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Pendulum: A Special Birthday Gift for John Mahama at 60

Published

8 years ago

November 30, 2018

Eric

By Dele Momodu

Fellow Africans, if you had access to this column last week, you must have seen, or read, the special tribute I penned for one of Africa’s greatest leaders of the 21^st century, the former President of the Republic of Ghana, Dr John Dramani Mahama.

The question I have had to answer, countless times, before and after, is that if Mahama was that brilliant, visionary and efficacious, why did he lose the Presidential election? My candid answer always is that the most brilliant students can fail exams for reasons other than intellect and brilliance. I can say with all emphasis at my disposal that Mahama did not lose the 2016 Presidential election in Ghana because he did not perform. He lost for some other known and unknown reasons that history will ultimately reveal.

Let me also add, very quickly, that there is this uncanny similarity between Nigeria and Ghana, in many facets of our political trajectory. The history of our two countries have shown how we are like Siamese twins, joined together in many parts than one organ. Whenever there has been a coup d’etat in Nigeria, Ghana’s was going to follow soon, or vice versa. We seem to share a common destiny. Once President Goodluck Jonathan lost his election in 2015, it was almost surreally certain that President John Dramani Mahama was going to follow a similar path of catastrophe in Ghana given the similarity in the manner in which both had been elevated to the Presidency. The Opposition, led by President Buhari, was able to win in Nigeria because of a blistering campaign of calumny against Jonathan. He was given uncharitable monikers and sobriquets, some not undeserved, like clueless, incompetent, corrupt, ditherer and so on. The Opposition also painted a capacity for possessing magical powers to turn Nigeria into an Eldorado overnight. I would have been surprised if the Ghanaian opposition did not borrow a leaf from the Nigerian experiment which saw the collapse of the PDP behemoth after ruling Nigeria for 16 years.

One sure banker for any African opposition is to successfully label the ruling party as blatantly corrupt. Every poor man sees a corrupt politician as the source of his abysmal poverty and failure in life. In Nigeria, many would swear today that Jonathan suffered, and was severely punished, for the sins of his reckless, profligate and thieving subordinates and acolytes. It is certain that Mahama suffered the same fate in Ghana. I was close enough to him and knew Mahama had not amassed the kind of personal wealth and resources ascribed to him. I was stunned during his campaign to see how he panicked about his inability to fund many of his activities. This often generated arguments between me and some of my Ghanaian friends who could not believe my personal observations. They based their lack of faith on the circumstantial evidence that some of his cronies lived larger than life. It was the same story in Jonathan’s Nigeria.

Jonathan also lost the Presidential election due largely to the war of attrition that ravaged his party. Mahama faced a similar rebellion in his own NDC party, where a lot of relevant and influential members felt sidelined and waited for the opportune moment to retaliate in a most devastating manner. The campaign that there was monumental corruption and looting in the Jonathan government resonated with the foreign powers based on damning reports filed by their local representatives. They were sold on the belief that those who would take power were men and women of impeccable pedigree and integrity. The same was the case in Ghana. Some damaging reports circulated on the eve of Ghanaian elections purportedly linked Mahama and members of his family to concrete plans to militarise the country and cause maximum mayhem in order to win the election, by fire and by force. But this story was nothing other than a hoax. As a matter of fact, anyone who knows Mahama well would know he can never, deliberately, hurt a fly. Mahama did not enjoy the appurtenances of power to the extent that he would get so addicted and become a sit-tight ruler. As President, he lived in a very modest home and shunned the ostentations and trappings of the more ceremonial bpState Houses. His official car was a simple Toyota Avalon, and a few jeeps only followed in tow. Sometimes, he rode his power bike on the streets escorted by undercover agents. On occasions, we went out together in the evening to have dinner at the popular Urban Grill and he would sit alone in the car with his younger brother, Energy, as his driver, and no security in sight. He participated in a family farm of poultry, cattle and grains on some vast land in Akosombo area. I learnt so much from his exceptional humility. He was not a perfect human being, like all mortals, but he worked assiduously to place Ghana on the path of economic buoyancy via infrastructural revolution, the reason his fans called him Kwame Nkrumah II.

