Malik Baako responds to Arthur Kennedy

Listen to Malik Kweku Baako speaking about Arthur K's book on Newsfile© Copyright myjoyonline

The Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide newspaper, Mr Malik Kweku Baako has chided the former Communications Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Arthur Kennedy for wrongfully associating him with former President Rawlings and the erstwhile Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC).

He said Dr Kennedy's charge that “Mr. Baako and his friends were drinking in the pseudo-Marxist ranting of Rawlings et al in the 1980's, ” was unsustainable and false, arguing that he (Kweku Baako) was never an adherent of the PNDC.

Dr Kennedy in reaction to reports that Mr Baako had made uncharitable remarks about his book, titled “Chasing the Elephant into the Bush with a rider THE POLITICS OF COMPLACENCY,” which takes an introspection of the party's failed attempt to retain power, and chronicles activities and events in the build up to the election, wrote a response in which he did not take Mr Baako's comments lightly.

Mr Baako had been quoted as saying the timing of the release of the book was “politically immature – he would later clarify that he used the word premature- and inexpedient” but the author disagreed asking “When would be the best time to write the book? 2012? 2016? 2060?

Referring to Arthur K's comments that “Even while Mr. Baako and his friends were drinking in the pseudo-Marxist ranting of Rawlings et al in the 1980's, I knew better. I knew it was a futile ideology that would lead Ghana nowhere and I stood against it. Our history has fully borne out my maturity and his immaturity on that issue,” Malik Baako said by the time Arthur K. and his colleagues were demonstrating against the PNDC, he was in jail.

Never a believer in PNDC

Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide newspaper, Mr Malik Kweku Baako

“I was never ever part of the PNDC and I am on record as having been one of the first Ghanaians to stand against that regime, in the first week and by the 35th day, I was in jail, I was in military custody, subsequently two long years in prison detention – that is when Arthur K and a new crop of student leaders emerged,” he told Joy FM's news analysis programme, Newsfile.

The vociferous social commentator said “where I have had an association with Rawlings (founder of the PNDC) which I still publicly acknowledge and defend is June 4th which was a counter coup against an existing illegal military regime that we removed and created conditions for a democratic election that put in place an elected civilian government.”

According to him, the June 4th struggle was an effort to remove the soldiers from government.

Mr Baako noted that Arthur K was reacting to a misrepresentation of the comments he made regarding the book which is generating tonnes of controversy.

He however insisted that the timing of the release of the book was wrong particularly when the NPP itself had put in place a process to do self introspection as to why they lost last year's general elections.

Refuting some issues raised in the book, Malik Baako, said it was incorrect that former president Kufuor did not to go to Tain to campaign for the NPP's presidential candidate Nana Akufo-Addo in the run-off because of security concerns.

He said Mr Kufuor was indeed on his way to Tain when he was informed that the party was not going to campaign in Tain because some of its elements were seeking an injunction in court “and on that basis the president decided that there was no need to go to Tain to campaign.”

“Again I wonder, where was the depth of interrogation of an issue by an insider,? he questioned.

Play the attached audio for Kweku Baako's submission.

Story by Malik Abass Daabu/Myjoyonline