Don’t run for third term it is dangerous – President Mahama cautioned

Private legal practitioner, Nana Obiri Boahen, has cautioned President John Dramani Mahama against pursuing a third-term presidential bid.

Speaking in an interview with GhanaWeb on June 17, 2025, Obiri Boahen said such a move would be dangerous for both President Mahama and the country. He argued that Ghana’s 1992 Constitution was carefully crafted to limit presidents to two terms in order to safeguard the nation’s democratic stability.

“If Mahama decides to go for another term, it will be dangerous for him as an individual and for Ghana as a country. The framers of the constitution thought it wise that you go for two terms,” he stated.

Obiri Boahen also suggested that Mahama’s recent nominations to the Supreme Court may be part of a calculated attempt to create a legal path for a third term bid.

“So, if you want to torpedo that provision, that perhaps explains why he has appointed a lot of people to the Supreme Court,” he said.

He warned that even within Mahama’s own National Democratic Congress (NDC), there would likely be internal resistance if such an attempt was made.

“The warning is that if he decides to do that, even in his own party, NDC, some people will oppose it,” he noted.

Citing Ghana’s political history, Obiri Boahen referred to past leaders who were initially adored but later faced public rejection, including Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Jerry John Rawlings, and President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. He urged President Mahama to avoid a similar fate by stepping aside at the right time.

“People learn history, but they don’t learn from the lessons of history. By 1959-1960, Kwame Nkrumah was considered on equal terms with Jesus Christ but by 1966, he was hated. The same was done to Jerry John Rawlings and Akufo-Addo. Mahama came in 2009, and by 2015, they voted him out.”

Obiri Boahen concluded with a word of caution: “An actor must leave the stage when the applause is loudest.”