“Manasseh is my GJA Journalist of the Year 2013” is a Leprosy that must be cured.
For the past three days,l have fought for my life on my sick bed. It got to a point on Thursday where l felt death was near me. But thanks be to the Most High,he gave me another chance. I am still recuperating. You will know what l am talking about if you have been there before.
Throughout those harrowing moments of my life,l received about 10 WhatsApp messages of daily devotions(word of God) from some brothers and sisters-in-Christ. I will not ,on any day, downplay the significance of the word of God in my life as a Christian but the way and manner such messages are distributed have become a nuisance to me especially,l do not know about you. My problem is: brothers and sisters are using these daily devotions as an alternative to ‘how are you doing,’good morning’ and other kind of messages that seek to show concern for the welfare of people. How will you know what the other person is going through if your only preoccupation is sending him or her daily devotionals? Both must go hand-in-hand.
You see,l am going to talk about some kind of leprosy so do not get bored reading my ‘sickness account’. Malaria and leprosy are all some forms of sicknesses but the latter is incurable in the physical sense. Jesus,however,cured a leper in Mathew 8:2-4
“2. And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, ?Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.? 3 Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, ?I am willing; be cleansed.? Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus said to him, ?See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.? (NKJV)
Rev.Fr. Andrew Campbell of the Weija Leprosarium is also doing his best taking care of our mothers and fathers who have leprosy. Their condition is incurable
The kind of leprosy that has engaged my attention this evening is not the Jesus-healing-leprosy account in the Bible neither is it the Father Campbell ‘kind -of-leprosy’ stationed at Weija,Accra. It is the kind that has plagued the 19th Ghana Journalists Awards for the 2013 Best Journalist which is the coveted award. Fortunately,this kind of leprosy is curable because it is nothing but a pack of mischief,idle talk,ill suspicions,misguided vexations and a comatose raving that must be awoken to rationality and common sense.
“Manasseh is my GJA Journalist of the Year 2013” is the leprosy let loose on our minds. Those with this sickness must not infect the rest of us with it and they must be told in the face,in no uncertain terms, to keep it to themselves. There is nothing like ‘my this or my that’ but the officially recognised winner of the prestigious Best Journalist award for 2013 who is Mabel Aku Baneseh of the Graphic Communications Group Ltd. Mentioning any other person’s name apart from her’s for some awkward reasons brewed in the pot of self-importance and arrogated judgements is witchcrafting and a calculated attempt to cast doubt on the professional competence of the ultimate winner and also on the integrity of the organisers of the award.
The most ridiculous of all the reasons given for Manasseh not winning the Best Journalist of the Year Award is that government or some powerful hands have influenced the awards committee not to give him the award even though he deserved it. This was said before the awards ceremony even took off. Their reason: “Ooh,he has exposed the rot under SADA and GYEEDA which this government have superintended” blablabla
Of course,his expos? on SADA etc saved the nation some money which is commendable and every right-thinking Ghanaian must commend him for that and encourage him to do more. But to say that his expos? is a guaranteed passport and visa to flying the ‘Best Journalist 2013 Award Plane’ and if he doesn’t win it then government must be behind it is most unfortunate and problematic.
We have blamed government for the cholera outbreak,we have blamed government for the depreciation of the cedi,we have blamed government for this and that ,justified or not justified, but l think government must be spared this ridiculous tag and allegation of interference.
What did some people not say when the late Komla Dumor was crowned about a decade ago as journalist of the year in 2003? What did they not say about Kingsley Obeng-Kyereh when he was crowned as 2012 Journalist of the year? They had no idea what he has been doing as a journalist at GBC and the many lives he has affected. Some people even heard of his name for the first time because they only listen to some particular radio stations in Accra and Kumasi as if to say Ghana is Accra and Kumasi and those radio and television stations in the two cities are the only media houses in Ghana. There are many great journalists out there ,even though under-resourced ,in the rest of the eight regions doing amazing works impacting positively on the lives of Ghanaians. And it is high time the Ghana Journalists Association reach out to them and recognise the sterling contributions they are making to the development of the country
You hear them say :”The true winner is Manasseh Azure Awuni but this is not to take anything away from the ultimate winner,Mabel Aku Baneseh” . Like seriously? What kind of ‘cedi-depreciation’ logic and insult is that? People with this jaundiced view must stop speaking with water in their mouths and also stop patronising the award winner. Just say ‘she doesn’t deserve the Best Journalist Award for this year ‘ and cut out the pretence lurking around the shadows of semantics. Just cut it!!!
Others also posit that Steve Nartey of TV Africa should have won the Best Journalist of the Year award because he had won four awards ,the highest of the night. But, the fact that one wins more awards is not a ticket to winning the coveted award. Best players of tournaments have not always been the top goal scorers. Once in a while,you have the top goal scorer being crowned the best player of the tournament. A classical example is Manasseh Azure Awuni winning four awards and capping it with the Journalist of the Year Award in 2011
Some others in their male chauvinistic elements are positing that the award was given to her because she is a lady since others did better than her. Helloooooo!!! Come on,guys. Let us appreciate our women when they excel and stop acting as if anything success must have a male signature on it. Ms Peggy Ama Donkor won the coveted Journalist of the Year award in 2005 on merit not on any female consideration(s) or encouraging women to be at par with their male counterparts in the journalism profession
Mabel Aku Baneseh is Journalist of the Year 2013 and it is high time some people got cured of that self-inflicted leprosy and face some reality. She won the award on merit just like all other past winners. And, Manasseh must be left alone and not dragged into this needless controversy. He is a young man who has achieved so much for his age even as he yearns to do more for himself,Mother Ghana and the world at large. He,indeed deserve our commendation and support in that regard and any attempt to hit his ahead against others on any such mission of uselessness must not be encouraged. And ,l am very sure knowing the substance he is made of,will condemn those championing the mischief as he been the journalist of the year when indeed that is not the case.
And oooh, l hear Rebecca Awuah of GTV won an award for the arts and entertainment category. I have a thing(whatever that means) for that lady,someone please tell her.
As for the minuses of the award ceremony and the blink blink Christmas lights used to decorate some parts of the stage and the ills of the journalism profession in Ghana, another day will be their turn for my pen.
Congratulations, Mabel. You deserve it
Culled from Romeo’s facebook wall
