Mahama soars above party – Graphic Online

There comes a moment in every political tradition when pretending becomes more dangerous than telling the truth.

For the NDC, that moment is now. 

Let us say what many whisper but fear to confront: John Dramani Mahama has outgrown the NDC party machinery as it currently exists.

Not because he is perfect.

Not because he is a saviour. 

But because the party beneath him has failed to intellectually, psychologically and strategically evolve to the level demanded by Ghana’s reality.

This is not hero worship.

This is a diagnosis.

Carrying party dragging feet

Whether you like Mahama or not, one fact is unavoidable: he is operating at a higher strategic altitude than most of the NDC leadership class beneath him.

While the party debates slogans, Mahama speaks systems.

While party executives argue over factions, Mahama talks about regional economics. 

While others chase emotional applause, Mahama confronts structural constraints, currency traps, debt architecture, global finance and Africa’s position in a rigged monetary order.

Yet inside his own party, there is resistance; not because he is wrong, but because many are not ready.

Let us be honest; brutally honest.

Many of those positioning themselves as future flag bearers after Mahama are not emotionally ready to lead a country under permanent economic siege.

They are not psychologically trained for the pressure of managing a collapse without illusions.

They are not spiritually grounded enough to absorb national anger without reacting defensively.

They are not physically resilient enough for the grind of leadership in a hostile global system.

Politics today is not about charm.

It is about endurance, clarity and nerve.

And that is where the gap is obvious.

Confusing loyalty with thinking

Here is a dangerous pattern inside the NDC: 99 per cent of top executives oppose a third Mahama moment, but they are not doing so from critical analysis.

Instead, it’s from fatigue, fear or factional ambition.

They say: “We need a new face”.

“Ghanaians are tired”. “Let’s move on”. 

But they rarely answer the real question: Move on to WHAT level of preparedness?

With WHAT understanding of the global monetary cage Ghana is in?

Politics is not a relay race where you pass the baton because you are bored. It is a war against structural forces that do not forgive ignorance.

Let us confront an uncomfortable truth: Many within the NDC are more afraid of Mahama’s clarity than of Ghana’s crisis.

Because clarity exposes: Who understands currency reality.

Who understands global finance?

Who understands Africa’s structural weakness?

And who has been hiding behind ideology and nostalgia.

Mahama forces the party to grow up.

That makes people uncomfortable.

Not worship but timing

No serious thinker claims Mahama should rule forever.

That is childish. The real argument is this: You do not change pilots in the middle of a storm unless the next pilot can fly better in worse weather.

And right now, the storm is not political, it is monetary, global and structural.

The cedi is not failing because of party colours.

Africa is not bleeding because of campaign posters.

Ghana is not trapped because of manifesto poetry.

We are trapped because we do not control money, trade settlement or currency power.

Anyone who does not understand this has no business leading Ghana, period.

If the NDC wants to survive as a serious governing tradition, it must stop confusing Noise with strategy; Youthfulness with readiness; Popularity with competence; and Internal democracy with intellectual honesty.

This is an existential economic struggle.

Mahama is not above the party because of ego.

He is above it because the moment demands more than the party currently offers.

Hard question for NDC

Before pushing Mahama aside, the party must answer clearly and publicly: Who among us understands the global monetary s­­­­­ystem better?

Who has proven stamina under sustained national hostility?

Who can speak to Africa’s condition without slogans?

Who can lead painful stabilisation without lying to citizens?

Silence is the answer most fear.

This is not a call for blind loyalty.

It is a call for intellectual honesty.

If the NDC replaces Mahama without producing someone demonstrably stronger, it will not be renewal; it will be self-sabotage.

Ghana does not need excitement. It needs adults. 

Until the party produces leaders who are emotionally solid, psychologically trained, spiritually anchored and intellectually dangerous, Mahama remains above the party, not by force, but by default.

And pretending otherwise is not politics. It is denial.