Mahama Revives Animal Analogy From ‘I’m a Dead Goat’ to ‘My Skin is Crocodile Skin’
President John Dramani Mahama has once again turned to animal imagery to describe his political resilience, marking a striking evolution from his infamous “dead goat syndrome” comment in 2015 to his latest declaration that he now possesses “crocodile skin.”
In March 2015, while facing widespread labour strikes and protests over fuel price hikes, Mahama told Ghanaians in Botswana that he had developed a “dead goat syndrome”.
“It is said that when you kill a goat and you frighten it with a knife, it doesn’t fear the knife because it is dead already,” he explained at the time, signalling he would not be cowed by threats of demonstrations.
The comment became a political millstone, with opponents using it to paint him as arrogant and disconnected.
Seven years later, Mahama clarified that the metaphor stemmed from frustration with relentless industrial action. “I was one of the most harassed Presidents by Organised Labour,” he said in December 2022.
Fast forward to September 2026, and the president has unveiled a new metaphorical armour.
Speaking on the sidelines of the 81st UN General Assembly in New York, Mahama dismissed insults directed at him through social media platforms like TikTok. “I’ve been insulted, I was vilified, I was voted out of office. So, for me, this skin is a crocodile skin,” he declared.
The shift from a “dead goat” impervious to threats to a “crocodile” shielded by thick skin reflects a politician who has weathered defeat, vilification, and a remarkable political comeback.
Mahama now channels that resilience into a call for national consensus on regulating new media, insisting that while he personally remains unbothered by insults, the nation must decide how to balance free expression with accountability.
