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In order to ascertain the veracity or otherwise of the accolade �Bohye ba� given to the President, I googled the phrase �Mahama promises� and the results were more than promising. Some of the search results are as follows: President Mahama Promises theatre for Kumasi; President Promises food security; Mahama promises �unprecedented� prosperity in Ghana; President promises to execute mandate; Mahama promises to support indigenous industries; Mahama promises sustainable funding for climate change; Mahama promises to smoke out Seikwa chief�s killer; Mahama promises to raise funds for troubled Guinea Bissau; Mahama promises poultry farmers support. The list goes on endless. And as leaders are known by their specific traits, so would President Mahama be known for his promises- which we can comfortably refer to as �Bohyenomics�. To put things in context: leaders the world over have their own way of keeping their populace �under control� in order to consolidate their power. Brutality is for instance employed in countries where the leaders or ruling class are unable to find a creative way of getting things done or ensuring some peace and quiet in the midst of the storm. The police and armed apparatus of the state are the main tools employed there. Others resort to foreign policy as a means of dealing with the inefficiencies and challenges in the domestic setting. A classic case of adoption of hostile foreign policy posturing in order to ensure domestic calm is Zimbabwe under Robert Mugabe or Iran under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In the Zimbabwean case, the �colonial and imperialist detractors� continually receive flaks from the nonagenarian leader, Robert Mugabe, for being behind the failing economy and worsening political and leadership crisis in the country. In the case of North Korea and Iran under Ahmadinejad, devious strategies in the form of nuclear saber-rattling and threats of war fare are employed, all in the bid of boosting a national sense of pride and importance; and which, as a result, momentarily compels citizens to look above and beyond their predicaments. Napoleon Bonaparte is often credited with the statement �a leader is a dealer in hope.� Hope is defined in the Oxford Dictionary as a feeling of expectation and desire. And there can be no hope except through promises. By his [Bonaparte�s] calibration, a leader is always supposed to be in the business of creating a sense of expectation and desire in the hearts and minds of her people. He is never to be seen in a state of hopelessness, despondency and aimlessness. This way, by creating such a feeling in the hearts and minds of the people, he is able to lead them on to the expected end. This very essential character of a leader is reflected in another quote attributed to Alexander the Great who says, �I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion.� This quote underscores the view point that the feelings, thoughts, aspirations and dispositions of a leader are key determinants in the mood and standing of a nation. So for those who have a problem with the President�s numerous promises: imagine the President mounting a lectern or a podium flanked by his aides and security details as usual and says: �we have come to a point where there is nothing left for us to do as a nation other than to cross our fingers and keep praying.� Afterwards, he walks away. What would we say about the President? what would you think about the President? Bear in mind that there is something worse than the making of promises; and that is not making them at all. And in a world where investor and market confidence is tied to fragile elements such as statements of leaders, one can�t help but have sympathy for a President who is faced with a challenged economy and yet puts out a positive outlook. That, said, moderation is important in all things. And if there is anything worth stressing, it should be that the words of a leader [in this specific case, a president] should be something people can clinge on to as the last word. The utterances of a President should be the guiding light in every discussion. But where it generates cynicism and disbelief as we are beginning to see, then certainly the President has to slow down with the promises and act more. Some members of the opposition party have rightly raised the question of the cost of the promises since most of them are in the form of investments and infrastructure. And in a challenged economy, where money is not readily available for off the cuff promises, any reasonable person would have concerns with the President�s never ceasing promises. Mahama�s Bohyenomic is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is effective only where it is used in moderation and backed by some concrete actions.