From political outsider to Ghana’s ‘Mr Digital’

Mahamudu Bawumia is more than a political outsider to become Ghana’s second commander-in-chief – and in December he could make history as the country’s first Muslim president.

Bawumia, who is currently the Vice President of Ghana, has been chosen by the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) as its candidate for the upcoming general elections.

The 61-year-old has quite a reputation as a Tottenham Hotspur supporter.

An Oxford University-educated intellectual, he is never seen without his signature thin, rectangular glasses and has been dubbed “Mr Digital” thanks to his commitment to making Ghana a tech heavyweight.

But because he heads the government’s economic management team, many Ghanaians associate Baumia with the punishing cost of living crisis.

Should Bawumia overcome criticism and win the election, he will replace his current boss, President Nana Akufo-Addo, who is nearing the end of his two-term term.

“Mr. Digital” burst onto the political scene in 2008, sparking anxiety and skepticism.

Bawumia was a 44-year-old who had never held public office, yet Akufo-Addo – then a mere presidential candidate – chose him as a running mate.

Bawumia’s father, Alhaji, served in Ghana’s early governments after independence from Britain in 1957, working closely with Honorable Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah.

But the younger Bawumia had pursued a career in economics and banking – serving as deputy governor of the Central Bank of Ghana.

For many observers and NPP insiders, it did not make sense for Akufo-Addo to choose Bawumia over veteran party members.

Akufo-Addo lost the election by a narrow margin to John Atta Mills of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Bawumia lost the VP job – but his charismatic campaign silenced critics.

“He fired. [up] The NPP campaign I don’t think anyone could have done better, honestly, the support he gave to the NPP,” Ghanaian political scientist Dr Clement Sifa-Nyarko told the BBC.

Akufo-Addo and Bawumia ran for office again in 2012. They lost again.

The NPP challenged the election results in the Supreme Court, choosing Bawumia as its star witness.

During the proceedings, which were televised nationally, Bawumia appeared intrigued and unnerved by the continuous cross-examination that lasted for several days.

“People were like, ‘Who is this guy?'” said Dr. Sefa Nyarko, who lectures on African leadership at King’s College London, “he’s really the guy to root for.”

Akufo-Addo decided to keep Bawumia on his ticket and in 2016, his third shot at power, the NPP won with 51.3% of the vote. Bawumia eventually became the Vice President.

Bawumia’s journey to the top began in 1963, when he was born into a large family in the northern city of Tamale.

He was the 12th of his father’s 18 children.

After completing primary and secondary school in Ghana, Bawumia moved to the UK for undergraduate studies and went on to obtain a Masters in Economics from the prestigious Oxford University.

To support himself during his studies, he took up jobs as a taxi driver and a cleaner.

He returned to Ghana in 2000 to work at the Central Bank, where he worked his way up to become Deputy Governor.

Bawumia campaigned on this economic acumen during his bid to become VP. Hence, when Ghana plunged into its worst economic crisis in years under his watch, he came under heavy criticism.

Inflation reached 54% in December 2022 and the country was forced to borrow $3bn (£2.3bn) from the International Monetary Fund after government debt soared.

In response to criticism, Bawumia has said that the economic management team he headed had no “decision-making powers” and only provided advice to the government.

But for many, that wasn’t good enough.

“In terms of character, in terms of integrity, people started asking themselves: ‘What is this? How did it end up here? We thought you were the best guy, and look where we’ve come. ‘,” Franklin Kidjo, a Ghanaian political commentator and head of the Imani Center for Policy and Education, told the BBC.

Along with his role as an economist, Baumea has also built a reputation as a digital visionary.

Ghana’s digital ecosystem has seen “significant growth”, particularly in areas such as mobile phone connectivity, Charles Abani, head of the UN team in Ghana, commented last month.

This “remarkable digital transformation” was “spearheaded” by the news website Baumea. African business While the Ghana newspaper reported. Chronicle Praised Bawumia’s “expertise in global digital transformation”.

Bawumia said he initiated a partnership between the Ghanaian government and US company Zipline, which led to the world’s largest vaccine delivery network.

He said he got to Zipline, which uses drones to fly health products to hard-to-reach clinics, after his father died of anemia.

While this passion for technology has been celebrated by some, others are more skeptical.

Mr Cudjo said Bawumia is campaigning on digitalisation rather than confronting debates about the government’s handling of the economy.

“Whether Bawumia was in power or not, digitization was bound to happen in this country because we had already started it,” said Mr Kidjo.

Dr Sifa-Nyarko said of Bawumia: “What he has been very successful at is promoting and claiming the digitization outcomes of the current government.”

Bawumia’s personal life has also been a strength in his presidential campaign. His wife of 20 years, Samira, is a former beauty queen who is loved for her chic outfits.

The other woman is also vocal when it comes to party politics – and has embarked on campaign tours for the NPP.

The couple has four children together. They are proud followers of Islam – a religion practiced by about one in five Ghanaians.

Dr Sefa-Nyarko said most people in Ghana are Christians but there is not much evidence that coming from a religious minority would hinder Bumia’s electoral prospects.

Dr Sifa-Nyarko added that the NPP has given its “full support” to Bawumia’s candidacy, “despite his Muslim faith”.

“It could also translate into broader support across the country.”

Baumea’s geographical identity may be more consequential than its religion. The Vice President hails from Northern Ghana, one of the NDC’s strongest political bases.

By selecting Bawumia as its presidential candidate, the NPP will hope to gain a foothold in the North, while retaining support in its core in the South.

Bawumia is traveling north, south, east and west on what he calls the “Possibility Bus”, a blue and red campaign vehicle emblazoned with the slogan “It’s Possible”.

To some he is the face of economic mismanagement, but the vice president retains some of the hopes he had when he began his eight-year battle for power at age 44.

“I have the courage to accept when things don’t go as planned,” he told voters in his manifesto.

“But I also have a mindset of possibility, and self-belief, that we can and will achieve great things in our lives.”

Additional reporting by Thomas Nadi in Accra