I will not belabour you with many of his phenomenal achievements. Not even the most vociferous of his critics would accuse him of not working for the greatness of Ghana. His biggest albatross was that he took too many bold steps and risked everything in the process. He told Ghanaians the uncommon truth about the state of things and didn’t know how to pretend that all was well when it wasn’t. He told Ghanaians they would have to pay for every convenience they enjoyed and there would be no freebies. He paid dearly for his unusual courage, especially for blatantly refusing to being your typical run-of-the-mill politician with sugar-coated tongue.

Two years after losing that election, Mahama seems to be enjoying a bounce and resurgence. Many who had criticised him for all manner of malfeasance are beginning to eat and swallow their own words. Some are even apologising for hurting him so much in the past. The best of such apologies went viral during the week. I won’t tantalise you, but will publish the open letter to Mahama, for your reading delight. Let me say that I do not know the author, but whosoever wrote this piece did so from the heart. Nigerians have a lot to learn from the Ghanaian saga as we head to the polls again in less than three months. It teaches us to be wary of slanderous campaigns without any iota of proof of misdemeanour. We must weigh our options clearly and not just rely on the aberrant behaviour of a few to hang the multitude. In Nigeria, this goes both ways. Please enjoy…

MR MAHAMA, STOP CAMPAIGNING AND FORM YOUR GOVERNMENT – “WE ARE SORRY ”

Dear Mr Mahama,

May I please, respectfully, send my sincerest apologies to yourself and your government.

I have now realised that statements I made in the press, posted on my social media platforms were disruptive and ill-informed. I sincerely regret having made any disrespectful comments and I herein unreservedly apologise in this regard to yourself and your government.

With my fake change lenses off, I can now see much more clearly how much good your government brought to the country and the infrastructural development it bequeathed to the land.

Mr Mahama, I apologise unreservedly and without condition for any distress I may have caused as a result of my ignorance of governance issues. If there is anything I can do to remedy my mistake, please let me know as I only want the best for you and Ghana. I have written officially to all the radio stations I lambasted you on, the newspapers that published my articles against your government, my church members who grouped to listen to my lies and falsehood every Sunday, the thousands who follow me on social media platforms and the websites. I will state few of the many reasons why I am rendering this apology but before I do that, I thank you in advance for your indulgence and understanding of an uniformed Ghanaian.

When Kweku Kyen forwarded videos of you campaigning in the Ashanti Region, I asked him “why you wasting resources on the campaign”. You should be thinking about how you going to continue your governance magic after the 2020 election. Ghanaians today are going through deep pains inflicted on them by this government and no amount of manipulation of the citizenry, the electoral commission and other state institutions can make Ghanaians change their resolve to vote out the Npp government in 2020.

Mr Mahama, I campaigned against you in 2012 and did same in 2016. I am a registered member of the Npp and have supported the party in many ways and at different levels. I took it upon myself to make you and your government unpopular because of what I was told about you, your wife, Ibrahim and some of your appointees. We were told you own hotels in Dubai and other places, we were told you have a gold refinery shop in South Africa, your wife owns (sic) shops in South Africa and Equatorial Guinea. We contracted a company in Belgium to investigate these allegations and the results we got were negative. Those who made these allegations during the election and vigorously defended them on Radio in Europe and the United (sic) States, have suddenly gone quiet and will not respond to calls and messages for further and better particulars on the allegations. I and those who supported candidate Akufo Addo and the Npp cannot take the blame for the shocking state we find ourselves.

As an editor of powerful newspaper and online radio station, I worked with a group of brilliant minds to counter whatever (sic) rumour or policy was put out by your government. I doubt the President got the LinkedIn (sic) page that I set for him. As one of Nana’s ardent supporters, this was all unpaid brought from a place of conviction. Nothing was asked for, nothing was received. Just to keep Mahama out for the man I thought was incorruptible with the magic wand to take over. I didn’t know I (sic) was preparing a suicide rope for myself and family.

