Joseph Cudjoe, the Member of Parliament for Effia Constituency in the Western Region, is currently criticizing his fellow MP for Bolgatanga Central, Isaac Adongo.

Cudjoe perceives Adongo’s actions as a fruitless attempt to use Dr. Bawumia’s humbling life experiences as a yardstick for evaluating his father’s parenting capabilities.

In a response to Isaac Adongo’s recent charge on Dr. Bawumia when he related his life experiences to Ghanaians, Joseph Cudjoe challenged his colleague MP to share his life experiences.

“That, NDC’s MP for Bolgatanga Hon. Isaac Adongo finds fault with Dr. Bawumia’s life experiences and makes futile attempts to rope in his father is bemusing and quite unbefitting of a holder of a high office such as parliament. It will be interesting to hear the life experiences of Hon. Adongo and whether it will please him that it is used to measure his parent’s ability to raise him.
Isaac Adongo
“Is it not rather remarkable to learn that in the face of all that Dr. Bawumia’s father had, his son found it worthy to engage in menial works? It seems to me that, had Hon. Adongo been in the position of Dr. Bawumia he would have rather become self-conceited, pompous, and looked down on such jobs because he is more human than those engaged in such.”
Joseph Cudjoe

He explained that Bawumia’s experience was not alien to Ghanaians in the diaspora.

“High-repute members of society in Ghana and elsewhere use their life experiences – often humble beginnings – to inspire and urge others on; it has worked and continues to work. Their narration will expose how some of them had to do jobs they had never imagined doing; from selling cassettes, biscuits, buff loaves, and newspapers all to make ends meet.
“For those who had the opportunity to travel abroad, there will be stories of how they had to work for long hours at restaurants, supermarkets, warehouses, and train stations among other places. They will tell you how these experiences shaped their perspectives about life. Indeed for many, they look back on those periods and say “It was all to prepare them for what they have become today.”
Joseph Cudjoe

Gauging Parental Responsibility

Honorable Joseph Cudjoe emphasized that, however, such experiences do not in any way mean parents are irresponsible.

“These experiences, though excruciating, taught them to be humble, selfless, honest, reliable, determined, respectful, dedicated, caring, and above all serve humanity. In fact, for some of them, it is not that their parents could not give them the best in the world but their idea for them to learn the world. This is not to say, by any stretch, that their parents abandoned them, shirked their responsibilities, or were wicked, rather the lessons thereof are everything.”
Joseph Cudjoe

Honorable Joseph Cudjoe emphasized that children who have experienced hardships are often grateful to their parents for allowing them to endure such challenges. Consequently, he strongly believes it is morally wrong for anyone to utilize such moments as a gauge to determine a parent’s level of responsibility. He further stressed the necessity for Members of Parliament to uplift the political profession, considering the aspirations of many young individuals to pursue a career in politics.

As per reports, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) lawmaker has reportedly accused Dr. Bawumia of undermining the achievements of his father, Alhaji Mumuni Bawumia, by recounting his struggles with menial jobs to sustain himself.

In contrast, Honourable Isaac Adongo revealed that Alhaji Mumuni Bawumia, Dr. Bawumia’s father, was an active member of the first government under Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah and also served as Chairman of the Council of State during the tenure of the late Jerry John Rawlings.

Consequently, the Member of Parliament for Bolgatanga Central perceived it as an insult to the Vice President, Alhaji Mumuni Bawumia’s son, to imply that he had to engage in menial jobs to support himself during his student years.