By Kolawole Ojebisi
President Bola Tinubu has urged the new President of Ghana, John Mahama, that there’s a need for both of them to work together and create a synergy that will bring prosperity to their people.
Tinubu stressed that Mahama can always count on Nigeria’s support for national development.
He declared this on Tuesday during the swearing-in ceremony of Mahama in Accra, the capital of the country.
“Even when we disagree, we must choose the path of peaceful dialogue. Your new President is a man of patriotic vision and substance; he loves his nation and people to the core. Mahama and I share a deep friendship. My dear brother, I am here to work with you, you can always count on Nigeria’s support at any given time you call on me. We will work together to bring prosperity to the people of our two nations.
“Today, I am here not only as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria but also as an African in resolute support of Ghana and her people. This moment is a source of pride and honour for Ghanaians, the entire continent and its diaspora.
“The sun is out, and the sun may be blue, but I see today a black star rising high in the African sky. This black star shines over this nation, and its ray spreads across the continent with a sense of shared history, hope, compassion, unity and devotion to our common welfare,” he said
Tinubu, however, faulted the critics of Africa, adding that the continent’s leaders should desist from pulling themselves out to the detractors.
“The election of Mahama and other past Ghanaian presidents demonstrates that in West Africa, we are capable of democratic and productive endeavours. It is time that our continent critics stop forgetting the strides that Nigeria and others have made.
“We need not pull ourselves to them; we need nothing to prove to anyone except ourselves. We will lift our nations out of poverty and build strong and resilient economies for our people,” he asserted.
Mahama had earlier greeted Tinubu, other presidents and dignitaries who attended the ceremony in his inauguration speech.
He vowed to foster a working cooperation with Nigeria and other neighbouring countries constituting the Economic Community of West African States.
Mahama won the country’s presidential election after his main opponent, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, conceded defeat.
The defeat on December 8, 2024, ends two terms in power for the governing New Patriotic Party under President Nana Akufo-Addo.
Bawumia said he called Mahama of the National Democratic Congress to congratulate him.
The NDC spokesman Sammy Gyamfi told reporters the party’s internal review of results showed Mahama won 56.3 per cent of the vote against 41.3 per cent for Bawumia.
