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Let’s take a moment and applaud the PNC’s presidential candidate for his performance at the IEA’s presidential debate on Tuesday. It takes a brave man to waltz into a presidential debate with that level of ignorance live on television. Based on his previous performances, some had expected a poor show, but few could predict the level of ignorance he displayed. To describe him as clueless would be an understatement.

Mr Ayariga did not give one coherent answer to any of the questions asked at Tuesday’s debate. Not only that, but he left me confused about the party he was representing. Asked how he will increase funding in the education sector, Mr Ayariga spent the time criticizing the NPP’s free SHS policy saying free education will lead to the production of what he calls “avoidable graduates.” Fact-checkers are yet to establish the meaning of “avoidable graduates,” but it seems it seems Mr Ayariga picked strands of the NDC’s argument against free education.

He rambled incoherently through questions on taxation, employment, becoming fodder for laughter on social media. Even his attempts at a rebuttal left my sister breathless.

I’m still laughing from his performance at the debate, but I’m also offended that someone unleashed Mr Ayariga on Ghanaians. Anyone who can replace President Obama’s “yes we can,” with “yes we can’t but we are ready,” should not be elected as presidential candidate.
Yet the leadership of the People’s National Convention has defended his performance saying he must have gotten nervous as it was his first time.

Utter nonsense!

Mr Ayariga’s voice was not shaky when he said he would “export brain-drain” neither was he trembling when he confidently stated, “the salaries of nurses must be encouraged.” He is just ignorant and should have never been elected to represent any group of people much less a party seeking to run this country.

I have heard Mr Ayariga is a rich man, so I’m not surprised he made it, it is easy to buy your way to the top these days. But after Tuesday’s show, it must stop. We must seek competent and excellent people to run this country if we are to get anywhere. Being rich should not be a pre-requisite any longer. The inability to assess oneself is a flaw which has ruined countries.