Hard Truths For The President’s Ears

A senior Ghanaian journalist once said, after the electoral defeat of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in 2008, that if the media houses sympathetic to the John Kufuor-led Government had told him just twenty percent of truth, the party could probably not have lost that election.

We are tempted to agree with that assertion considering how hard the then government worked and the level of development as well as social mitigation policies it introduced and was implementing.

Those developmental projects and goodwill generated by the social mitigation policies seems to have been eroded by other factors. Factors the media that was supposed to be watch dogs shied away from highlighting because they had partially become pet dogs pampering the government.

We beg to be different. We would not shy away from pointing at wrong doing when we see one. We would not shy away from constructive criticisms. We would not give Fan Fool respect openly and then complain bitterly behind the closed doors of our newsrooms.

We want to be bold in telling the President that some of his appointees, particularly the ones he tasked to put a stop to the rising vigilantism, are taking his words for granted and he should either crack the whip or take the blame himself.

Mr. President, Citi FM, alone, has reported on 18 separate violent and attacks perpetrated by pro-NPP groups since the beginning of the NPP administration, the latest being the forceful locking up of some offices at the Karaga District Assembly by some NPP youth.

Perhaps, the National Security Minister and the persons in charge of the security of this country are expecting Nana Akufo-Addo to become a policeman himself, walking across the streets and corners, in chase of such lawless thugs who are making his government look bad.

It is clear that some few lawless souls have decided to test their might against that of the State and for some ten months, the tomfoolery has continued while the National Security Minister, the Interior Minister, the Inspector General of Police and all those paid with taxpayer’s money to maintain law and order, watch haplessly.

They either have to work to maintain law and order, protect lives and property or get booted out!!

The President has a country to run. He has a government to lead. He has worked selflessly hard so far and it is therefore annoying that appointees that ought to do their jobs to maintain law and order are so lousy and disappointing to an extent one wonders why they are still at post.