‘Drama in Parliament’, ‘Mahama wows Minority MPs’ were all part of the numerous headlines generated by pro-government newspapers anytime the President stepped onto the floor of Parliament to deliver the State of the Nation Address (SONA). The President was always described as someone who charmed the anxious minority MPs and the nation with his communication skills.
Constant repetition of clichés and words which sought to tease the opposition during his presentations in Parliament made the likes of Akua Donkor who hardly comprehend whatever is said on the floor of Parliament laugh out loud from the public gallery. And the Minority seeking to tell the President that they are still his former colleagues respond in like manner by displaying various placards to describe the delivery.
At times, they put on various attires to connote the country’s state of being at the time the President was delivering the address to Parliament. Common among these attires is an all-black one which was meant to tell the mourning state of the country.
Choruses of counter compositions by both the Majority and Minority make persons watching and listening to the President from home wonder if the Chinese-furnished chamber becomes home to a new Ghana symphony orchestra.
One would remember how these kinds of continuous heckling led late Prof John Mills to repeatedly mispronounce ECONOMY. ‘ECOMINI’ became a very famous word and the humorous Ghanaians composed songs with it. It was only TWEAA which could beat it and in recent times, ‘COMFORTABLE LEAD’ has surpassed it.
At a time when the President was stepping into the house of the honourables for the last time as President, many expected many more of such compositions and counter compositions. People even predicted that ONAAPO rhythm would be played for the President who had his Vice President and wife by his side when he stepped in to greet speaker, Edward Doe-Adjaho who prior to the Christmas break had urged the MPs to start packing out of their offices.
Dear reader, please be reminded that VEEP Amissah-Arthur is yet to offer the answers to Bawmumia’s 170 questions.
The ONAAPO predictions partially came true as the minority flashed ‘BYE BYE’ handouts at the President after he delivered his last emotional SONA. “Has he finished?”, many questioned when less than 1 hour into the broadcast, the President started signaling the end to his address which was postponed to the new year.
“Yes, he is DONE,” a colleague responded to the bewilderment of everyone. The reason was that President Mahama only concentrated on delivering his task which was a short delivery of the state of the country he would be handing over to Nana Addo on midnight of January 6, 2017.
The President chose to concentrate on the task and refused to SMILE to the MPs who could not garner enough votes for him to win a second term. As many as 50 of the honourable eye balls that were watching him from the majority side of the house were departing with the President and hence there was no need smiling at the faces of defeat. These departing MPs and others who would be substituted by others from the same NDC party could just not fake their emotions and cheer YES, YES even when the President named the famous Nkrumah Interchange, ‘DUBAI’ as one of his achievements.
This is really SAD, SAD and VERY SAD many said shaking their heads when President Mahama now called his WORTHY POLITICAL OPPONENT by his real name and even attaching the title of PRESIDENT to his name instead of OPANA, THE DIVISIVE LEADER and several others. I now understood the words of Highlife legend, Akwasi Ampofo Adjei (AAA) that TIME CHANGES. What remains a mystery is how former President Jerry John Rawlings and his aide, Kofi Adams who was the 2016 campaign coordinator for John Mahama wore WHITE ATTIRE to Parliament. Are they all not supposed to be mourning? And is Kofi Adams not part of the people who contributed to President John Mahama’s COMFORTABLE WEEP at the polls. Hmmmm, time willl tell, I am out.