An elegy for a president- A story of greed, duplicity and betrayal
When I heard the President was dead
The hypocrisy of Kwesi Pratt is shamefully unprecedented
I happened to be at the police CID headquarters, on the morning of 16th
April 20, 2012, in company of other NPP party officials to see Lawyer Yaw Boaben
Asamoa who had been hijacked by personnel from state security the previous night,
around coconut groove hotel near immigration office at ridge, when I was
prompted by one of party people to listen to Kwesi Pratt on peace fm’s
‘kokrookoo’ programme so I quickly tune-in on my phone and I thought Kwesi had
been possessed by ‘tigare’ deity!!
It was a discussion about events leading to
Kennedy Agyepong’s invitation by the police and ultimate blatant abuse of his
fundamental human rights when he was held well-beyond constitutionally
permissible period of 48-hrs without being brought before a judge. and instead
of Kwesi tackling the issue from that angle while he state his point of
disagreement with Kennedy Agyepong over whatever comment he was said to have
made in response to Nii Lantey Vanderpuye’s declaration of all non-GAS as
person-non-gratta with the four walls of odododioodooo,Kwesi rather went off
tangent and delve into senseless personal attacks on ken.
He described those pronouncements by Ken as
singular act that has completely shattered every chance of NPP’s quest to kick
out incompetent saint Atta-Mills and his bunch of greedy pigs, at the polls on 7th December, 2012.
Indeed, the level of Kwesi Pratt’s
hypocrisy has now gotten to the point where if care is not taken, he might even
end up making some people believe that the wife of Atta-Mills is a man. And my
reason is simple: we currently have on our hands, a saint Atta-Mills-led NDC which is not able to tell the good people of
this nation, the location of their multi-billion dollar party office complex Asiedu
Nketia said was at the point of completion during their FONKAR-GAMES finals in
sunyani, nearly a year ago, yet, Kwesi Pratt thinks Ghanaians have, out of the blue,
forgotten about this gargantuan rot just because of one pronouncement of Kennedy
Agyepong?
The mother of all state-sanctioned thievery
by using Alfred Agbesi Woyome as a farcade,still lingers on and shameless
charlatan Kwesi Pratt doesn’t believe the good people of this nation are going
to express their rage over this unprecedented thievery at the polls on December
7th? This is the same Kwesi Pratt who, during Kufuor’s
administration, vociferously advocated for the exploitation of natural cement
deposits at Otekpolu and threw his support firmly behind candidate saint
Atta-Mills. But today, this very same Kwesi Pratt has made a skillful acrobatic
summersault to support STX housing fiasco that had absolutely no intent to
exploit this so-called gargantuan deposit of natural cement in serene environs
of Otekpolu.
Inciting
people of Dagbon against NPP
Kwesi
Pratt, in 2008 shouted all over the roof-tops that “the people of Dagbon must
never embrace peace until the killers of Ya Na are found” and after undertaking
a trip to Tamale to incite the good people of Dagbon against the NPP, actually sat
in the studios of Ghana’s Radio Rwanda (radio gold) and dared sitting president
Kufuor, who was the commander-in-chief of our nation’s armed-forces, to venture
into vicinity of Tamale and see if he (Kufuor) would return to Accra in one-piece.
But a conflict breaks out in Bawku under the nose of saint Atta-Mills, and
Kwesi Pratt says the president must not go there, but rather, jet-fighters must
be used to bomb those trouble-makers into shreds!!!
There
was also a point where Kwesi Pratt created a huge sense of “fear and panic”
when he lied through his gargantuan dental formula by saying a woman had died
at the ridge hospital during child-birth, due to a power outage. When it was
proven that the story was a complete lie and fittingly invited to appear before
media commission, he came out with a barrage of insults on members of the
commission describing them as charlatans and told them to go to hell. When tax
evasion skills of Kwesi Pratt was brought into the open by then Auditor General,
insults and name-calling was what he(AG)got in-return on Radio Rwanda’
‘alhaji-alhaji’ programme.
