ALLEGATION OF ETHNOCENTRIC COMMENT BY PREZ MAHAMA IS A GARGANTUAN FALLACY

Clarence Thomas once stated that “Good manners can open doors that the best education cannot”. The comments we often make are all part in judging us as possessors of good or bad manners. In my opinion, people who make ethnocentric comments posses bad manners and can be described as social misfit and not worthy of emulation because their actions do not inspire the youth to serve as peace ambassadors but rather become captains of violence and allowing conflict to rear its ugly head.

My argument comes as a result of an allegation leveled against President John Dramani Mahama by Mike Oquaye Jr on the Good Morning Ghana show on Metro TV on the 31st August,2012.According to him while a Member of Parliament for the Bole Bamboi constituency, President Mahama made a comment in parliament which he stated that “Akan fuoa en ti broafo (akans can't speak or understand English).As a legal practitioner, Mr Mike Oquaye should have produced a tape to substantiate his claim because if he was defending his client in the court of law he would have demanded evidence from the plaintiff.

Mr Oquaye also failed to provide the year and the session of Parliament the President made such comments because the President has been a Member of Parliament for three consecutive terms (1996-2008). Ghanaians do not need to be told the litany of ethnocentric comments and from which political party such comments emanate since 1992.For example Late Professor Adu Boahen's statement of akunta be si fem ene(in-law(Rawlings ) will step down today) the recent yen akan fuo statement and Kennedy Agyapong's deadly statement among others.

I know the President's former colleague Parliamentarians will attest to the fact that, he exhibited morality which earned him his present position.

Samuel Amadu Wuni Moadow
[email protected]
Walewale/Gbimsi