# John Mahama

John Dramani Mahama (born 29 November 1958) is a Ghanaian politician who served as President of Ghana from 24 July 2012 to 7 January 2017.

## Quotes

* " You must let others praise you instead of praising yourself "
* " When you stop sleeping, you'll hear clearly my position on Free SHS"
* "We are enjoying in Africa what I call the democracy dividend. The progress we are seeing, economic development are all part of the dividend of good governance, respect for human rights, rule of law."
* "A true leader is not measured by the number of followers he has, but by the number of leaders he creates."
* "I am still a socialist. I am a left-of-center politician. I believe that in Africa, if you see the poverty around us, you can’t afford to be anything else."
* "You can only have money in your pocket if you work and earn. Nobody is going to come to your house and say put this in your pocket. You have to come out and take the opportunity that presents themselves"
* " I will not elevate Bawumia to my level by debating him. He should go and debate the people of Ghana and apologize to them. I know my level."
* "I have seen more demonstrations and strikes in my first two years. I don't think it can get worse. It is said that when you kill a goat and you frighten it with a knife, it doesn't fear the knife because it is dead already."
** "Reaction to threat of strikes"
* This is the saddest day in our nation’s history. Tears have engulfed our nation and we are deeply saddened and distraught and I’m personally devastated, I’ve lost a father, I’ve lost a friend, I’ve lost a mentor and a senior comrade. Ghana is united in grief at this time for our departed president
* Certainly, one thing we can’t run away from is that, he Nkrumah is the founder of our nation. He led the independence struggle. Many people contributed and it happens; in Christianity, there is John the Baptist, there are all the apostles, but who is the champion of Christianity, Jesus Christ.
* "Do or die"
* With the kind of progress we are seeing in Africa, we have people who have a very high expectation, and often people think that, you know, things would happen overnight. But I want people to understand that sometimes it even gets worse before it gets better"
* “Happily, there’s a reversal of the brain drain occurring in Ghana now. We’re seeing a lot of – actually in Africa – we’re seeing a lot of African professionals, you know, returning to the continent to contribute their quota.”
* "I am still a socialist. I am a left-of-center politician. I believe that in Africa, if you see the poverty around us, you can't afford to be anything else."
* “By God’s grace, we picked number 8. So, some people say they are going to break the 8. The eight is with me, let them come and break the eight and let me see,”
* “We remember how in 2016, drivers—taxi drivers, trotro drivers—formed an association called ‘Drivers for Change.’ They demonstrated, parking their cars in the middle of the roads. When asked about their problem, they said, ‘Mahama, fuel prices are too high,’ and our brothers in the NPP told them that when they came into power, they would reduce fuel prices. Today, fuel price is 70 cedis per gallon, compared to 14 cedis when they were making those promises. Where is the relief they promised,"
** When you stop sleeping; you'll hear clearly my position on free SHS
*** https://www.myjoyonline.com/when-you-stop-sleeping-youll-hear-clearly-my-position-on-free-shs-mahama-hits-back-at-akufo-addo/
* "Ghana is bleeding. Ghana's soul is crying for change! Mother Ghana is crying for its true and genuine patriotic citizens to rise to reset our beloved nation".
* "I’m affirming my commitment to root out the canker of corruption. One of our tools to combat corruption, and make it a high-risk endeavor for any person, Operation Recover All the Loot, will investigate, and prosecute the persons involved in corruption, using both local and foreign expertise to achieve this objective"
* "This election is about the economy, stupid. It is not about all those other useless things about who built how many compost plants"
* We must flip the coin from competition to cooperation, we need cooperation to build a better Ghana and NDC. I am, therefore calling for cooperation among all elected parliamentary candidates and your aspirants and supporters
* We are in the midst of change. And change can often feel uncomfortable, especially as it pulls us away from the systems and practices with which we have become familiar, but are no longer serving our needs efficiently.
** President John Mahama's 2014state of the Nation address
** OSP Airbus report is a pleasant vindication.
** Next NDC administration will create a Western Industrial enclave.
** We shall train 1 million Coding Professionals with in-demand digital skills .
* If you resort to violence, it is the same people you are coming to govern. and so, I don't think that even a single drop of any Ghanaian blood is worth political power or coming into office.
* As we go into another election, there is often a general sense of apprehension that something will go wrong. As a member of your church, I can assure you and pledge that I am a person of peace, and if there is any violence, it won’t come from me. I will do everything to ensure that Ghana remains peaceful.
* As I stated during my JohnMahamaLive virtual event some weeks ago, extraordinary times require extraordinary interventions for exceptional results. Ghana is experiencing extraordinary hardships, and the youth are also choking under the yoke of these hardships.
* You don’t need a debate to answer my five simple questions.
* We have the experience to deliver.
* I’m clear in my mind what has to be done to halt increase in prices of food.
* “I have, this morning, received a congratulatory call from my brother Dr @MBawumia, following my emphatic victory in Saturday’s election. Thank you, Ghana.”
* "We want a focal point where all evidence on corruption scandals or misconduct can be directed. ORAL is not investigating individuals but compiling evidence for government agencies tasked with such duties … I don't think that people should think that it's which hunting committee. We have no brooms to fly at night,”
* “We’ve requested further discussions with the IMF, as we were not part of the negotiations for this programme. We need to ensure that we are all aligned in terms of its implementation,”

## President John Mahama's speech at January 7, 2025 inauguration

* Today's exercise between the outgoing president, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and I feels a bit like déjà vu. That is because eight years ago to this day, on January 7, 2017, we shared this same space and performed this same transitional exercise. At the time, I was the outgoing president, having served one term, and he was the incoming president, having been given a mandate by the people of Ghana to lead this great nation of ours. He and I both understood on that day, as I'm sure we do today, that it is the people of Ghana that we are elected to serve.
* Nana, as this will be our final meeting under these circumstances, and as I look back on the journey we have traveled together, two much younger men entered Parliament together with a full head of black hair, and you with the same bald head and round eyeglasses, I have to say that you have, without exception, been a worthy opponent.
* I feel greatly honored that you, my compatriots, considered me worthy of receiving such an unprecedented and overwhelming mandate to steer the affairs of our beloved nation at this critical time in our history.