Upon reading the article published on 11/02/10 by www.myjoyonline.com and authored by Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., Ph.D under the caption, “Blay-Amihere Deserves the “Model-Citizenship” Award”, I have found it imperative to issue a rejoinder on the subject matter so as to correct the fallacious assertions made by the author and to put the issues in the proper perspective. It is indeed, instructive to note that the author was commenting on a statement issued by the Alliance for the Advancement of Democracy (AAD) which called for the immediate resignation of the Chairman of the National Media Commission.
Having touted himself as an Associate Professor of English, Journalism and Creative Writing and a Governing Board Member of the Accra-based Danquah Institute (DI), I am outraged at the extent to which the self-acclaimed Professor in his usual verbose manner decided to use libellous language to vilify me. His nebulous appreciation of the issues (independent of the facts) and the decision to pretentiously proceed from false premises to develop brain-numbing illogical assertions clearly amounts to what had been described by Jeremy Betham as “nonsense on stilt”.
In making a case for Mr. Kabral Blay-Amihere, the author in his usual partisan manner and in conformity to the philosophy of the Danquah Institute (a purported political tink tank he leads as a governing board member), blatantly put a partisan identity on AAD, unnecessarily mentioned Mr. Okudzeto Ablakwa’s name and alleged that President John Evans Atta-Mills had breached Ghana’s Fourth-Republican Constitution and parliamentary protocol by unilaterally appointing a 9-member Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) to see whether the length of his tenure could be “constitutionally” extended.
Indeed, this assertion is highly speculative and malicious. Having touted himself as someone in the academia, I thought he would have risen above speculations and partisanship to contest the facts and merits of the issues we had raised in the press statement of AAD. Having touted himself as an Associate Professor of English, Journalism and Creative Writing, it is disappointing to note that he has strangely captured his comments in a verbose manner; an action which clearly raises doubt about his communication skills and competence. As a student of communication, I have been trained to communicate in a plain and precise language. Although, in journalism, it is unethical to speculate and to use a libellous language when communicating, the self-acclaimed Associate Professor of English, Journalism and Creative Writing had decided to descend to the gutters and embarrass himself in a grandiose manner. His comments clearly resonate with the sayings that, “if you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit”.
Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., Ph.D, if you think the President had breached the constitution and had acted ultra vires, please go to court. Please don’t disturb us, ok!!!
I must state categorically that AAD is neither politically affiliated nor aligned to any political party. As a matter of fact, we have in recent times raised issued with the unmeritorious attack of Hon. Afotey Agbo on Hon. Zita Okaikoi’s competence, in pursuance to that we have highlighted the negative implications of his appointment as a minister of state. AAD has publicly condemned the culture of “pissin-in” within the NDC fraternity and its ramification on governance, we have as matter of public knowledge also criticised the strategies of the government communication team and to that extent made our recommendations to government. We have called for the resignation of the Ashanti Regional Ministry, Hon Opoku Manu when he made comments which had the propensity to undermine the peace and stability of our beloved country. When Prof. Mike Ocquaye, Dr. Nyaho-Nyaho Tamakloe, made similar irresponsible statements in the past, we called on the National Security agencies to thoroughly probe into their dangerous averments. Where lies our political affiliation?
In our quest to consolidate our democracy, AAD has in our modus operandi being committed itself to building a strong democratic culture with emphasis on strong institutions. Though we concede that multi-party democracy is critical in all democratic engagements, we have observed that our political environment is highly polarised on partisan lines and this can dangerously threaten and regrettably have a calamitous effect(s) on our democratic credentials and national security. Like Barrack Obama, we have taken cognisance of the fact that we need to build strong institutions in a thriving democratic environment.
As Apostles of Democracy, AAD recognizes that any act of an individual or group of persons which militate against the spirit and letter of the laws of Ghana must be condemned. The 1992 Constitution of the Republic Of Ghana enjoins the citizenry to enjoy and exercise their natural and inalienable rights. As a matter of principle, ones rights must concurrently be exercised with his responsibility and the two are not mutually exclusive. Just as the state is required to create the enabling environment to protect and ensure that we freely discharge our rights, the citizenry is unconditionally expected to be responsible.
I wish to categorically state that AAD our call on the Chairman of the National Media Commission, Mr. Kabral Blay-Amihere to resign is meritorious and not borne out of any political motivation. In our press statement, we emphasised that the historical affiliation as well as the current conduct of Mr. Kabral Blay-Amihere, certainly raises doubt on his credibility, neutrality and that can certainly undermine the responsibilities of the Chairman as stipulated in the 1993 Media Commission Act 449.
It is instructive to note that any student of journalism is aware that between 1984 and 1986, Mr. Kabral Blay-Amihere was the editor of the Free Press Newspaper and then started the Independent Newspaper in 1991. It is a matter of public knowledge that these papers are aligned to the New Patriotic Party. Since 1992, the Independent Newspaper ( which is owned by Mr. Kabral Blay-Amihere) has declared support for the NPP and in furtherance to that, was the first newspaper to declare support for the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Addo Danquah Akuffo-Addo.
AAD has noted with suspicion and outrageous the involvement of Mr. Kabral Blay-Amihere in the recent trip of former President- John Agyekum Kufuor to Cote d’Ivoire and Tunisia respectively. We have found it imperative to probe into his involvement as well as the capacity in which he partook in the trip. At a time that the partisanship of the media had become a real threat to democracy, we view his historical affiliation to the former President as a bad testimony of his stature and responsibilities.
Given that the National Media Commission is enjoined by Article 167 of the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana to insulate itself from government control, exhibit neutrality and to maintain a high sense of journalistic standards; we are convinced that his continuous stay in office will grossly undermine such noble virtues that must be jealously guarded by people whose affiliations and deeds shall not be compromised, doubted and challenged by all who believe that the principles of fair access, equal access, fair coverage and unbiased reportage must apply in a non-discriminatory manner in the discharge of the work of the media and its bodies so as to enhance and entrench Ghana’s young democracy.
The Alliance for the Advancement of Democracy (AAD) believes that the Chairman of the NMC is like a referee in a football match and any referee who aligns himself with one team of the divide is unfit to play his official role.
We are therefore calling on Mr. Kabral Blay-Amihere to honourably resign so as to protect his own integrity and the sanctity as well as the sovereignty that goes with his office. His continuous stay in office could fuel and fan rancor and friction amongst the National Media Commission, the Government and the citizenry and this could be very dangerous for our fragile democracy. Such conducts shall certainly be a bad example for a model citizenship award.
I wish to state that AAD respects the divergent opinion of the author despite its inherent logical and structural defect. I hope to meet him when he finally comes to Ghana our beloved country.
THANK YOU!!!
Credit: Justice Kutsienyo
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Spokesperson, AAD