The former President of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama, once jocularly said that by now he would have had his statues standing everywhere across the country, had he planned on self-promotion during his presidency. Mahama became president of Ghana between 2012 and 2017. Recently, he said this in a public address, reflecting on the nature of leadership and the things he set as a priority during his leadership.
The former leader was reacting to criticisms concerning a lack of monuments or statues of his likeness in public spaces, a practice quite common among former heads of state. Mahama's statement brought into view the somewhat odious tradition of statues and monuments to political figures.
"If I focused on self-promotion, my statues would be everywhere," Mahama joked, insinuating that he actually made a deliberate choice, opting to focus his energies on policies and governance rather than building a personal legacy through physical monuments of himself. He stressed that his administration's priority had been to better the lives of Ghanaians and promote national development, not to seek glory for the president.
The style of Mahama's leadership has often been juxtaposed with the currents of other leading figures who have resorted to statues as a way of immortalizing their memories. At times, political leaders were even censured for what was perceived by critics as an effort to freeze their images via state-funded monuments, symbolic of excessive self-aggrandizement.
The former president's utterance drew mixed feelings from the public, with some praising him for his humility, while others felt he had missed an opportunity to have a more permanent legacy of what he did for the country. Even so, the comment by Mahama brings up the larger debate on the use of funds and public resources to immortalize political figures.
While Mahama may not have statues scattered throughout the nation, the legacy he has left behind is a mixture of both inspirational and controversy that is continually argued amongst citizens. His leadership during monumental periods of the nation, like infrastructural development, remains highly contentious of his presidency.
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