Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye, MP for Odododiodio
Member of Parliament for Odododiodio constituency in the Greater Accra Region, Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye, has rejected an interpretation of violence on the recent ‘do-or-die’ pronouncement of former president John Dramani Mahama.
According to the former broadcaster, ascribing violent motives to the widely used idiomatic expression amounted to brewing a storm in a teacup, adding that ‘do-or-die’ has been used severally in different instances.
Speaking on Citi TV’s Face To Face programme, he noted that even pastors have used it in church citing how a pastor once told him that going to heaven is a do-or-die affair, meaning one that he needed to take seriously and dedicate oneself to, because if you miss heaven, hell.
In defending his party’s flagbearer in the 2020 polls, he said Mahama’s call was for vigilance and alertness because the party cannot afford to lose the next polls. “If we lose 2024, it will be difficult again to revive the spirit of our party. The circumstances under which we lost the 2020 elections call for a revival of spirit.
“A reconscientization of spirit within the party to understand that our future as a party depends on the outcome of the 2024 election,” he added.
He further stressed that ‘do-or-die’ as employed by Mahama was, “inciting them (party members) to vigilance, to be more serious, more committed, more loyal to the course of the party, that is what do-or-die means.
“I have used that phrase more than 100,000 times in my 25 years on radio, I have used it several times. It used to be the most common of all the football phrases that I have known journalists to use….Kwabena Yeboah has used it 1000 times, is Kwabena Yeboah calling for war?” he quizzed.
John Dramani Mahama in an interview weeks back on Akina FM in the Bono region as part of his ‘Thank You Tour’ called on party faithful to treat the 2024 polls at the polling station level as a ‘do-or-die’ affair.
The remark has largely attracted support from members of the NDC who explain it as an idiomatic expression whiles members of the New Patriotic Party have slammed it as a call to violence by Mahama who will be running for the fourth time in search for his second and final term in office if he contests in 2024.