Mr Mahama, once again I say sorry. Why campaigning? Ghanaians have seen the truth and describing as they’ve become, are calmly waiting for 2020 to come for the Npp to tell them where your hotels are situated, why you’ve not been prosecuted, why they are (sic) commissioning and recommissioning cost inflated projects. Ghanaians will ask them to explain why they borrowed more than your government when we told them we have all the monies needed for our projects here. They will demand to know the projects implemented from the loans. They will ask why Transparency International downgraded Ghana under our government, why teachers are going to do national service, why the 100 year bond, why the double track system the associated problems. They will demand explanation why the President has appointed over 40 members of his family into his administration, why the cedi broke jail, why the weekly fuel price increase. While demanding for answers, Ghanaians will be looking at your projects in their communities and those whose projects were abandoned after 2016 will continue to pray and fast for the clock to run faster. (sic)

This time round, I should be consistent and honorable enough to tell my President as it is and apologise to you for what I said, wrote and preached about you.

Thank you Sir. (sic)

(Eugene Nana Poku ).

The content of that letter remains that of the writer and does not necessarily mirror the total reality in Ghana today. Like the case in Nigeria, many supporters of the ruling government in Ghana still believe the current President has delivered on his promises. It is always the job of the opposition to disagree and throw sand in the garri of the incumbent. What is clear in all this is that no government can please everyone and also that there is serious danger in over-promising before taking power. You may end up blaming the past government not only for their much publicised ills, but also for failing to do virtually everything you promised while in opposition.

Meanwhile, the clock of governance is clicking and ticking away at supersonic speed…

Headline

GbajaGate: I’ve Done No Wrong, Govt Playing to Shut Me Up – Adeyemi Matthew Speaks from Hiding

Published

1 day ago

July 2, 2026

Eric

Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, the man alleged to have forged government appointment letters and falsely paraded himself as the Director-General of the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) and Presidential Economic Advisory Council, has denied the allegations against him, claiming the Presidency is attempting to silence him.

Speaking with PREMIUM TIMES from an undisclosed location on Thursday, Adeyemi insisted he had done nothing wrong and described the government’s actions as a “defence mechanism.”

“You know the government we have. They are just playing a defence mechanism to shut me up. My organisation was set up in 2024,” he said.

Adeyemi declined to disclose his whereabouts, saying he had gone into hiding because his life was under threat.

“They are now after my life. I have gone into hiding. I’m underground,” he said.

When asked whether he had fled the country, he declined to respond directly.

“I will not be able to disclose any information now. I don’t consider myself safe,” he added.

The embattled suspect also declined to provide his alleged appointment letter or any document to support his claim that he was legitimately appointed, saying his lawyers had advised him not to discuss the matter publicly.

“I just decided to speak to you out of respect. My lawyers are working on something. Whatever they say, I will let you know,” he said.

The Presidency has accused Adeyemi of forging appointment letters and other official documents while falsely presenting himself as Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council and the Presidential Economic Advisory Council, agencies it insists do not exist.

Presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, said Adeyemi and two others have been charged before the Federal High Court on an eight-count charge bordering on forgery, impersonation and related offences.

According to the Presidency, concerns first emerged after the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission reported that another body appeared to be performing functions similar to its statutory responsibilities.

The Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, subsequently petitioned the Department of State Services and the Nigeria Police Force, alleging that forged appointment letters bearing fake signatures, official seals and reference numbers had been used to create the impression that the suspects were presidential appointees.

The Presidency said investigations revealed that Adeyemi and his associates allegedly operated from an office within the Federal Secretariat Complex in Abuja, held meetings with Nigerian and foreign officials and sought diplomatic support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for visa applications.

According to the Presidency, police arrested Adeyemi on October 27, 2025, after which searches conducted at his office and residence allegedly yielded forged government documents.

Investigators also alleged that financial intelligence uncovered 34 bank accounts linked to Adeyemi, including accounts allegedly opened in the names of purported government agencies.

The Presidency further claimed that Adeyemi used forged documents to open an account with the Central Bank of Nigeria in the name of the alleged agency, although investigators found that no public funds were paid into the account.

Onanuga also dismissed allegations that Gbajabiamila demanded money from Adeyemi, saying the accusations surfaced only after the suspect was granted police bail.

The case is scheduled to come up before the Federal High Court on July 27.

Headline

Court Dismisses Abejide’s Suit, Upholds Mark-led Leadership of ADC

Published

1 day ago

July 2, 2026

Eric

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday affirmed Sen. David Mark’s leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

Justice Musa Liman, in a judgment, also dismissed the suit filed by Rep Leke Abejide challenging Mark and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as national chairman and national secretary of the party for lacking merit.

