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Criticism is an act of evaluating and analyzing issues that are of utmost importance to the progress and development of the society.
The evaluator or analyzer of the issue is often referred to as a critic. A critic therefore must have an ideological basis through which issues are deeply digested with a view to proffer a way forward for the society to achieve the desired objective. A critic must look at the pros and cons of the issue at stake towards arriving at a reasonable conclusion devoid of greed, sentiment, bias, avarice and vendetta. The critic must be in position to be logical in his argument. He should be seen to be deeply concerned with his line of thought.
Last week I read a story on Ghanaweb, under the caption “Komla Dumor not bigger than Ghana – Pratt”
Kwesi Pratt Jnr, Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, has dismissed claims that the late Ghanaian born, BBC broad¬cast journalist, Komla Dumor, is bigger than Ghana.
Deputy Minister of Tourism, Dzifa Gomashie, recently stated that the late Komla was bigger than Ghana while ace musician Kojo Antwi had also noted that his death was as painful as those of Mandela and Bob Marley.
But Mr. Pratt, speaking on Adorn FM, was of the view that some Ghanaians were over-stretching statements in an attempt to eulogize Komla and this could rather generate an avoidable controversy.
“Komla Dumor is, bigger than Ghana? How could the Deputy Minister of Tourism say that? How can any person be bigger than his or her country? Nobody is bigger than Ghana! Kwame Nkrumah, Komfo Anokye, Asebu Amanfi, Aggrey, and others were all not bigger than Ghana,” Kwesi Pratt noted.
Some tributes have also compared the celebrated BBC presenter to those of South African ex-President Nelson Mandela and reggae musician Bob Marley.
But a bewildered Pratt noted, “How can you liken Komla Dumor to Nelson Mandela? How can you compare the two? What do they have in common? Comments like these bring up needless wrangles! You say Komla Dumor is like Nelson Mandela and then another per¬son comes to refute it. At the end of the day, we end up digging into their personality ‘work sheets’.”
Opinions they say are like noses, so I am also free to share mine.
After reading the story, the question that agitated my infantile mind and begged for answers was, “What is Kwesi Pratt’s beef with Komla Dumor” and all I could say was, there he goes again.
If my memory serves me right, Kwesi Pratt’s dislike for Komla Dumor did not start today, it stated when Komla Dumor won the Journalist of the Year Award in 2003, an award that Journalists in Ghana decided who in their estimation, though deserved the award and rightly so, but trust Kwesi to always disagree with anything, he opposed the award and was all over giving reasons. I honestly do not know, if that is his stock in trade.
Kwesi Pratt, was among the people who thought that Komla Dumor did not deserve that award, because in his isolated view, Komla’s achievements and qualification were not strong enough to merit that award. Perhaps, for him and many of his kind, for Komla to qualify for that award, he must have been a trained Journalist or must have attended the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ). This is the mind of a sadist, who only believes in condemnation and
dark side of life.
Komla Dumor, can certainly not be bigger than Nelson Mandela or be like Bob Marley, neither can he be larger than Ghana, but I thought that both Kwadwo Antwi and the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Dzifa Gomashie, were only professing their personal opinions of the man, opinions they are entitled to. I don’t think Kwesi Pratt or anybody else for that matter can take that away from them.
What is important now is not what anybody thinks about Komla Dumor, but what he was to his family and his close friends, who stood by him when Pratt and his jingoists descended on him, when he won the GJA award, and Kwesi Pratt is certainly not one of them.
What has the young man done to you that, even in death you still want to hound him?
If not, why must what anybody said or wrote on their twitter handle be a subject of any discussion, when we are celebrating the life of one of Africa’s finest Journalist, except coming from Kwesi Pratt, I am not surprised.
In all discussions, the family’s interest should be paramount; their feelings must be respected, that was the reason why I thought it was completely unnecessary and needless for Mr Pratt to go the way he went. Why must he always criticize? A pessimist who thinks his opinions and appreciation of issues supersedes that of everybody.
Kwesi must know that he is not the bastion of knowledge or propaganda.
What did he meant by “At the end of the day, we end up digging into their personality ‘work sheets”.
Lest one is misconstrued, it should be clear here that nobody is saying that Komla Dumor was perfect and therefore should not be talked about; again, knowing full well that he was but a mere mortal. What I am saying is that we must not waste our time countering each other about how big or small he was, or whether or not he cannot or should not be compared to anybody.
He did play his part; he contributed his quota, as a true Ghanaian and African. Today he is gone and some people are trying desperately to downplay his importance. Kwesi Pratt must also remember that a day will come when he will also be gone, how does he want to be remembered, as a critic, who always wanted to be at variance with everybody and commonsense? Is that how he wishes to be remembered?
Kwesi Pratt, most often does not engage in criticism, but he indulges in the art of condemnation, because he lacks the basic rudiment of criticism, and he also lacks the basic foundation upon which principle are supposed to be built and reflected. |
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| Source: The Herald |
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