By Nana Asare Baffour

In every thriving democracy, truth is not optional, it is foundational. When leaders speak, especially before traditional authorities, academics, and citizens, their words must reflect accuracy, not convenience. Anything less diminishes public trust and weakens the very fabric of governance.

It is, therefore, deeply troubling that John Dramani Mahama, during a recent engagement in Sunyani at the auditorium of the University of Energy and Natural Resources, made a claim that can not stand the test of facts.

A Claim That Defies Reality

The former president asserted that his administration established a medical school at UENR and admitted Level 100 students during his first term. He further suggested that these students were later redistributed to other institutions after he left office in 2016.

This is not a minor exaggeration. It is a claim of institutional history that should be backed by clear, verifiable evidence. Yet, all available records point in one direction: this did not happen.

The Facts Are Stubborn

Since its establishment in 2012, the University of Energy and Natural Resources has built its reputation around energy, engineering, environmental science, and natural resource management. At no point has it operated a fully accredited medical school admitting students into Level 100.

There is:

No admission record

No accredited programme evidence

No identifiable cohort of students

No documented transfers to institutions such as

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology or

University for Development Studies

A medical school is not a roadside kiosk that can appear and disappear without trace. It requires accreditation, infrastructure, faculty, clinical partnerships, and regulatory approval. These are processes documented in detail, not hidden in political memory.

Why This Matters

This is not merely about who gets credit for what. It is about a dangerous precedent, the normalization of unverifiable claims in national discourse.

If a former Head of State can stand before Ghanaians and assert something so easily disproven, what does that signal to the ordinary citizen? What becomes of truth when authority begins to redefine it?

Democracy does not collapse overnight; it erodes gradually when facts are bent, ignored, or replaced with narratives.

Respecting Institutions, Not Rewriting Them

Universities are not political tools. They are repositories of knowledge, history, and national pride. The University of Energy and Natural Resources deserves to have its story told accurately not to reshape for political advantage.

A Simple but Necessary Challenge

If indeed UENR admitted medical students under the Mahama administration, the evidence should be straightforward:

Where are the admission letters?

Which academic year did this occur?

Who were the students, and where are the official transfer records?

Until these questions are answered, the claim remains what it clearly appears to be: false and misleading.

Conclusion: Leadership Demands Truth

Ghana deserves better. Leadership past, present, and aspiring must be anchored in honesty. Words spoken in public spaces carry weight, and when they deviate from truth, they damage more than reputations; they weaken national confidence.

The path forward is simple: clarify the record, correct the misinformation, and restore confidence in public discourse.

In the end, truth is not a political strategy, it is a national responsibility.