Justice Liman upheld the preliminary objections filed by ADC, Chief Ralph Nwosu, Mark and Aregbesola which challenged Abejide’s suit.

The judge held that the court lacked the jurisdiction to dabble in the internal affairs of ADC, as the suit was non-justiciable.

He also held that Abejide lacked the legal right to have instituted the suit, having failed to show to the court that his rights had been violated in any way as a result of the emergence of Mark-led leadership.

He equally held that Abejide, who is a member of the House of Representatives, failed to explore the party’s internal mechanism for dispute resolution.

Justice Liman also resolved the three issues in the substantive suit in favour of the defendants.

On whether Mark, the former Senate president and Aregbesola, who was the former Governor of Osun, emerged as leaders of the party in compliance with the enabling laws, the judge resolved this against Abejide, the plaintiff in the suit.

He held that the handing over of the leadership of the party by Nwosu to Mark did not violate the provisions of the party’s constitution.

The judge agreed that the disputed July 2, 2025, meeting of the party was a stakeholder meeting which preceded the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held on July 29, 2025, which produced Mark and Aregbesola as the party’s leaders and was monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Justice Liman, therefore, declared that the emergence of Mark and Aregbesola as leaders of ADC was valid and in accordance with the constitution, the Electoral Act, 2026 and the party’s law.

The judge consequently awarded a fine of N2 million each in favour of all the defendants which shall be paid by Abejide.

He also awarded a N10 million fine against Abejide’s lawyer in compliance with the Electoral Act, 2026.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Abejide had instituted the suit to stop the Mark-led leadership of ADC.

In the originating summons, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1637/2025, filed on Feb. 15 by Idris, the lawmaker sued ADC, Ralph Nwosu, Mark, Aregbesola and INEC as 1st to 5th defendants respectively.

NAN reports that Nwosu was the former national chairman of ADC who stepped down for Mark, the ex-Senate president.

Abejide, among the eight reliefs, sought an order nullifying Nwosu’s handover or transfer of ADC’s leadership to Mark and Aregbesola as interim national chairman and interim national secretary respectively on July 2, 2025, at Shehu Musa Yar’adua Centre, Abuja, for being illegal, unlawful, null and void.

He sought an order of perpetual injunction restraining Mark and Aregbesola from parading themselves as leaders of the party “as their purported appointment, selection or election was unlawful, illegal, null and void.”

He also sought perpetual injunction restraining INEC from recognising Mark and Aregbesola as ADC’s interim national chairman and interim national secretary.

He alleged that their appointment, selection or election did not meet the requirements of Section 82 of the Electoral Act, 2022, among other prayers.

NAN

Headline

Alleged N27.4bn Scandal: Presidency Exonerates Gbajabiamila, Says Adeyemi Matthew is a ‘Con Artist’

Published

2 days ago

July 2, 2026

Eric

The Presidency has volunteered details on how a certain Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, allegedly built an elaborate web of forged documents, fake government appointments and fictitious agencies to deceive public officials and present himself as a senior presidential appointee under the administration of President Bola Tinubu.

The Presidency, in a statement issued on Wednesday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, described Adeyemi as “a con artist” who allegedly used forged appointment letters bearing the name of the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, to create and operate a non-existent Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, later referred to as the Presidential Economic Advisory Council.

According to the statement, the alleged scam was uncovered after officials of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council raised concerns that another purported government agency appeared to be operating alongside it.

The Office of the Chief of Staff subsequently alerted security agencies, accusing unnamed individuals of forging official appointment letters purportedly issued from his office.

“The attention of this office has been drawn to the activities of certain individuals and groups engaged in the forgery of official appointment letters purportedly issued from my office,” Gbajabiamila said in a petition dated October 17.

“The fake documents, bearing falsified signatures, reference/folio numbers, and seals, have been used to claim leadership appointments to non-existent entities, with particular reference to the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council.”

The Chief of Staff disclosed that Adeyemi had allegedly established an office at the Federal Secretariat Complex in Abuja, where he reportedly hosted meetings with Nigerians and foreign nationals while presenting himself as the Director-General of the fictitious agency.