Indelible
“Woyome-Gate” thievery
Following
the state sanctioned “woyome-gate” thievery, Kwesi Pratt now argues that the
case is in court so we must not discuss it in way that will make Alfred Woyome
look guilty since he is a Ghanaian whose rights must be respected, and that, it
is only a competent court of jurisdiction that can pronounce him guilty. But
rather ironically, it is this very same Kwesi Pratt who pronounced Dr.Charles Wereko-Brobbey
and Mr. Kojo Okyere Mpiani guilty of unprecedented financial genocide against
the good people of this nation, over issues surrounding Ghana@50 celebrations,
when no court had declared them as such.
Kwesi
Pratt and his now defunct CJA stomach-direction charlatans actually organized
press conferences and massive media blitz to ask saint Atta-Mills to arrest Wereko-Brobbey
and Kojo Mpiani and simply throw them into jail. Meanwhile, when Tsatsu Tsikata
was fittingly convicted and jailed by a court of competent jurisdiction, this
very same Kwesi Pratt was up-in-arms against the verdict and actually described
it as bogus.
The
judge who sat on the case became a public enemy number one in the sight of these
NDC bigots. They claimed the verdict
was even written for the learned judge by some powers behind the scenes, hence,
the formation of “Free Tsatsu Movement”. The jailing of Victor Selormey, Kwame Peprah
and Sepa-Yankey by a competent court of jurisdiction, were all described as
bogus by Kwesi Pratt.
A
person who was shouting all over the place because his paper, THE ‘UNSIGHTLY’
INSIGHT, wasn’t being given adverts and access to the seat of government, is
today mute over same treatment being meted out to the editor of ‘the
searchlight’ newspaper, Ken Kurankye, just because free ultra-modern printing
houses, 4WD vehicles, fresh wads of cash and diplomatic passports are flowing
waa! waaa!!waaaa!!!
I’m
rehashing these past devilish acts of Kwesi Pratt just to prove a point that
his explosive attack on Kennedy Ohene-Agyapong on Tuesday,17th April edition ‘Kokrokoo’ on Peace FM, was
nothing but pure act of unprecedented senseless hypocritic bigotry!!. As a
matter of fact, a former highly prominent public office holder of this
nation once told me that “Kwesi Pratt is a character that has never been
committed to a course if it doesn’t come with a commensurate financial reward”
.And with his behavior under the Atta-Mills-led administration, I now have
absolutely no shred of doubt that what I was told is a gospel fact.
What
is treason?
Now,
the Oxford Dictionary defines treason as the offense of attempting to overthrow
the government of the state to which the offender pledges allegiance or
betraying the state into the hands of foreign power. Synonyms of treason are
Betrayal, Perfidy and treachery. Having laid out the meaning of treason, can
anyone justify the actions of the authorities that in Ghana, for
foisting a charge reserved for the likes of Rawlings?
Folks
let me be clear, I don't condone the remarks made by the MP, but for him to
potentially face the death penalty for venting his frustration as a result of
the inactions of our security agencies in the crimes committed by devotees of
the NDC regarding the ongoing voter registration makes our democracy a joke.
All one has to do is to contextualize his remarks by correlating them to the
voter registration crimes for one to know this is a crime of cacology (bad
choice of words) and not treason. In anycase, where are the lawyers to
prosecute a complex case of treason/genocide against Kennedy Agyepong when a much
easier case of state-sanctioned "woyome gate" thievery is lying
fallow?
Selective justice
The
selective justice being propagated by Atta-Mills-led administration is very
embarrassing to say the least. Rawlings stood on stage at last year's June 4
celebrations and called Kufuor a murderer and a thief but our security agencies
never invited Rawlings for questioning giving the severity of the accusations.
Recently,
a FONKAR aficionado accused the president's wife of taking 5 million dollars
from Woyome and he was arrested. Do you see the selective justice on display?
The truth of the matter is that Kennedy Agyepong has always been a target
because of his bombastic personality and braggadocio mouth, and this poor
choice of words on his part is an opportunity for the NDC
to silence him once and for all. And if you think this is not politically
motivated, then with all due respect you are naive.
