Over time, John Dramani Mahama, the former president, has abandoned his ethics and pushed his reputation to the side. His recent remarks on domestic matters have insulted Ghanaians' intelligence—particularly that of the country's youth—in a way that has never been witnessed before. Now, as though they were the reason behind his shameful collapse as President, he has turned the young people in this nation into the pitiful objects of his perpetual display of narrow-mindedness and myopia. Mahama's disastrous performance as President is a well-established truth, owing to his incompetence, lack of vision, and disbelief in the potential for growth and development that our nation holds.
He publicly disparaged the achievements of Senior High School students who completed their WASSCE with distinction during his most recent visit to Asafo, in the Agona East Constituency of the Central Region. John Dramani Mahama contended that the kids' achievement in the WASSCE was not justified and that their intelligence was not as demonstrated by the exam results. Someone who does not think that our country's future should be nurtured may only make such remarks. John Mahama is hardly a former president or a statesman for that matter, and his recent remarks are degrading.
Recall that this same John Mahama urged the press to "make noise" about senior high school students' accomplishment on the West Africa Secondary School Certificate Examination in 2014. At the time, he maintained that his government's successful educational policies were the reason why the results showed the pupils' level of intelligence. When we fast-forward to 2023, we find that the same John Mahama is adamantly opposed to the media "making noise" on the achievements of graduates of the WASSCE. Mr. Mahama undoubtedly has no intentions for this nation's future.
I challenge the former President to provide just one school where such a regrettable incident occurred in relation to his assertion that teachers collaborated with students to cheat on the WASSCE in the majority of Ghanaian schools. Whoever makes an allegation must demonstrate beyond mere rumors that what he says is true. As a past president, he ought not to make such baseless remarks that disparage the intelligence of Ghanaian pupils, the diligence of educators, the integrity of the West African Examination Council (WAEC), which oversees the exam, or the FSHS policy put in place by the Akufo-Addo/Bawu administration.
Furthermore, the superficial effort made by John Mahama to incite Ghanaians against the FSHS policy and his desperate bid to win the presidency once more shouldn't serve as justification for casting doubt on our entire educational system and rendering our diplomas worthless in comparison to those of our counterparts in other nations. Students and young people in Ghana have always been intelligent, and they will remain so.
Ghana's kids continue to be the country's future. It is a struggle against this country's future to disparage our intelligence or the intelligence of our Senior High School kids, and such behaviour will not be allowed. The young people in this nation are aware of John Mahama's abhorrence of the Free Senior High School policy and everything positive that may result from it. But we won't stand by and let him insult the intelligence of kids who follow the FSHS policy in the same way that teachers prepare them to be future leaders because he hates the policy.
Remember that John Mahama has not been able to announce to the people of Ghana a single policy proposal that he plans to implement to assist the country's youth up to this point. Regarding education and the SHS specifically, we are fully aware of his intention to immediately and without hesitation revoke the Free Senior High School programme. Since we know he has no vision for this country, it is imperative that we let him know that well-meaning Ghanaians will not grant him such a mandate.
Whatever the case, I especially implore Mr. John Mahama to acknowledge the intelligence of Ghanaian young when they are given a voice. He must live up to his post since he is a statesman and at the very least a former president. John Mahama needs to be a different person by 2024—he shouldn't be pulling pranks to make Ghanaians think he has something fresh to give the nation.
Sandra Sarkodee-Adoo, New Patriotic Party (NPP) Deputy National Youth Organiser
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