Professor Smart Sarpong, a Senior Lecturer at Kumasi Technical University, has made an earnest plea to John Dramani Mahama, the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), urging him to reconsider and provide a second opportunity to Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang.
Recent reports have indicated the potential replacement of Professor Naana Opoku-Agyemang as the running mate by former Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah.
However, during an interview on Peace FM in Accra, Prof. Sarpong expressed his belief that the former Education Minister should be granted another chance.
According to Prof. Sarpong, Professor Naana Opoku-Agyemang, primarily an academic, may not have initially possessed the necessary political instincts when chosen as the Running Mate for the 2020 elections by John Mahama.
Nevertheless, he argued that she deserves another opportunity to showcase her capabilities.
Highlighting the potential repercussions of dropping Prof. Opoku-Agyemang, Prof. Smart Sarpong emphasized that such a decision could convey a negative message to Ghanaians. He stated,
“If they will give the woman another opportunity, I think it wouldn’t have been bad. It would have signified or represented consistency. It would have signified and represented that, at least, we know that women largely, as some people call them ‘weaker cells,’ but when you give a woman an opportunity, she can do things that a man cannot. If you like touch a woman’s child and you will see the man in her.”
Continuing his argument, Prof. Sarpong cautioned against the potential misinterpretation of such a decision, suggesting that it might be perceived as a lack of belief in consistency and reluctance to provide second chances.
Drawing on his knowledge of Professor Naana Opoku-Agyemang as a former Vice Chancellor, he expressed optimism that, given a second chance, she could surpass the achievements seen in the previous contest.
Prof. Sarpong concluded, “I know the woman as a former Vice-Chancellor. We all didn’t know her as a politician, so maybe given a second chance, the woman can prove something very greater than what we saw her do in the first contest.”
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, John Dramani Mahama, to give Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang a second chance.){kind=link}