Mills, demanded to be let in on the full details of the health status of the man they so much love to hate. “Fat chance!” was the terse response provided them by the Akufo-Addo Flagstaff House. And it was precisely what these unconscionable hypocrites deserved.

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Well, now that the crackerjack economist and former Deputy-Governor of the Bank of Ghana has arrived safely back home to a rousing welcome and tons of goodwill, it is time for us to advise the Oxbridge-educated high-end professional banker turned politician to scale back his heavy workload, and instead concentrate on the most important aspects of the same, while delegating the details to his able-bodied, savvy and hardworking staff of patriotically minded professionals. He also needs to preserve his energy for the long haul, for the massive and clearly daunting task of our rapid and radical national reconstruction agenda has only just begun. And, to be certain, he would need all the energy available to him to deftly and suavely execute his duties, especially once his immediate boss, President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has exited the scene.

What is equally important to highlight here, as has become embarrassingly evident for quite some time now, is for the present Administration to focus a significant portion of our national capital resources, and whatever else can be garnered abroad in the form of development assistance, for the massive overhaul and upgrading of the country’s major hospitals. As some of his critics have rightly suggested, if past governments had been even half-concerned about the development and upgrading of the nation’s healthcare facilities, Dr. Bawumia would not have had to be flown to London for his much-needed rest and medical consultation and treatment, which led some charlatanic political prophets to even suggest that Nana Akufo-Addo may very well need to be looking around for a replacement for his well-respected and erudite right-hand man.

Whatever ailed him, we sincerely hope that His Excellency the Vice-President received the requisite treatment in the United Kingdom – or is it “Queendom”? – of Great Britain. We simply need to replicate the sort of cutting-edge, or first-rate, treatment that the Vice-President received abroad, so that instead of resting in a rental and costly facility abroad, he could have done pretty much the same with greater comfort here at home at the world-famous Peduase Lodge, for example, or one of the many state-owned facilities dotted across the country. Common sense tells us this much. That would have also saved the taxpayer quite a decent bundle.

Indeed, it was quite exhilarating to see the throng of well-wishers, led by President Akufo-Addo, welcome Alhaji Bawumia back home a couple of days ago. I personally wish I had been there too. This is what is called genuine love and familial affection. It is the sort of human warmth that cannot be bought with dough or raw cash. This is one of the things that make me proud to have been born and raised Ghanaian.

*Visit my blog at: kwameokoampaahoofe.wordpress.com  Ghanaffairs

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