The Best Ever: President John Mahama’s Concession Speech

(This speech was posted by Juma w. Fredrick but not written by him. Read and get the insight.)

“Good evening, my fellow countrymen and women. A few minutes ago, I made the most difficult phone call I have made, and may ever make, in my life: I called President-elect Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party to congratulate him on his well-fought and well-deserved victory in Wednesday’s election.

The win has been emphatic. If anybody has reason to doubt the presidential results, the sheer magnitude of the defeat, which our parliamentary candidates have suffered, is the clearest indication that we have outlived our welcome.

Telling the world that I would graciously accept the outcome of the election was one thing, but confronting the stark reality of an electoral defeat is another harrowing experience altogether. But I had no option. The people of Ghana have said emphatically that they are taking away the power they gave to me four years ago, and I have no power to say no. Besides, I love the country that has given me the opportunity to serve in various capacities for nearly two decades and I will not do anything to undermine our democracy or threaten the peace we enjoy.

Before I continue, permit me to congratulate the NDC family, especially my campaign team, for putting up such a spirited fight. When I was growing up in northern Ghana, I used to hear stories of very spiritually powerful and dreadful cattle rustlers who informed cattle rearers before they actually moved in to steal the animals. They would tell the owner that “tonight, we will come and steal your cattle.” They were so powerful that they cast spells on those policing the cattle and drive away the animals away before the men who gathered to stop them could wake up from their deep sleep to gnash their teeth and endure the scornful gossips of their women in the morning.

When the time was up for these cattle rustlers, however, they were overpowered and captured by women. I think we lost because our time was simply up, and no amount of deceptive campaign promises could keep us in power. No amount of monopolization of the media space could save us. No amount of money could stop our defeat. No amount of local and international celebrity endorsements could help us. And no amount of vote buying could stand the irresistible hurricane of change that shook our nation on Wednesday.

I will urge my party members to stop the “blame-storming” that has started so that we brainstorm on how to get ourselves out of the mess we have put ourselves in. The future of our great party looks gloomy and we have to start work on how to get ourselves out of what appears like an eternal stay in opposition. In life, when you are hit by the subduing blow of misfortune, you have two options. You can allow that blow to crush you. You can also move on with the enormous lessons such misfortunes often present. I cannot immediately tell my next move in life, politics and my role in our great party. But if I should ever make a comeback to politics, the lessons I have learnt from our defeat should serve as the moral code which will guide how I guide myself.

I have learnt that the Ghanaian voter, though mainly uneducated and simple, is more sophisticated than we thought. I have learnt that it is unacceptable for the people to loot, hoard and splash during elections.

I have learnt that the calls of the noisy minority cannot be ignored because they largely shape the opinions of the silent minority, who we politicians exploit for our selfish gain. I have learnt that not all those who criticized us hated us. Sometimes the best way to express your love for someone is to be critical of their actions. If I should ever return, I will not display a “dead-goat syndrome” towards disaffection of the masses.

When those who opposed, us cried foul, we retorted, “Hate can’t win.” Tonight, however, I am the first to admit that some hate can win. This election has taught me that the hate of corruption can win. It has taught me that hate of incompetence can win. Our defeat has taught me that hate of impunity can win. I have learnt that the hate of the obscene display of ill-gotten opulence wins. I have learnt that hate of mediocrity and deception definitely wins. And I have learnt that hating evil will forever triumph over the love of evil. That was what happened on Wednesday.

Another important lesson I have learnt from this defeat is that the success or failure of a leader depends on the kind of people he or she surrounds themselves with. While Rawlings appointed the likes of Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas as deputy ministers, I made the mistake of giving that respectable position to the likes of John Oti Bless. I have now realised, rather too late, that if I had kept the likes of Ben Dotsei Malor and Dr. Raymond Atuguba around me, they would have injected some semblance of sanity into the Presidency and given that high office an aura of respectability and decency. The praise-singing sycophants who act on the dictates of their stomachs are only specialized at telling you what you want to hear. Unfortunately, I did not listen to voices of reason. Our elders say a disease that will kill a man first breaks sticks into his ears.

A lot of the people who have called me to comfort me have maintained that I have been let down by my ministers and the people I trusted so much. I wish to take the blame for everything that happened to me. It is said that a man may fail many times but he is not a failure until he blames others for his failures. Nobody forced my appointees on me. Our elders say God gives us our friends but we choose our friends. And it is us, and not God, who will bear the consequences of any choice we make. Like the wood insect that gathers sticks on its head, I have brought this upon myself, and I will carry it alone.