<<Print>>

Recently, Professor Ransford Gyampo of the University of Ghana in his typically fearless mode condemned the dissipation of the spirit of patriotism among Ghanaians.

According to him, politicians had contributed to the problem because of their selfishness and unwillingness to die for mother Ghana.

The political science lecturer at the University of Ghana, Legon questioned the morality in former government officials asking the “poor Ghanaian” to “tighten” their belts and be “patriotic” when they [ex-officials] never demonstrated any shred of patriotism while in office, but rather plundered state resources for themselves with careless abandon.

His comment follows a complaint by former President John Mahama that Ghanaians are no more patriotic and thus no one wants to die for Ghana anymore.

His post on Facebook; You Steal State Assets And Ask Ghanaians To Be Patriotic? has generated heavy discourse and partisan discussions on social media leading to one Ben Kwaku Andrew Asare accusing Prof Gyampo of sexual misconduct.

His comments were interpreted by some NDC communicators on social media as a direct attack on former President John Mahama who first highlighted the problem of lack of patriotism.

Those who felt hardly hit by Prof Gyampo's comments peddled this allegation in a manner that caught the attention of many well meaning Ghanaians.

Determined to clear his name and that of the University, Prof Ransford Gyampo initiated a court action. But in a swift turnaround, his accuser has offered an open apology to Prof Gyampo, who has stopped the court action.

Below is the apology:

"I wish to apologize to Prof. Yaw Gyampo of the University of Ghana Political Science Department and the University of Ghana at large for some unsubstantiated allegations I made against him concerning his relationship with female students.

"I take responsibility for all damages caused to his reputation and duly apologize," Ben Kwaku Andrew Asare wrote.

When contacted for his response, Prof Gyampo expressed disappointment about the "bogus attempts" on the part of politicians to silence voices of reason.

He insisted that he would not be gagged by such disingenuous attempts.

He indicated that he had forgiven his accuser because of his Christian faith and beliefs.