Politics is full of ironies, but some are too sharp to miss. I still remember the viral clip where former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, with a smile, told Bryan Acheampong, then Minister for Food and Agriculture, “Bryan, you want to worry me.” At the time, it drew laughter. Today, as the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) flagbearer race heats up, that remark has become the headline of Dr. Bawumia’s campaign struggles.
Dr. Bawumia entered this race as the clear favourite. Yet Bryan Acheampong’s entry, powered by solid organisation and resourcefulness, has rattled him. At first, the former Vice President tried to rise above “money politics,” insisting that the contest was about ideas, not deep pockets. That sounded principled until weeks later, he was publicly boasting about how much of his own money he poured into the 2024 campaign. One cannot dismiss money one day and flaunt spending the next. And what is the point of bragging about financing a campaign where your own face was on the ballot? It felt less like principle and more like desperation.
Then came the attempt to paint Bryan Acheampong as tribal. When Bryan analysed how the Kusasi–Mamprusi conflict affected Dr. Bawumia’s 2024 fortunes, he was careful to say the former Vice President was a victim of circumstances. Still, within 24 hours, Dr. Bawumia was in the U.S., responding to the very spin his own supporters had amplified. It was a revealing moment: Bryan had managed to occupy prime space in Bawumia’s political mind.
But the most telling misstep was the “Aka 9%” campaign. The idea was simple: Bawumia supposedly needed just 9 percent more votes than he secured in 2024 to win in 2028. His team branded the slogan on T-shirts as though victory was guaranteed. Yet Bryan calmly dismantled the logic, showing that elections are not arithmetic but about broad and credible appeal. Within days, the “Aka 9%” mantra collapsed, leaving behind nothing but folded shirts relics of a strategy Bryan killed before it was born.
The pattern is clear. Bryan Acheampong is no longer just a challenger; he is the thorn constantly throwing Bawumia off balance. As an Akan adage goes: when you are overwhelmed in a fight, you resort to biting. That is what Bawumia’s contradictions look like the instincts of a man once assured, now scrambling.
And yet, one must acknowledge the burden he carries. To be the face of expectation for years, to shoulder the criticisms of governance, and still to battle a rival as relentless as Bryan Acheampong — it is no easy fight. Bryan has proven himself strategic, calculating, and unflinching. For Bawumia, every slogan invites a sharper counter, every move becomes a punchline.
Still, politics has little room for sympathy. What it does reward is focus. If Dr. Bawumia is to withstand this storm, he must resist the temptation to imitate Bryan Acheampong’s methods. His only chance lies in holding fast to the vision, principles, and qualities that once earned him respect.
That is the real test before him: not to outspend, outspin, or outmaneuver, but to prove that his own vision still commands belief.
Salam Alaikum, Dr. Bawumia.
