– ASKS DR. KWAME OSEI
Ghana prides itself on being an oasis of peace and tranquility on the African continent. Ghana so far has avoided the chaos that has afflicted other African states such as Liberia, Sierra Leone, Burundi, Rwanda and Angola.
As someone who monitors the media on a regular basis—be it print or electronic—this short article is to alert the media, media practitioners, commentators and politicians on their responsibilities to ensure that national cohesion is solidified and that what happened in Rwanda DOES NOT happen in Ghana.
My concern is founded by the recent spate of insults on the media be it the NDC man who insulted Ursula Owusu at Odidoodidio, some of the utterances from former President Rawlings, certain pronouncements from commentators on both sides and the latest one the unfortunate comments made by Kennedy Agyapong..
My main concern is that ALL of the aforementioned are matters that are of grave concern to all right-minded thinking people. It is imperative that when former presidents, elder statesmen, politicians, radio presenters, media practitioners and the like make comments or pronouncements, they should exercise the utmost caution so as not to inflame passions or create unnecessary tensions that could lead to a situation that could lead to civil war.
These people can and should be careful especially in an election year, when they make remarks and articulate their concerns in a manner that is respectful, to the point and in a non-threatening, non-intimidatory and civilised manner.
This is because whether they like it or not former presidents, politicians, media commentators et al have a responsibility to the public they serve to ensure that what they do and say is in the national interest and more importantly, ferment national cohesion and co-operation.
By adopting a stance that is careful, considered and measured in its intent, former presidents, politicians, media analysts, radio commentators, and so forth will gain respect from the public and create the national unity that is sorely missing in large swathes of the country.
It is unfortunate that as this article is being written certain elements within the opposition have vowed revenge pending what happens to Mr. Agyapong.
This is the consequence of misguided and unfortunate comments and is something that we want to avoid in Ghana. May I remind politicians and the like that is an unfortunate and ill-judged comment from a politician/media practitioner in Rwanda that led to the chaos, disorder and inordinate bloodshed that became known as the Rwandan genocide where more than 800,000 people lost their lives.
The genocide in Rwanda also spread to neighbouring Burundi and shows what can happen when media practitioners, politicians and the like do not exercise caution when making certain pronouncements.
Therefore all and sundry must in my view go on some media training, especially in the area of public speaking, that enables one to think, analyze, rationalize and more importantly articulate a point of view in calm, collected, civilized and measured way that is non-threatening and non-intimidatory.
There are many hotheads out there who will misconstrue comments or pronouncements that are made and it is up to those who are in positions of authority and influence to always put first the national interest before personal and party parochial interests if we are to avoid what happened in Rwanda.
It is no use saying that it can’t happen here, IT CAN happen and extreme caution needs to be exercised by everyone to ensure that the hard-earned peace and relative stability that Ghana enjoys is not jeopardised.