According to the petition, the group even sought diplomatic support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to facilitate United States visas for its purported staff.

“The above development not only constitutes a serious criminal act but also undermines the integrity of the Presidency and the credibility of official government communication,” Gbajabiamila wrote.

“I therefore urge you to initiate a thorough investigation to identify and apprehend those involved and also to uncover the network facilitating the forgery.”

Foreign Affairs Ministry raises red flag

The statement revealed that concerns over Adeyemi’s activities had also reached the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs after he reportedly convened a meeting with ambassadors at the Wells Carlton Hotel and Apartments in Abuja on October 10, 2025, without the ministry’s knowledge.

In a letter dated October 15, 2025, signed by Ambassador Anderson Madubuike and addressed to the Office of the National Security Adviser and the Office of the Chief of Staff, the ministry sought clarification regarding the status of the purported agency.

“This act contravenes extant rules and regulations guiding diplomatic practices globally,” the ministry stated.

The enquiries triggered correspondence among the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Office of the Chief of Staff.

Responding to the enquiries, Gbajabiamila categorically denied appointing Adeyemi or recognising the agency.

“Prince Adeniyi Matthew, Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, is unknown to any office, nor do we have any dealings with the said council,” he wrote.

“My attention was drawn to a letter of this purported application, which is fake, and my office has instructed the police and other relevant security agencies to carry out investigations on the person and the entity he claims to represent.”

The Presidency stressed that the Chief of Staff could not have issued any appointment letter because appointments into government offices are the exclusive responsibility of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

Police uncover alleged forgery network

Following the petition, the Police launched an investigation and arrested Adeyemi on October 27, 2025, at the Abuja office from where he allegedly operated the scheme.

Searches conducted at both his office and residence in Suleja reportedly yielded several documents and exhibits believed to be connected with the operation.

Investigators said Adeyemi claimed that one Dolapo Babatunde Tanimola assisted him in procuring the forged appointment letter.

However, police investigations established that Tanimola had died in a fire incident at Kachi Hotel in Abuja on October 22, 2025, five days before Adeyemi’s arrest.

According to the State House, investigators established that the agency Adeyemi claimed to head never existed, while the appointment letters and several official documents recovered during the investigation were allegedly forged.

Police also accused him of falsely presenting himself as a presidential appointee and fraudulently requesting a diplomatic note verbale from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to facilitate visa applications for himself and members of his organisation.

Investigators further alleged that Adeyemi operated no fewer than 34 bank accounts, including nine accounts opened in the names of fictitious organisations, including the FCT Investment Promotion Agency and Public Private Partnership (FIPA-APP).

The investigation also found that he allegedly succeeded in opening a Central Bank of Nigeria account by misleading the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation using forged documents.

The Presidency, however, noted that investigators confirmed no government funds were ever paid into the account.

“The act of the suspect constitutes criminal forgery, impersonation and obtaining by false pretence, thereby bringing the office of the Chief of Staff to the President and the Presidency to disrepute before the public and international community,” the police report stated.

Eight-count charge filed

Based on the outcome of the investigation, police filed an eight-count charge before the Federal High Court in Abuja against Adeyemi and two alleged accomplices on November 27, 2025.

The matter is scheduled for hearing on July 27.

According to the Presidency, Adeyemi, while on police bail, recently resurfaced with fresh claims that the Chief of Staff had genuinely appointed him as Director-General of the agency.

The statement noted that the claim directly contradicted the statement he voluntarily made to investigators during the police probe.

It said the renewed allegation prompted Gbajabiamila to issue another public disclaimer on June 8, reaffirming that Adeyemi was an impostor.

Presidency urges caution

The Presidency said Adeyemi had a history of alleged fraudulent misrepresentation, recalling that in 2016 he allegedly presented himself as President-General of the World Youth Organisation, claiming it was affiliated with the United Nations before the UN reportedly disowned the organisation.

Describing the case as that of “a con artist who appears to have built a web of false claims to deceive unsuspecting government officials and the public,” the Presidency urged politicians and members of the public to avoid drawing conclusions before the ongoing criminal trial is concluded.

It further advised that, since the matter is before the court, interested parties should allow the judicial process to determine the allegations against Adeyemi and his co-defendants.