Vagabonds
of Radio Rwanda (radio gold)
A
damn shameless ‘chop-chop’ character as Raymond archer, who in 2008, engaged in
criminal act of hacking into people's private phone conversations and playing
them on his highly subversive "election forensics" programme on Ghana’s
Radio Rwanda (radio gold), today has the damn nerve to condemn Sammy Awuku? As
we speak, the transmission wave of great OMAN-FM has been jammed when radio Rwanda was
given the room to carry on with its genocidal bigotry during the 2008
elections.
Damn-right
vagabonds as Samuel Okudzeto-Ablakwa and James Agyenin-Boateng who cocooned
themselves in the studios of Radio Rwanda (radio gold) and called on NDC wee-smokers to besiege the EC with murder
weapons are ministers of state and being paid massive wads of cash by tax-weary
and economically battered Ghanaian. Indeed, abject hypocrisy has now become a
virtue under saint Atta-Mills and this is why he will surely be a one-term
president!!!
Justice
Abeeku Newton-Offei
OUR HEROES BY Joseph Yaw Frimpong
GROUP A
America
Zambia
GROUP B
London
Ghana
GROUP C
France
Nigeria
If i am to ask African student to choose one country from each category, almost 60% of them would choose the first country in each category. But the question is "why are Africans running away from their motherland?
In the past, African countries like Egypt, Nilotic Sudan, Axum and Ethiopia were places that almost everyone wanted to be. Looking back, we can see a line of legendary heroes. We sat in awe at the determination of the Pharoahs, the Jews, the Akans and the Zulus all show off heroic stature. In more recent times, we have seen Nelson Mandela, Kwame Nkrumah and Kofi Annan all capture the population imagination of Africa. But where are the heroes of Africa of today? The continent is crying for heroes to ignite the vision of the African
In the past, Africans heroes were those who died in order to liberate us from slavery, poverty and colonialism. Today, we can no longer tell tales of noble men because we don't believe that noble men eexist. And we really can't be blamed. In the last thirty years, Africa has seen leaders who have clinged themselves to power. We can see politicians unwilling to stand for the truth. In short, one of the reason why the hero has become an endangered specie in Africa is that no one trust anyone anymore.
For much of this, we can blame the media. It has done such a masterful job at "telling them what they want to hear" that almost everyone hears pleasant things and not the truth. And any figure threatening to report the truth is dissected with surgeon-like precision. The media no longer builds heroes, it unmasks them. Gone are the days when read about people dying for the truth. More and more, the average African knows that the person in the spotlight wants money and nothing else.
Another harm is that we are now addicted to Western life so much that we only see those trying to copy these westerners as heroes. And this, I am guilty of. We want to behave like the Beyonce's, the Rihanna's , the Chris Brown's and the Lil Wayne's relegating our culture and heritage to the background. The funny aspect of it all is that when we have successfully copied them, we are praised as heroes
We no longer strive for excellence or originality. We are now in the age of mediocrity, for there is no one to inspire the African to do great and noble things. Now, a student can now a Bachelor in English without reading a single line of Shakespeare, Dickens and Bronte. We lo longer have pride in our language, since most parents prefer to let their children speak English than their local dialect. Teachers themselves look down on students who learn Akan, Ewe and Frafra. Students can no longer spell words like "debaters", "occasion" etc
This may seem humorous but others might simply not believe it. We have become a nation of ready-made cynics, skeptics and critics, where mockery and insult is fashionable and to be richer is the 'in thing'
The solution to these problems isn't easy. It is hard to find someone who can lead us out of these problems. In antiquity, heroes were God-men, in medieval things heroes were God's men. During the years of renaissance heroes were knowledgeable men. But today heroes are self imposed men. Let's look at the man on the street, it is because that is where we would find the real heroes
We must know that nobility is heroic in itself. We must also know that the common man actually does have heroic potential. Let us not cover our faces with masks of deception because no matter what no lie can live forever. And if we glue the mask of deception on our faces then like the New Year's masquerade when the clock strikes midnight, we will take off the mask, and see each other as we really are. And we shall know who are heroes and who are not.
writing by Joseph Yaw Frimpong
America
Zambia
GROUP B
London
Ghana
GROUP C
France
Nigeria
If i am to ask African student to choose one country from each category, almost 60% of them would choose the first country in each category. But the question is "why are Africans running away from their motherland?
