Mahama's 2012 ‘spare driver’ comment emerges after Bawumia’s ‘driver’s mate’ debate

A debate has been ignited following Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia's recent use of a driver's mate analogy to delineate his position within the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government.

On Wednesday, February 7, Vice President Bawumia, while presenting his vision for Ghana if elected president, said: “As Vice-President, I am like a driver’s mate. But if, by the Grace of God, you make me President, I will be in the driver's seat with constitutionally mandated authority to pursue my vision and my priorities. Clearly, the initial conditions that we inherited in 2017 are not the same as will be in 2025. Therefore, my priorities will be different. We have done many good things and I will be seeking to build on them.

This analogy, however, has sparked the resurrection of an old video featuring former President John Dramani Mahama referring to himself as a spare driver.

The video, captured during a presidential debate hosted by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) in 2012, showcases Mahama, then the sitting President, positioning himself as the spare driver of the nation. In his speech, he appealed to voters for a second term, emphasizing the continuity of governance from the late President John Atta Mills' tenure. Mahama asserted that he aimed to transition from being perceived as a spare driver into the primary driver of the nation's development.

“The NDC government has done a lot in four years. Our constitution gives our president two terms, take it that I am the spare driver, caretaker or whatever; Prof. Mills of blessed memory started the process and I am finishing his unexpired term. I believe that the NDC government deserves a second term to be able to build on the foundation it has laid in these four years and I am certain that Ghanaians would vote for me and turn me from the spare driver that I’ve been described as, into the actual driver of the bus leading us into the destination that we want to go to,” Mahama stated.

Criticism has arisen in response to Bawumia's analogous portrayal of himself as a driver's mate during a recent lecture. Supporters of Mahama have argued that while there may be surface similarities between the two analogies, there are crucial distinctions in the contexts within which the candidates situated themselves.

Proponents of Bawumia contend that there is a parallel between the roles described by both politicians. They assert that Bawumia, like Mahama, positioned himself as an integral part of the government, ready to assume leadership if given the opportunity.

Conversely, Mahama's supporters argue that his acknowledgement of being a spare driver demonstrates accountability for the policies and decisions made during his tenure as vice president. They criticize Bawumia for allegedly distancing himself from the failures of the current administration while campaigning for the presidency.

Sammy Gyamfi, the National Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), emphasized this contrast, highlighting Mahama's ownership of the government's record during his vice presidency. Gyamfi accused Bawumia of hypocrisy, alleging that he seeks to disassociate himself from the current administration's shortcomings while simultaneously campaigning for its continuation.

The distinction drawn between a driver's mate and a spare driver underscores the nuanced interpretations of political rhetoric in Ghana's electoral landscape. As the debate intensifies, voters will likely scrutinize these analogies and the underlying messages they convey as the country approaches the upcoming presidential election.

Read Full Story