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Felix Kwakye Ofosu, former deputy minister of information
Former Deputy Information Minister Felix Kwakye Ofosu said worthy journalists would not complain about being afraid of being attacked by criticizing Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s government because they helped bring the government to power.
There is growing concern among media professionals that a culture of silence is taking hold in Ghana under the current administration.
The murder of Ahmed Suale and the arrest, subsequent detention of some modernghana.com journalists and attacks on journalists voicing their opinions on social media have given credence to the country being unsafe for critical journalism.
But Felix Kwakye Ofosu believes that claims that the culture of silence is gradually taking hold shouldn’t be taken with a pinch of salt.
“I have heard a number of journalists say that they are unable to tackle the Akufo-Addo / Bawumia administration like they did the Mahama administration for fear of being attacked. No journalist worth his salt should speak like this. It is journalists’ business to hold governments to account, even at the risk of their lives, ”he said in a message he shared on Facebook.
For him, the media has helped bring Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to power and therefore it is imperative that they endure whatever comes with her rise to power.
He said the media had ignored the signs written on the wall saying, “When they ignored the many warnings about his authoritarianism and his stalking of critics with the unleashing of violent activists on internal critics, how could they be surprised that in government it doesn’t? Do you accept criticism and control from journalists? “
Read his full statement here
I have heard a number of journalists say that they are unable to tackle the Akufo-Addo / Bawumia administration like they did the Mahama administration for fear of being attacked.
No journalist worth his salt should speak like this. It is journalists’ business to hold governments to account, even at the risk of their lives.
Akufo-Addo’s rise to power itself is steeped in the underperformance of certain sections of the media. Their complicity in the robbery intercepted by the Ghanaians cannot be overstated.
When they chose to ignore the many red flags that heralded the will of the disastrous Akufo-Addo government, how did they expect something different once in power?
When they purposely sought to stifle NDC voices on their programs by a biased and unbalanced panel, where one NDC guest would have to face three NPP panelists disguised as “neutrals” just to get the NPP projected positively, who were they looking forward to once Akufo-Addo courted the government?
When they ignored the many warnings about its authoritarianism and its stalking of critics with the rampage of violent activists on internal critics, how could they be surprised that in government it does not accept criticism and control of journalists?
Can they really be surprised that 8 Ghanaians were slaughtered in the 2020 poll, making it the bloodiest under the Fourth Republic?
If man plucked a turtle’s feathers and they neglected it, how can they expect him to have mercy on a fowl?
When, despite clear evidence that Bawumia was indulging in absurd economic propaganda, especially with our public debt and the depreciation of the cedi, they failed to verify it, what results did they hope we would reap as a nation? once he led the economic management team?
Can they be surprised that the economy is in its worst shape in four decades?
So, rather than citing the current hostile climate as the reason they cannot hold this government to account, it should serve as a motivation to do much more than before to demolish the very artifice that they have unwittingly helped to make. erect around Akufo-Addo who made sure he had the power to do what he was currently doing to them.
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