Antoine Agyekum writes To Prof. Gyampo

Dear 'Prof' Yaw Gyampo,
I have followed your public comments in recent times and thought it is worth sharing my own observations with you, and I intend to be direct and frontal with you.

First, It appears your response to national issues suffers from selective amnesia for a number of reasons. In your original attacks on president Mahama on the issue of lost of patriotism, you conveniently chose to forget that it was President Mahama who introduced national cleanup campaign on every first Saturday of the month. You also chose to forget that President Mahama was the most ardent advocate of "Buy Made In Ghana" products. Again, I understand President Mahama and his appointees chose to use 10% of their salaries to build health facilities in rural areas. An academic who cannot understand that these basic initiatives are acts of patriotism cannot be a serious person.

I have taken the challenge you threw to your colleague academic to google your publications and I am happy to share the following observations publicly.

1. Most of your articles were published in online predatory journals which is against the rules of academic publications. How much money did you pay to avoid your articles being rigorously peer reviewed?

2. In some cases, you have published a single article more than once without any reference to the first publication. This is called *self plagiarism* and an academic crime. At least President Akufo Addo is better than you're in this unenviable race of plagiarism. He plagiarized Presidents Bill Clinton, George Bush and the ailing Muhammadu Buhari.

3. I have observed also that none of your articles is published in a high rated academic journal. For the most part, you published in Nigerian sakawa journals that even first year undergraduate essays should not be submitted to.

4. None of your articles has substance, they reflect your usual emotional and sentimental outburst in the media in our country.

5. Your articles did not give any impression that you have an expertise in any particular subject area, and that might explain why you comment on every thing in Ghanaians politics. All over the place.

Additionally in pursuing the challenge I chanced upon an information I wish it is not true- that you photocopy pages of textbooks and sell them to students. Please clear the air.

Now I prefer not to get in between you and your colleague but while googling your works, I also googled Dr. Kpessa-Whyte. I hope you will take time to google his works and share your observations with your students and the larger Ghanaian public.

I must say your response to the issues of patriotism leaves much to be desired. If you are deserving of the professorial title, you need to honour it with a more matured and nuanced response to a colleague of yours.

You have by your response left me wondering whether you earned the professorial title or "bootlicked" someone higher up for it. By the way, when you were all over the place praising all the decisions of the former vice chancellor of the university of Ghana prior to your promotion, were you bootlicking?

Your conduct clearly does not reflect that of a professor, and I urge the media to investigate the circumstances under which you were promoted. In fact, I intend to generate an online petition to ask your university's council to review your articles again in light of what I am seeing in my online searches.

You seem to suggest that simply because Dr. Kpessa-Whyte took a job in public service, on appointment of President Mahama, he has lost his objectivity. This is so infantile and pedestrian to say the least. What is your definition of objectivity? To insult NDC this week and insult NPP the following week is what you call objectivity? How pathetic !!

Dr. Kpessa-Whyte did what every serious academic will do when invited to serve in government. Take the offer and help build a better society. Several others including Condoleezza Rice, Henry Kissinger, President Obama, President Mills, Michael Ignatiff, Dr Raymond Atuguba, Dr Dominic Ayine, Professor Frimpong Boateng and Dr Afari Djan have all done same, because it was the right thing to do.

It is not enough to spend time seeking attention in the media without trying your hands, practically, on anything worthwhile in the framework of nation building.

I saw in one of your junk write ups your claims that patriotism means leaders foregoing their salaries, and allowances in the interest of nation building. Really, I challenge you to forego your salary and allowances as a university lecturer. Keep in mind that President Mahama's Appointees sacrificed 10% of their salaries for over 3 years.

I am fully aware my surgical piece is an invitation to insults and personal attacks from your good self, but I am prepared to endure it in the hope that you will carefully analyze the contents and be measured in your subsequent comments if at all. Give politicians and public officials some break if you have nothing good to offer.

A PhD is not a license to engage in reckless and mindless commentary, neither does it give you monopoly over knowledge/stupidity.

Please don't talk if you don't have anything useful. Enough of the complaints commentary. Ghanaians and Africans want solutions, ideas, innovations, and creativity from intellectuals. We don't want any further loose talk from you.

Yours in serial calling
Antoine Agyekum