In the past, African countries like Egypt, Nilotic Sudan, Axum and Ethiopia were places that almost everyone wanted to be. Looking back, we can see a line of legendary heroes. We sat in awe at the determination of the Pharoahs, the Jews, the Akans and the Zulus all show off heroic stature. In more recent times, we have seen Nelson Mandela, Kwame Nkrumah and Kofi Annan all capture the population imagination of Africa. But where are the heroes of Africa of today? The continent is crying for heroes to ignite the vision of the African
In the past, Africans heroes were those who died in order to liberate us from slavery, poverty and colonialism. Today, we can no longer tell tales of noble men because we don't believe that noble men eexist. And we really can't be blamed. In the last thirty years, Africa has seen leaders who have clinged themselves to power. We can see politicians unwilling to stand for the truth. In short, one of the reason why the hero has become an endangered specie in Africa is that no one trust anyone anymore.
For much of this, we can blame the media. It has done such a masterful job at "telling them what they want to hear" that almost everyone hears pleasant things and not the truth. And any figure threatening to report the truth is dissected with surgeon-like precision. The media no longer builds heroes, it unmasks them. Gone are the days when read about people dying for the truth. More and more, the average African knows that the person in the spotlight wants money and nothing else.
Another harm is that we are now addicted to Western life so much that we only see those trying to copy these westerners as heroes. And this, I am guilty of. We want to behave like the Beyonce's, the Rihanna's , the Chris Brown's and the Lil Wayne's relegating our culture and heritage to the background. The funny aspect of it all is that when we have successfully copied them, we are praised as heroes
We no longer strive for excellence or originality. We are now in the age of mediocrity, for there is no one to inspire the African to do great and noble things. Now, a student can now a Bachelor in English without reading a single line of Shakespeare, Dickens and Bronte. We lo longer have pride in our language, since most parents prefer to let their children speak English than their local dialect. Teachers themselves look down on students who learn Akan, Ewe and Frafra. Students can no longer spell words like "debaters", "occasion" etc
This may seem humorous but others might simply not believe it. We have become a nation of ready-made cynics, skeptics and critics, where mockery and insult is fashionable and to be richer is the 'in thing'
The solution to these problems isn't easy. It is hard to find someone who can lead us out of these problems. In antiquity, heroes were God-men, in medieval things heroes were God's men. During the years of renaissance heroes were knowledgeable men. But today heroes are self imposed men. Let's look at the man on the street, it is because that is where we would find the real heroes
We must know that nobility is heroic in itself. We must also know that the common man actually does have heroic potential. Let us not cover our faces with masks of deception because no matter what no lie can live forever. And if we glue the mask of deception on our faces then like the New Year's masquerade when the clock strikes midnight, we will take off the mask, and see each other as we really are. And we shall know who are heroes and who are not.
writing by Joseph Yaw Frimpong
Self Pragmatic Gentle Giant vrs pretentious Incompetent Saint (1)
A saint with a demonic mouth-piece
Dr Michael Bokor, in an article on ‘myjoyonline’, on 25th March 2012, said “it is clear that the government’s communication team has flopped and opened the government up for frontal attack from its opponents and other segments of the populace with critical minds seeking to query government’s stewardship on all fronts.
The government seems ill-prepared to be confronted with such quizzes; hence, its hasty decision to avoid the scrutiny, especially in the open discussions that go on under the auspices of the Multimedia Group and other news media.
The claim of bias is just a sorry excuse to be dismissed with the contempt it deserves.It is undeniable that the government has very huge credibility problems in every sense.
It seems political immaturity, over-blown self-confidence, and many other factors have combined to make it extremely difficult for the government to manage its communication tasks effectively.
How many times haven’t we complained about the shoddy manner in which Koku Anyidoho and the President’s entire Communication Directorate have been managing the communication aspects of governance? Yet, nothing has been done to either revamp that Directorate or to look for better quality material with the requisite acumen to do the tasks responsibly.
The government’s own Communication Team is nothing but a hollow pipe that channels out nothing but puerile and irritating rejoinders to viewpoints raised by the opposition. Everything they do is reactive. Even when they attempt to be proactive, they mess up, contradicting each other.Whoever made that decision is not only short-sighted but is also unfit to be in government”.
