Dr. Arthur Kennedy’s Medieval Strain Of Populism Is Aimed At Cultivating Relevance

Dr. Arthur Kennedy’s Medieval Strain Of Populism Is Aimed At Cultivating Relevance The comedies of Dr. Arthur Kennedy multiply by the day. T...

Dr. Arthur Kennedy’s Medieval Strain Of Populism Is Aimed At Cultivating Relevance

The comedies of Dr. Arthur Kennedy multiply by the day. They are so absurd that one is often inclined to value them at the real worth; comedy.

However, his recent outbursts at His Excellency the Vice President, Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, tell me that we have got to do more than ignoring a navel-gazing political failure seeking to revive his tattered interest in the complex business of politics.

What is Dr. Kennedy’s beef? To start with, there is none except that we have loads of naivety and pomposity from a Medical Doctor attempting to trivialize the serious business of economic management, and hoping to become a hero through a series of media interviews and outputs.

How the Ghanaian media take interest in donating serious media space to second-rate jokers like Dr. Kennedy is both confounding and ridiculous. But we shall return to this.

Ever since Dr. Kennedy misjudged populist noise for popularity that saw him secure a single vote at the 2008 NPP Presidential primaries, he has shown no sign of putting party before personal aggrandizement (or should I say frustration?). 

He has since been on a mission to denigrate anything NPP, and usually to thunderous applause from the NDC and like-minded groups. It should be obvious to Dr. Kennedy that not even his much circulated but juvenile collection christened ‘Chasing the Elephant to the Bush’ could dismember the great Dombo-Busia-Danquah tradition.

The attempt to reincarnate using baseless attacks on the peerless DMB is even a much harder task. 

May be I should just be frontal and suggest to Dr. Kennedy that HE Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia is a rare persona—a politician and technocrat who understands the nexus between prudent economic management and prosperity.

He is also gifted with an ability to re-energise the party base with rock solid evidence on government delivery. And needless to say he has a broad interest in public policy and an impressive command of detail. 

It certainly will take more than populist rhetoric and a medieval strain of populism to bring down Dr. Bawumia.