The King was sick. His cheek was red,
And his eye was clear and bright;
He ate and drank with kingly zest,
And peacefully snored at night.
But he said he was sick, and a king should know.
And doctors came by the score, they did not cure him.
The Enchanted Shirt, – John M. Hay (US Secretary of State, 1898-1905)
Arguably, one of the most difficult persons in public life to understand in recent times is the Vice
President of the Republic, our venerable Dr. Bawumia. By his dear wife, the economic whiz kid
who had endeared himself to public Ghana (2008-2016) has all of sudden become stale
contaminated air to be flushed out.
Courtesy of the poor performance of this government, Dr. Bawumia has come under severe
public scrutiny as against his much-acclaimed prowess at making “things” work for Ghana. The
discerning public has been unforgiving at his massive failure exacerbated by his unrelenting
desire to continue the trajectory of a “Dr. Do Little”. He no longer understands our plight, and
we no longer understand the language of our messiah. Like in William B Yeats’ The Second
Coming, the falcon cannot hear the falconer – things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; mere
anarchy is loosed upon the nation.
In trying to redeem and reassert himself, Dr. Bawumia has done everything wrong. From
peddling blatant verifiable lies to a lack of touch with the realities of Ghanaian society. He stood
uninvited on the shifty grounds of religion, ethno-centrism, and warped economic analysis that
cannot stand the rigour of peer review. His moral compass and mindfulness has come under the
surgical blade of suspicion, and beckons further behavioural analysis. As unforgiving as we may
be, society is also prone to unknowingly crucifying special needs victims.
In a recent interview on Accra FM with Bobbie-Ansah, Dr. Mary Awusi sought to raise the
conversation with a suggestion that based on her experience in working with special needs
patients; she suspects Dr. Bawumia may be Autistic. Autistic? That is definitely a big twist. What
is her fortress? She referenced Dr. Bawumia’s worsening jittery body language when on the
podium as though suffering a symptom of social anxiety. One can also attest to his very high
excitation levels at what is not particularly funny as well as unnecessary and deafening
repetitions. Insider information alleges he has bouts of anger and throws tantrums at negligible
provocation. Whether professionally verified or not, this heads-up alert by Dr. Mary Awusi
significantly introduces a paradigm shift in the narrative either for or against. Kofi Bentil’s
admonition to “give a fair chance to Dr. Bawumia to become President” should be perused under
the right optics.
Obviously, this is not our darling “know-it-all make-it-happen” whiz kid. A lot has changed since
his appearance in 2008. What happened? How long ago? Shall we continue to judge him and
extract equity the way we have done in the past? What could this mean for the fit and propertest
for the presidency? Maybe he deserves our sympathy rather than our censorship. Whether the
gods are STILL not to blame, or it is the case of whom the gods would destroy, they first make
mad requires a careful consideration.
Finally, and in quoting William B Yeats again…
The best lack all conviction, while the worse are full of passionate intensity.
Surely, some revelation is at hand;
Surely, the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming!
ZEKPAH, DAVID.
Executive Director,
The 1957 Group.
© 15th May, 2024.