Justice Abeeku Newton-Offei
NPP dream team to actualize the Ghanaian dream
The nation waited,
with baited breath, before and during the NPP-delegates congress, and Nana Addo
Dankwa Akufo-Addo was, once again, given an overwhelming endorsement by to lead
NPP into the 2012 general elections.
This
interest was generated due to the unprecedented number of well-qualified and quality
of men who contested for the position and I’m really grateful to all media
houses that covered the event to enable Ghanaians get a feel of the action,
through their respective live broadcasts, kudos!
As
we all congratulated Nana Addo for emerging the winner, we never lost sight of
the amazing political maturity exhibited by all the other contestants, who are
now integral part of Nana’s campaign. This is surely a positive development
which we never witnessed in a post “FONKAR-GAME” NDC congress to elect saint
Atta-Mills in sunyani.
Again,
I thank all these other aspirants, for pledging support for Nana Addo on that
day and I’m glad Nana has included them in his campaign, and I know they are
going to be inextricably linked to Nana Addo’s government because, these are
dignified and very knowledgeable individuals.
Nana,
in his acceptance speech, on that day, looked dignified and sounded very much
presidential and it is my belief that he will bring to bear, his enormous
political experience when elected president, in order to bring economic relief
to Ghanaians, by building on the foundation laid by president Kuffour.
The
nation, again, experienced a high level of anxiety on the night of 28th
march, 2012, when Dr. Mahamoud Bawumia landed at KIA from his base in Zambia, amidst
speculations that his trip back home was for the purpose of him being announced
as the running mate for Nana Addo. Dr Bawumia was actually asked by journalists
at the airport, as to whether his home-coming had anything to do with his
running mate amibition.And as expected, and being smart person as he is, he
skillfully dodged the question and only ended up keeping the nation on edge.
Dr. Bawamia unveiled
The
following day, at NPP national headquarters at asylum-down (Accra), Dr. Mahamoud Bawaumia was again
chosen by Nana Addo to partner him for the upcoming December general elections.
Ghana is currently blessed with a ‘senior’ journalist who always receive
letters cataloguing concerns of NPP-MP’s and other NPP party officials who want
their voice heard.interestingly,letters by officials of Atta-Mills-led NDC,which
this individual is deeply in-love with, never deem it fit to send their concerns
to him for publication.Now,you see the gargantuan irony here?
This
individual supports Atta-Mills with all his hear and therefore will never do
anything to rock the boat. As such, the current NDC intra-party wild inferno
has continue to be invisible to him, while imaginary petty squabbles in the NPP
are presented as looming unprecedented apocalypse.Now,if this is what
journalism is all about, then trust me, some of us wouldn’t bother going
settling for the infamous dark days of “culture of silence”!!!
When
he was first chosen to partner Nana Addo in 2008, many were those who expressed
concern on the grounds that Dr. Bawumia wasn’t well known within the rank and
file of the New Patriotic Party. Others were of the view that there were some particular
individuals around the flag bearer, who were very much instrumental in Nana’s
choice of Dr. Bawumia, and therefore not very happy with the idea.
This
whining seems to be happening this time too. But whatever it is, I would urge
all members of NPP to burry their differences and rally behind the flag bearer
and “the chosen one”, Dr. Bawumia, for the task ahead. The Atta-Mills-led
government has totally failed and the good people of this nation have already
made up their minds to throw them out at the polls on 7th December.
However, we must not lose sight of the fact that, though NDC has no knowledge
in governance because they are simply not critical thinkers. Members of NDC
delight in pipe-dream-thinking when it comes to governance but are highly
efficient in the area of winning elections through gargantuan electoral fraud.
Dealing with
complacency
This
characteristic electoral fraudulence prowess of NDC therefore presents NPP with
a great challenge which we can only be surmounted when members solidly united
behind the party’s ticket.Already,a vagabond like Nii lantey vanderpuye,who
ironically is at the right hand of saint Atta-Mills at the seat of government
of a nation being superintended by the Almighty God Himself, has openly said he
will never obey EC regulation that mandates all of us to desist from physically
preventing people from registering but rather fill complain forms. This kind of
mind-set, coming from no other person than the operation director of saint
Atta-Mills, must certainly serve as a fore-taste of what is in-store for us, as
a people, during the coming December elections.
