Dennis Osadebe
AFPMahamudu Bawumia soared from being a political outsider to grow to be Ghana’s second-in-command – and in December he may manufacture historical past as the rustic’s first Muslim president.
Bawumia, recently Ghana’s vice-president, used to be selected by means of the governing Unused Patriotic Celebration (NPP) as their candidate for the coming near near common election.
The 61-year-old Tottenham Hotspur supporter has slightly the recognition.
He’s an highbrow trained at Oxford College, isn’t evident with out his signature thin, oblong glasses and has been dubbed “Mr Digital” because of his promise to tug Ghana right into a technological heavyweight.
However as a result of he’s head of the federal government’s financial control workforce, many Ghanaians laborer Bawumia with the punishing value of dwelling emergency they’re experiencing.
Will have to Bawumia triumph over the grievance and win the election, he’s going to substitute his stream boss President Nana Akufo-Addo, who’s drawing near the tip of his two-term prohibit.
“Mr Digital” barrelled onto the political scene in 2008, sparking bemusement and scepticism.
Bawumia used to be a 44-year-old who had by no means held crowd place of work, but Akufo-Addo – later a trifling presidential candidate – had selected him as a operating mate.
Bawumia’s father Alhaji had served in Ghana’s earliest governments later the rustic received self rule from Britain in 1957, operating intently with respected Top Minister Kwame Nkrumah.
However the more youthful Bawumia had cast a profession in economics and banking – serving because the deputy governor of Ghana’s central depot.
To many commentators and NPP insiders, it made deny sense for Akufo-Addo to pick out Bawumia over seasoned celebration participants.
Akufo-Addo ended up dropping the election to John Atta Generators from the Nationwide Democratic Congress (NDC) by means of a modest margin.
Bawumia misplaced out at the VP activity – however his charismatic marketing campaign had silenced the naysayers.
“He fired [up] the NPP campaign. I think no-one else could have done a better job, to be honest, in terms of the support he gave to the NPP,” Ghanaian political scientist Dr Clement Sefa-Nyarko instructed the BBC.
Mahamudu BawumiaAkufo-Addo and Bawumia gave the elections every other exit in 2012. Once more, they misplaced.
The NPP challenged the election leads to the Ultimate Courtroom, opting for Bawumia as their megastar observer.
Throughout the court cases, that have been broadcast on nationwide tv, Bawumia got here throughout as amusing and unflustered by means of the relentless, days-long cross-examination.
“Crowd have been like, who is that this man? He’s actually the fellow to root for,” said Dr Sefa-Nyarko, who lectures on African leadership at King’s College London.
Akufo-Addo decided to keep Bawumia on his ticket and in 2016, on their third shot at power, the NPP won with 51.3% of the vote. Bawumia finally became vice-president.
Bawumia’s journey to the top began in 1963, when he was born into a large family in the northern city of Tamale.
He was the 12th of his father’s 18 children.
After completing primary and secondary school in Ghana, Bawumia moved to the UK for undergraduate study and went on to gain a masters in economics from the prestigious Oxford University.
To support himself during his studies, he took up jobs as a taxi driver and cleaner.
He returned to Ghana in 2000 to work at the central bank, where he worked his way up to become deputy governor.
AFPBawumia campaigned on this economic know-how during his attempts to become VP. Therefore, he faced heavy criticism when Ghana plummeted into its most severe economic crisis in years under his watch.
Inflation hit a record 54% in December 2022 and the country was forced to take a $3bn (£2.3bn) loan from the International Monetary Fund after government debt soared.
In response to the criticism, Bawumia has said the economic management team he headed had no “decision-making powers” and that it merely provided advice to the government.
But for many, this wasn’t good enough.
“Relating to persona, with regards to integrity, public began wondering themselves: ‘What is that this? How did it finally end up right here? We idea you have been the most productive man, and take a look at the place we’ve ended up’,” Franklin Cudjoe, a Ghanaian political commentator and head of the Imani Centre for Policy and Education, told the BBC.
Along with his role as an economist, Bawumia has also built the reputation of being a digital visionary.
Ghana’s digital ecosystem has seen “vital enlargement” especially in areas such as mobile phone connectivity, Charles Abani, head of the United Nations team in Ghana, remarked last month.
This “noteceable virtual transformation” was “spearheaded” by Bawumia, news website African Business reported, while Ghanaian newspaper The Chronicle hailed Bawumia’s “experience in world virtual transformation”.
Bawumia said he initiated a partnership between Ghana’s government and US-based company Zipline, which led to the creation of the world’s largest vaccine delivery network.
He said he reached out to Zipline, which uses drones to fly health products to hard-to-reach clinics, after his father died from a loss of blood.
Although this passion for technology is celebrated by some, others are more sceptical.
Mr Cudjoe said Bawumia has been campaigning on digitalisation rather than confronting debates about the government’s handling of the economy.
“Whether or not Bawumia used to be in energy or no longer, digitalisation used to be certain to occur on this nation as a result of we had already began it anyway,” Mr Cudjoe said.
Dr Sefa-Nyarko said of Bawumia: “What he has been very a success at is to push and in addition declare all credit score for digitalisation results of the stream govt.”
Mahamudu BawumiaBawumia’s personal life has also been a strength in his presidential campaign. His wife of 20 years, Samira, is a former beauty queen who is widely admired for her chic outfits.
The Second Lady is also vocal when it comes to party politics – and has embarked on campaign tours for the NPP.
The couple have four children together. They are proud followers of Islam – a religion practised by roughly one in five Ghanaians.
Most people in Ghana are Christians but there is not much evidence that coming from a religious minority will hinder Bawumia’s election chances, Dr Sefa-Nyarko said.
The NPP has given its “complete assistance” to Bawumia’s candidacy, “his Muslim religion however”, Dr Sefa-Nyarko added.
“This might translate into common assistance around the nation as neatly.”
Bawumia’s geographical identity might be of greater consequence than his religion. The vice-president hails from northern Ghana, which is one of the NDC’s strongest political bases.
By choosing Bawumia as its presidential candidate, the NPP will be hoping to make inroads in the north, while retaining support in its heartland in the south.
Bawumia has been traversing north, south, east and west in what he calls the “chances bus”, a blue and red campaign vehicle emblazoned with the slogan “it’s conceivable”.
To some, he is the face of economic mismanagement, but the vice-president retains some of the optimism he held when he was a 44-year-old embarking on an eight-year battle for power.
“I’ve the braveness to just accept when issues don’t exit in addition to deliberate,” he told voters in his manifesto.
“However I actually have a mindset of chances, and religion in ourselves, that we will be able to be on one?s feet and reach stunning issues in our lifetime.”
Additional reporting by the BBC’s Thomas Naadi in Accra
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