The President’s Rich Remark

And it came to pass that Ghana became entrapped in a pastime of scathing vitriolic. The youth especially took to social media in a frenzy, and their mission took the form of hurling insults at opponents of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Traditional authorities, politicians, soldiers and even judges were not exempted from the insulting frenzy by the paid youth. It has not stopped as it is constantly watered by the paymasters.

The seed of insults on social media started when the NDC engaged youth with sharp-teeth to insult their political opponents.

Hate speech gained traction in our body-politics in the run-up to the last elections when a desperate flagbearer found in it an avenue to grab power.

It was surprising when last week during an engagement at his Assemblies of God Church, he lamented about the heightened spate of insults on social media.

Has he forgotten so soon how he himself was part of the insulting spree? Political leadership should learn to protect our values as a people.

The many insults our President unfortunately hurled at his opponents are varied, too long for the limited space at our disposal.

For an aspiring president to refer to a whole ethnic grouping as 'Akyem Sakawa' is to lower the standards of morality in our community, which we witnessed at the height of the last campaign season. Unfortunately, he had his way and continued.

When a former president as he was at the time decided to tell Asantes that they are ingrates and would not acknowledge his gesture even if he lines up their streets with gold, he had deliberately prepared the grounds for hate speech to flourish.

Should a leader speak this way in a multiethnic society?

We recall regrettably the insulting remark to former President John Agyekum Kufuor by President John Mahama when Kennedy Agyapong was the subject of political victimisation. All that former President John Agyekum Kufuor said was how using a sledgehammer to hit a mosquito was just too much in reference to the enormous state coercive power being brought to bear on the politician.

The response from President John Mahama was swift and scathing, neatly wrapped in sarcasm. “We would use a bulldozer not a sledgehammer,” was the response.

“Those who have never been presidents should stop passing comments about the presidency, for such persons know nothing about governance,” was another reaction to commentaries.

Political insults in our country, without doubt, was initiated by the incumbent government and so we find it ridiculous when he laments the trend in front of church colleagues.

Unfortunately, the resort to arresting persons who have been encouraged to embark on the path of insults will not curb the germinating seeding of vitriolic brought about by the government.

Kevin Taylor has admitted to being engaged by President John Mahama to work for him, which assignment is well known to warrant explanation. Suffice it to point out that a massive social overhaul, sincere and thorough, would be needed to arrest the rising tide of insults.

It would be a Herculean task because those who allowed themselves to be used to hurl insults at the political opponents of the President have been handsomely rewarded, an attractive source of encouragement for others to follow suit.

With the New Patriotic Party (NPP) youth too now responding, the cacophonous state of social media is understandable, leaving our values in tatters.