I don’t mind being insulted; I have a crocodile skin – President Mahama

President John Dramani Mahama has said he is unfazed by insults directed at him, stressing that his focus remains on doing what he believes is right for Ghana and Africa.

The President made the remarks during an engagement with Ghanaians in New York on Friday, September 25, 2026, where he addressed concerns over the growing culture of insults, vilification and personal attacks on social media.

Mr Mahama said his years in Ghanaian politics and public office had exposed him to intense criticism and personal attacks, including during his previous tenure as President.

He said the experience had helped him develop the resilience to withstand such attacks, particularly those directed at him personally.

“As a leader, I don’t mind being insulted. I have been insulted, I was vilified, and I was voted out of office, so for me, this skin is a crocodile skin. So if you insult me, I don’t mind. You insult me, I don’t mind, and indeed, I am doing what I can for my country and my continent. I am doing what I can for Ghana and Africa,” he said.

Mr Mahama said he remained committed to doing what he believed was right despite the criticism directed at him.

“I will do what is right. I don’t mind the insults, but all of us have to decide what we want to do with TikTok. I can go to Cabinet and say, lay off, let anybody insult anybody, let’s leave it free for all and don’t arrest anybody for anything they say. We can do that, but is that what we want?” he asked.

His comments came amid a wider discussion about the regulation of TikTok and other new media platforms, particularly the balance between freedom of expression and the use of social media to publish abusive or harmful content.

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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.