On June 26, 2019, I published an article titled “The fly in the ointment: Bawumia’s manifest destiny and Mahama’s schadenfreude”.
In that article, I predicted President Mahama would go toe-to-toe with Dr Bawumia in the 2024 presidential election.
I also suggested that Ghanaians would reject President Mahama’s quest to return to power because Dr Bawumia’s personal qualities would be far more appealing and compelling.
In retrospect, I was wrong. My naivety stemmed from underestimating the egoistic individuals within the NPP who idealised Dr Bawumia when it suited their own interests, devalued him when his personal qualities exposed their emptiness, and discarded him when he was no longer useful to them.
This article, therefore, examines how Dr Bawumia was victimised by the malignant narcissists in the NPP and how he can use his own experience to rid the party of the destructive “mafia” culture that is devouring its very soul and restore it as a bastion of respect, decency, and competency.
The narcissistic abuse of Dr. Bawumia stems from the envious reaction to his vast experience working with reputable international organisations, where he acquired essential skills and mastered best practices in economic management.
Ironically, the very attributes of critical thinking, insistence on due diligence, clear boundary-setting, and a demand for transparency that initially made him the darling of the party are precisely the same traits that also made him prey to narcissistic abuse.
The question is, why would anyone abuse a Vice President? The answer is clear. The NPP has gradually moved away from its tradition of healthy competition, appreciation for competency, and respect for decency.
Sadly, in the ignoble tradition of Donald Trump, the party has embraced narcissism as toughness and indiscipline as authenticity.
The party that once celebrated gentle giants now lauds egoistic individuals who cannot stop boasting about their wealth, accomplishments and emptiness as heroes.
Dirty laundry is often aired in public. Insults are dished out like candies on Christmas Day. Decent people are squeezed out. Most of the people left standing are those capable of using rage and threats of violence to intimidate everyone else into submission.
And despite their toxic and abusive behaviours, they are deemed to possess the requisite strength to govern the country.
How bizarre! Objectively speaking, narcissism is in ascendancy everywhere, and particularly, in politics, because politics gives narcissists access to the power, control, admiration, attention and prestige they crave.
Of course, not everyone who enters politics is a narcissist. Some stumble into it through unforeseen circumstances, others are recruited for their unique talents, and many choose politics because they genuinely want to make a difference.
For example, leaders like Nelson Mandela, Kwame Nkrumah and others became political leaders because they wanted to liberate their people from colonial oppression.
Others like Dr. Bawumia, former President John Kuffour, John Atta Mills, and Mr Mark Carney, the Canadian Prime Minister, were recruited into politics due to their unique skill sets.
To curtail the escalating dysfunction in the NPP, the party has resolved to hold the presidential primary earlier to allow sufficient time for healing and unity before the 2028 election.
This strategy addresses a symptom rather than the problem itself. The actual problem is rooted in the now prevailing “mafia” culture of the NPP, which, if left unchecked, will affect the party’s chances in 2028 and beyond.
In the current environment, people who genuinely seek to make a difference in the party are often
undermined and abused, and the abuse they face typically progresses through three distinct stages:
idealisation, devaluation and discard.
Barring unforeseen events, Dr. Bawumia will more than likely emerge victorious in the upcoming
presidential primary, and he will be compelled to work with everyone in the party — including the “mafia.”
But how can he work with these ego-driven individuals whose impulse is to resist cooperation and create chaos, which in turn feeds their need for attention? The party’s current approach to dealing with its mafioso elements appears to be appeasement, but this is not a solution because these narcissists see compromise as a weakness to be exploited.
Ideally, Dr. Bawumia, who has been a victim of this narcissistic abuse, can use his personal experience to change the prevailing toxic culture of the party.
The idealisation of Dr. Bawumia began in 2012, when he displayed a sharp intellectual ability and self-confidence as the key witness in the Supreme Court case contesting the presidential election results.
Then, leading up to the 2016 elections, he transformed the campaign into an issue-focused movement by providing a concise, insightful, and thorough analysis of the economic stagnation, along with practical solutions.
In fact, many impartial observers have credited Dr. Bawumia’s influence as a significant factor in the NPP’s victory in 2016.
Paradoxically, Dr. Bawumia’s influence within the NPP began to diminish after the party came to power in 2016, as his abilities and expertise were seen as a threat to the mafioso elements, who feared that his popularity would upend their own political ambitions.
These mafioso, who had infiltrated the upper echelons of the party, demanded unwavering loyalty and often exercised unfettered control over every lever of power in the party.
Consequently, Dr. Bawumia’s appeal for transparency in governance was seen as an affront to their authority, a threat to their dominance, prompting them to devalue and sideline him.
Moreover, during the 2016 campaign, Dr. Bawumia explicitly put his reputation on the line when he
campaigned on competent management of the economy.
Thus, by insisting on transparency and protection of the public interest, he provoked opposition from the destructive forces within the party, who launched covert efforts to sabotage him to hide their nefarious activities.
It’s no surprise then that the “economic wizard,” hailed as a kind of messiah, found limited opportunities to demonstrate his economic expertise directly and instead turned to digitisation to prove to Ghanaians that he was actively working to earn the trust reposed in him.
Digitization, of course, is vital and remains a foundational pillar for Ghana’s economic transformation.
Notwithstanding Dr. Bawumia’s impressive achievements in terms of his digitisation agenda, his true strength lies in economics, and yet he was never allowed to shine in that space.
So, how can Dr. Bawumia restore the party to its core values and win back the millions of people who
abandoned the party in the 2024 election? These people will not return unless there is a fundamental shift in the prevailing culture of the NPP.
Dr. Bawumia must recognise that the antidote to the institutional narcissism or the “mafia” culture in the party is a deliberate shift towards character-centred leadership in lieu of superficiality, appeasement and transactional relationships.
Similarly, Dr. Bawumia must model the ethical leadership that comes naturally to him. He must prioritize integrity in hiring and promotion, rewarding those who serve collective goals and the greater good rather than personal glory.
He must surround himself with people who are decent, respectable, and self-accomplished and incorruptible to highlight his stature as a mature, wise, responsible and decisive leader.
In conclusion, the “mafia” in the NPP are transactional and self-interested people.
They are only loyal to their own egos and will sabotage the campaign as long as it serves their own needs for self-promotion.
On the other hand, those who share Dr. Bawumia’s values of decency, respect, and integrity are the ones committed to winning elections.
If Dr. Bawumia instils discipline and eradicates the mafioso culture in the party, he will be able to connect with the millions of people who are desperately seeking change. Many
Ghanaians have experienced narcissistic abuse and betrayal on a personal level. A leader who not only inspires hope but also shares his scars can build emotional bridges with the people.
Dr. Bawumia must evolve, rise and show that he is someone who has faced adversity with grace and discipline. It’s not a weakness. It’s power. It is leadership forged in fire.
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