So it appears just like the parties in the US, the controversy surrounding who gets the nod as the ruling party’s #2 is gathering heat in Ghana. There’s absolutely 0% chance Nana Addo will ever ask for my opinion but for what it’s worth, here’s my take:

Hajia Alima Mahama

Pro: Hajia Alima Mahama is a solid politician who can make the ticket look balanced immediately. She belongs to - not one, not two - but three key demographic groups - women, the northern sector and the Muslim community. With a solid educational background and executive credentials Alima Mahama is anybody’s dream candidate. She’s intelligent, eloquent and affable. What this means is that she could prove enormously attractive to another key demographic group: independents.

On paper she is the star candidate with the perfect resume. She has an affable smile, very easy to relate to and does not entangle herself in the daily give-and-take kind of politics. The press has hardly had a bad word about her - something you rarely find in Ghanaian politics.

If the pundits prediction that the NPP needs a female candidate and a northern candidate to win these elections is true they should look no further. Plus, when it comes to her chosen career she’s the nation’s picturesque role model. Note: not just for females or the ‘girl child’

Con: This is a bit sticky but I’m going to say it: Alima is not currently married although she has a child and this will not resonate too well with a society which weighs marriage so heavily. Especially among the northern community where she’s supposed to prove useful for the NPP, it is not clear how such a conservative society will receive her. Moreover Hajia won her seat by only a slim margin (49 votes) during the last parliamentary elections. So in essence her appeal in the Northern sector runs slim, shallow and limited not broad and neither deep nor crosscutting.

Boniface Sadiqque

Pro: If the vice presidential race was being fought in the press Saddique will easily be the nominee. Most of the press reviews have put him ahead of any other candidate. So it’s not an overestimation to say he’s the frontrunner. A few years ago many of us hardly knew this gem of a politician but he shot to national popularity after ministerial appointments under the Kufuor administration and it appears many have been impressed.

Boniface Saddique has a smile which will charm any lady and it’s no wonder he’s courted the press so easily. He will be tactically good for the NPP also because of his age. He’s young and with some apprenticeship could easily morph into the presidential candidature role come 2016. He’s no Barack Obama but Boniface is an incredibly exciting politician-a polar opposite to the deadly dull current Vice president Aliu Mahama.

Con: Now I like Saddique and i think he’s a terrific candidate but I don’t think many in the NPP are going to take kindly to him jumping on the bandwagon at the last minute compared to others who’ve been laboring in the trenches. Plus we don’t really know much about his dark side. Nana doesn’t want to pick a candidate who will crumble under the microscope. With Archer’s Enquirer and vitriolic opposition press you can be sure there will be no free lunch or pass for anybody colored red, blue and white.

Alan Kyerematen

Pro: On surface Mr. Kyerematen will appear to be a strong contender for the vice presidency. He came second in the party primaries and is beloved by the Kufuor supporters which could be a good thing in terms of bridging the gap between the Kufuor and Akufo-Addo factions in the NPP. So why not? Kyerematen brings with him profound fund raising skills which is key to any campaign.

Con: Let’s face it: with all the antics surrounding his resignation and re-joining of the NPP Kyeramaten has dissipated any goodwill he had within the party. He represents divisiveness and if Akufo-Addo picks him it will only be because he wants to appease certain people in the party. I was one of the people who had high hopes for him when he first returned from his US ambassadorial role but he quickly proved that he learnt very little from US politics. In short Kyerematen has issues. Not only that, he’s exceedingly unpredictable. This makes him a high risk candidate. I’d be hugely surprised if Nana picks him.

Rashid Bawa

Pro: He carries local, ministerial level and international experience. As a Muslim from the Volta Region, Rashid brings much to the ticket. He has brilliant oratory skills and speaks quite a number of Ghanaian languages i.e. Hausa, Twi and Ga. Very impressive huh? By any measure Rashid is hip and stylish in his own right. Which makes him look like a good blend with Akufo-Addo who compared to Mills is a man of style in his own right. He brings infinite experience both in government and on the international level.

He’s a gifted speaker - not electric - but definitely comfortable talking in front of the camera at any given hour. Furthermore just like Siddique I hear he’s hugely popular among the females — a very important voting bloc.

Cons: Clearly, Rashid Bawa will be a tough sell to the electorate. How will you market someone who actually lost his seat in parliament? I have nothing against Hon Bawa – as I’ve worked very closely with him on the national and international stage - and I can tell you he’s a great gentleman who represents the future of our country. But politically, Bawa shouldn’t be on Nana’s ticket—at least not now. I’d bring him back to government though and perhaps with some more exposure to the electorate he’ll be in good contention even for presidency come 2012 or 2016.

