Matters Arising

Once again we Ghanaians are very much fascinated by the various issues making the news headlines every week. Our country has turned into a “Talking Nation” with everyone claiming to be an expert on any issue that comes up every week. I just love the way we discuss these issues for one or two weeks on radio, tv and also on social media, then forget about it. Surprisingly we tend to forget the issues once another one comes up. The media outfits also do their very best to dissect the issues with the help of so called “Social Commentators” ( I wonder what qualifies one to be called a social commentator). These social commentators, what do they actually do? In fact are they not employed elsewhere? Are they paid for talking on these morning shows? One aspect of this time wasting venture is when the issue is political and they call in the party representatives to slug it out on live tv and live radio. That’s where the insults, invectives and unprintable words start flying if the host of that particular show is not strong enough to control or moderate the discussion.

A classic example will be the Montie Trio Remission/Pardon that was discussed thoroughly by the media and social media enthusiasts. There and then some people tried to express their opinions on the legal implications of what the President has done. There were those who supported the President’s action and also those who were not in support of his action. The legal experts also joined the fray and they quoted sections of the 1992 Constitution particularly Article 72 which gives the President the power to pardon convicted persons. Whiles Ghanaians were arguing about the Montie Trio Remission, another issue came up. A pastor, Daniel Obinim of the International GodsWay Church was alleged to have flogged some youth in his church for engaging in premarital sex leading to pregnancy, then aborting the baby. This video was shared on social media and the reaction from Ghanaians was swift. The police invited him for questioning and threatened to declare him wanted if he does not show up. Upon honoring the invitation of the police, another charge of defrauding was proffered against him after someone claimed he gave Obinim GhC11.1million and asked him to perform some rituals on the money, but he was not getting his money back from after several attempts proved futile. He had no option than to report him to the police. His church members massed up at the police station and protested and the police responded with water cannons and other crowd control measures. He was detained overnight and subsequently released within that same week.

I bet you, another issue will come up and the above issues will be confined into the annals of history. This is Ghana where we talk more and we do less action. If you don’t believe this, just tune into any of the radio stations in Ghana in the morning and your jaw will drop. These are some of the matters arising in Ghana.