I
know Nana Addo is an astute politician with a sound sense of judgment and will
therefore be able to adequately deal with situations where some individuals,
with selfish interest, attempt to isolate him from the party foot-soldiers in
particular, and the citizenry, as a whole. A proper channel of communication
must be established between Nana Addo’s offices to receive every single
information coming from grass-root members of the party, and as best as
possible, Nana Addo must be accessible.
The
credentials of Dr. Bawumia are a public knowledge now. I believe he is a very
knowledgeable person and will therefore be able to handle the position of a
vice president and I wish him well. The best pre-requisite of one’s ability to
run a nation, is being an impartial judge and a good administrator and I have
absolute confidence in Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia to deliver as vice president.
However, I would urge Dr. Bawumia not to be perturbed by political desperados,
who are bereft of ideas and therefore always engage in personal attacks and
pointless “bla blaa blaaa”, as Nana puts it.
Mrs. Bawumia and
public life
I
very much ‘empathize’ with Dr. Bawumia’s young, beautiful and innocent-looking
wife, Mrs. Samira Bawumia, about how she has been dramatically propelled into
the lime-light. Madam, please take heart because the rank and file of NPP
family is very much proud of you and that you will soon get used to the public
attention. I really liked the way your little girl, Missy, was taking refuge
behind you in a picture published on page 13 of 16/8/8 edition of the Daily Guide news paper.
I learnt that picture was taken when the press besieged your home, soon after
her daddy was confirmed for the position of a running mate in 2008. Kindly tell
little Missy she will soon be moving to the flag-staff house where she can have
some relative privacy away from the prowling cameras of all these paparazzi, o.k.?
I
learnt Dr. Bawumia’s wife is a daughter of Alhaji Ahmed Ramadan (Chairman of
PNC party). Now if it is true, then this must send a clear signal to those
executives and foot-soldiers of all political parties, whose judgments are
always clouded by dogmatic politicking and therefore take delight in doom-mongering,
to appreciate the fact that we are all one people with a common destiny, though
we might find ourselves at different ends of the political divide.
My expectations of
Nana Addo’s presidency
Nana
Addo will certainly be sworn-in as president on 7th December, 2013,
and for me, I would like to see the eight years of his administration being
centered on proper human development devoid of empty political jargons, and
harness our unlimited natural resources, the latest being oil, for serious economic
lift-off in order to continue to enjoy the trust of the people, come December
2016.
Our
next group of leaders must learn to be welcoming to, and, comfortable with
people who will tell them the truth. They must not surround themselves with sycophantic
charlatans who will literally, crawl over broken-bottles just to touch the hem
of public officials’ cloak, with baseless gossips about others!
Crop
of leaders under Nana Addo administration must not create fertile grounds for
their close associates to engage in influence peddling, which always results in
bringing offices of otherwise decent public office holders into disrepute and
public derision.
There
must be total co-ordination, co-operation and openness in governance.Retrogresive
tendencies like selfishness, cronyism, nepotism and aggressive hero-worshiping,
which has become the order of the day, right under the nose of saint Atta-Mills,
must be abhorred by officials of Nana Addo presidency, since we are determined
to make a giant leap into the future in order to be counted among comity of
nations.
Corruption
must be fought with all the force we can command, so that, we can stop the
current gargantuan profuse bleeding of our nation’s coffers by way of
unprecedented “woyome-gate” thievery,disquised as judgment debt in order to
make more resources available to be chandelled into empowering our noble and
enterprising citizenry.
The
eight years of president Kuffour administration laid a very sound economic
foundation which has callously been destroyed by incompetent Atta-Mills and his
bunch of ‘chop-chop’ crusaders.But,I have the firm belief that Nana Addo Dankwa
Akufo-Addo’s eight year rule will be very much capable of turning things round
through pragmatic leadership, big dream approach to governance and restore the
dignity of every Ghanaian by way of putting our current teaming unemployed
youth into productive work and making avenues
for quality/affordable education to every child.
