NDC, Mahama meet Zongo leaders in panic reaction to swirling Bawumia threat in Zongos

Former President John Dramani Mahama and leadership of the NDC, have met some leaders of the the Zongo community in Accra.

The meeting, held in Accra on Saturday September 14, 2023, is described as a panic response to the "real, emerging threat" Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia is posing to the NDC in Zongo communities for the 2024 elections.

Eventhough Dr. Bawumia is yet to be elected the flagbearer of the NPP, his election seems only a matter of time, and a highly-placed source in the NDC says leadership of the NDC have now "accepted this difficult reality" of Dr. Bawumia's election as the NPP's candidate.

"Honestly, we all thought, and rightly so, judging by the history of the NPP that, Dr. Bawumia would not succeed in his bid to lead the NPP, but it is now obvious that he will be the NPP's flagbearer and the truth is that he poses a great challenge to us in the Zongos and the northern regions," the source, a former ambassador in the erstwhile Mahama regime said.

"Some within the party are still living in denial, but we have accepted this difficult reality."

It is this difficult admission, the source revealed, that necessitated what he described as the panic meeting with the Zongo leadership.

Last week, Dr. Bawumia himself sounded a caution to the NDC and former President Mahama that he would give them a "showdown" in the North and the Zongos in 2024.

Present at the meeting the NDC called were: the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu, Imams of the various Islamic sects, Zongo Chiefs and some Muslim organisations.

With Dr. Bawumia's popularity in the Zongos swirling, following years of building strong relationship with Imams and Zongo Chiefs, offering persinal support to communities and individuals across Zongos, as well as through the NPP's pro Zongo policies, the NDC meeting, addressed by former President Mahama, centred on reclaiming the Zongo love.

Various speakers, including former President Mahama, told the invitees the NDC cares for the Zongo.

CHIEFS AND IMAMS UNIMRESSED

Meanwhile, the Imams and Zongo Chiefs were left unimpressed by the delivery, and the claim of love for Zongos by the former President and the NDC.

One of the leading Imams said his colleagues murmured after the presentation, because they expected the former President to have told them concrete things he did for the Zongos when he had the opportunity to be Vice President and President.

But

"Love for the Zongo community is not about giving us milk and tea during Ramdan, or giving us a lecture on the history of the Zongos as the former President did. It is about policies for our community development not telling us this party hates us or that party loves us," said the Imam, who heads one of the sects.

"Having had the opportunity to be Vice President and President before, we were expecting former President Mahama to have told us what exactly he did for us to show how he loved us, what he did for the Zongosbut it was the usual rhetoric, and a lecture in Zongo history," he added.

"I listened carefully to the speakers, and they could not tell us a single policy they implemented. We cannot be taken for granted again because our eyes are wide open," he added.

"It is not about mere words. It is about deeds. And it is not about my personal interest, or the interest of any of my colleagues. It is about our community and the progress of the people."

The Zongos have traditionally voted NDC, but the NPP is gradually closing in. And with Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia set to be elected the NPP's flagbearer in November, pitching him against Mahama, analysts have predicted a completely different Zongo dynamics in the 2024 elections.