‘Do or die’ is an idiomatic expression – Mahama defends ‘violent’ comment
Former President John Dramani Mahama
Former President John Mahama justified the “do or die” comment he made while granting an on Techiman-based Akina FM during phase 2 of his ‘Thank You” tour which began in the Bono Region yesterday.
His comment received wide condemnation from many Ghanaians with several of the critics accusing him of setting up an environment for violence in the 2024 general elections thus the need for him to apologize.
But an unperturbed former president Mahama during an interview on Moonlite FM this morning said he still stands by his comment and was neither going to back off or retract his comment. He further defended his comment by stating that those attacking him do not understand the English language well explaining that the do or die comment he made is an idiomatic expression.
This idiom means to persist more or a critical situation where one’s action might result in victory or defeat, stating that this is the task the National Democratic Congress has in election 2024.
The former President while responding to questions during an interview yesterday said, “we were clearly robbed, but we accepted the verdict for the sake of peace,” in reference to the 2020 presidential election results.
He then added, “But I want to state here that the next elections would be won or lost at the polling station. So at the polling station, it will be do or die. I am not saying all die be die. I’m saying it will be ‘do or die’ because the right thing must be done”.
Considering his communication background, though he has defended his comments some sections of the Ghanaian public still believe he misspoke and did not communicate well, stating that some people did not exactly understand the ‘’do or die’’ comment and will do otherwise.
By: Stella Annan | myactiveonline.com Twitter @activetvgh