We,
as citizens, must also eschew lassitude, corruption, sycophancy, bad
environmental practices and unnecessary splitting of hairs over issues of
national importance. We must rather learn to love one-another, and also, love
our beautiful country because, NPP in power with Nana in the saddle, Ghana is surely
destined for best of times!
Nana
has chosen Dr. Bawumia, and true to NPP party’s character, the rank and file,
backed by well oiled party machinery, has resolved to unite behind the ticket
for a resounding victory on December
7th 2012.
The
rich political experience of Nana Addo Dankwah Akofo Addo, coupled with unsullied
economic/financial shrewdness of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, is what I will describe
as NPP PANORAMIC TEAM that the citizenry can bank their hopes on for total
realization of what I would call the ultimate Ghanaian dream.
Our readiness to
market the ticket
Finally,
to Dr. Bawumia, I say, the great NPP family, as well as all those who seek to
liberate themselves from the current socio-economic abyss currently being inflicted
on good people of this nation by saint Atta-Mills and his cabal of incompetent
greedy bastrads,are solidly behind you. We eagerly look forward to benefiting
from your remarkable wealth of technocratic shrewdness.
Finally,
I know duplicitous Atta-Mills is going to unleash his foul-mouthed
juvenile-delinquents-vagabonds on Dr. Bawaumia, with the expressed purpose of tarnishing
his unquestionably impeccable image. Consequently,
Justice
Abeeku Newton-Offei
BEWARE OF RED HERRINGS
Another electioneering period is imminent if not ongoing and the politicians and their spokespersons are doing all they can in earnest to muddy the waters to make it impossible for the ordinary voter to make out the woods from the trees as far as; what is wrong or right, who is speaking the truth or lying, what works and what does not, who is being practical and who is being idealistic, etc are concerned. This they do to ensure that, the ordinary voter is left with no choice in the whole perplexity but to vote based almost solely on the basis of emotional appeal. This becomes the most convenient path of choice to arrive at a candidate of ones preference due to a consciously controlled atmosphere brought about by several millions of Ghana Cedis worth of advertisements and works of ‘spin doctors’ thrown at voters; ironically with their own money which some of these politicians have rapaciously accumulated by we all know what means.
Due to this overwhelming air of sentimentality created through tons of effective apple polishing and wishful thinking to whisk the populace onto the bandwagon of some these political charlatans, it becomes almost impossible even sometimes for those who are professionally trained, for instance journalists, to distinguish between the hard hitting realities of the day and the paradise of phantasmagoria which is proclaimed by almost all of these politicians exclusively for the parochial aim of attaining political office. One of these major problems which our workers in the media if they can work at overcoming in this electioneering period would go a long way to serve the public good is the instance of Red Herrings (smokescreens) being thrown around with careless abandon by leaders of major political factions in their perpetual effort to always evade the concrete issues bedeviling this dear country of ours.
One might think of the Smokescreen (red herring) as the “attention span” fallacy since it works best on listeners and readers who are unable to stay focused on an issue when they are tempted by distractions. These days, when politicians and other public figures dodge hard questions, they are generally allowed to get away with it. How long has it been since you heard a reporter say, “But sir, you didn’t answer the question!” probably even longer than it’s been since you heard a politician give a direct answer to a hard question. We’ve all heard it said that the media and the people they interview are interdependent-that is, they each depend on the other and have fundamentally the same interests (at the highest government and corporate levels), and that accounts for the easy treatment officials often get from interviews. But it may also be true that reporters themselves are prone to fall for the fallacy in question here. They are too likely to move onto the next question on their list when the public would be better served by a pointed follow –up question on an issue that has just been ducked (Brooke et al, 2004). This I think is a serious failure and damaging to the public good.
It is therefore both a professional and a moral imperative that, in their quest to be accorded the status of the fourth arm of government, our media houses and their personnel work at putting a serious check on this development and others of its kind in order to be in the position to provide an effective supplementary mechanism of checks and balances as far as the three already established arms of government are concerned for the betterment of our motherland.
Article written by Jason Tutu
Any Grammatical error should be directed to him and not www.inewsgh.blogspot.com
Thank you
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