Hackman Owusu Agyeman

Pro: Hackman has been a very loyal servant of the NPP and the Kufuor administration. But truth be told he’s an old man. I mean a political veteran. Moreover he has this elite aura around him. Some say he’s arrogant but I have no proof. To the contrary there are many within the NPP who say Hackman is a people person.

If there’s one thing that stands out it is the fact that he’s a very hard working man who has achieved a lot in his lifetime. He’s a well accomplished politician who attained his wealth outside politics. He will be good for the NPP’s finances and he brings some maturity to the party.

Con: For one thing Hackman is seen as belonging to the old hard core NPP base - very much associated with all the good and the bad of the Kufuor administration. Fortunately or unfortunately that isn’t always good omen.

Alhaji Aliu Mahama

Pro: Mr Current Vice President is a simple man. He’s Northern and he’s a Muslim. He’s the soon-to-be immediate past Vice President and has been at the highest level of government decision making. He looks like he could naturally settle into the role.

Cons: Aliu is an expired politician. He’s past his due date and must retire in peace. Eight years of speech reading, a failed campaign for discipline and months of listening to his “I am a good apprentice tune” has been long enough to endure. Simply put he should leave Ghanaians alone. There are many within the NPP who believe he shouldn’t have been Vice President in the first place - more so for eight good years. Besides a vice president needs to have some gravitas and His Excellency the Honorable Alhaji - despite eight years at the Castle - looks far from adding any of that to the campaign team. I wouldn’t go near him with a barge pole.

Oboshie Sai Coffie

Pro: Talents tend to be unearthed in the political minefield from time to time and Oboshie has shown she can perform in politics what she did in the media. That’s praiseworthy. Her presence in the NPP is somewhat of a paradox. Her face looks familiar enough to belong to the Kufuor inner circle but always has some kind of freshness to her personality. Perhaps it’s because of her not so moderate dressing panache.

Oboshie cannot be taken for granted. She’ll also bring style, grace and dynamism to the ticket. Something that blends perfectly with Nana’s personality. Maybe she should go to parliament. If Madam Coffie gets a base, stays long enough in parliament and shows a little more emotion or ‘people touch’ she might reach Hillary Clinton status. Let’s not forget she was the chief architect to the NPP media campaign advertisements during the 2000 elections. Thus Oboshie, communications and the media are easy playmates.

Con: To be honest before she was given a ministerial position I’d been at pain to decipher what her exact position in the Castle was. All her hemming and hawing at the Castle with no clear explanations as to her exact role seemed to raise eyebrows. And boy, doesn’t she just smack off elitism? She’s rich, belongs to a well-to-do family, has a popular father, looks like and dresses like an upper class person.

It’s going to be difficult for her to connect to the modern proletariats of our society. I don’t exactly know how her name got bandied in the whole vice president thing but Oboshie is just okay minding her business at the executive mansion.

Gifty Afenyi-Dadzie

Pro: Afenyi-Dadzie is a media goddess in Ghana. No question. She remains beloved by the press and many will forever remember her pioneering role for professionalism, independence and the freedom of the press in Ghana in the not so comfortable days of the private press under Jerry Rawlings.

If the press is the means to the Castle I’ll say Gifty earns the unquestioned right to be Nana’s number 2. One more thing: you can’t really tune off when she’s speaking. She’s audible, on message and hard to ignore. Even if you don’t like what she says - or don’t understand - you often like what you see.

Con: Does not have a base or political home. She might actually taint her neutrality and respectability if she decides to align herself with the elephant. There are some people who will be much more useful in a non-partisan role than if they went political and Gifty is one of such people.

Gladys Asmah

Pro: Like Hackman, Grandma Gladys belongs to the old school of Ghana politics. Tough and well vetted by the Ghanaian electorate, Gladys was a propelling force behind the female empowerment drive in Ghana. Remember the “send your girl child to school days?” She’s a fighter, very experienced and has political endurance. No one apart from the late Hawa Yakubu and the likes of Theresa Ameley Tagoe conjure the harsh NPP opposition struggle as much as Hon. Asmah.

She’s hugely popular in the Western region where she’s represented her constituency countless times. In addition she has years of cabinet level and executive credentials. Because of her long experience in politics she’s not likely to kowtow to anyone or be interested in pleasing anyone which could make her focused on the national agenda instead of being bullied by personal friends as well as party boys and girls who feel it is their right to be given certain positions.

Con: My take here is that Mrs Asmah belongs to the status quo. She has the gumption to take the bold and hard decisions the country needs but how much further can she go?

Read Part Two of this interesting analysis on this page on Wednesday and see what the likes of Kwabena Agyepong, Mustapha Iddris, Lepowura Nurudeen Jawula and a host of others, stand for.


By Etse Sikanku
Email: esikanku@iastate.edu