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06.11.2017 Feature Article

Rejoinder: "Muslim Clerics Rise Against Tribal Card Against Hajj Chair"

The AuthorThe Author
06.11.2017 LISTEN

In their display of mendacity and sycophancy, two praise-singers have accused us of playing a "tribal card" against the Chairman of Ghana Hajj Board, Shaikh I. C. Quaye.

The praise-singers, Mustapha Dodoo and David Albert Quainoo, claim that my Boss, Alhaji A. R. Gomda, Director of Communications; and I, A. M. Marzuq Azindoo, Deputy Director of Communications of the Board, are in conspiracy with others "to sabotage and unseat the current hajj board chairman."

Hear them: "Some members of the Hajj Board with the assistance of some prominent Individuals behind the veil are sponsoring a group of people to come out with a press conference against the hajj chairman in favour of their prefered choice who is of the Northern Extraction."

Our crime is that we belong to a group that is dedicated to transparency and accountability in Hajj operations in Ghana.

The infantile mendacity by the ranting imbeciles was published by this reputable medium in its edition of yesterday.

I did not want to glorify the ranting imbeciles with any response. But as a lecturer of Language and Communication, I humbly see in their piece an opportunity to school them on relevant aspects of Grammar and Semantics.

My aim is to help them enhance their writing skills and rational thinking in pursuit of responsible journalism.

Indeed, their reckless piece of irresponsible journalism is full of logical and linguistic errors which constitute an affront to journalistic decency in Ghana.

Besides, as a columnist of this respected medium, I have a responsibility to clean any literary filth vomited on it by paid mischief makers parading as journalists.

Language Errors and Corrections
By their misapplication of the words "TRIBAL" and "NORTHERN", Dodoo and Quainoo have created the impression that discrimination on the basis of geographical location amounts to TRIBALISM. This exposes their ignorance of the semantic properties (meanings) of the two words. "TRIBAL" is an adjective of two morphemes: "TRIBE" and "AL." "TRIBE" is a free morpheme, and "AL" a bound morpheme. As a free morpheme, "TRIBE" carries grammatical and semantic meanings. Semantically, "TRIBE" refers to a group of people, often of related families, who live together, sharing the same language, culture, and history. Grammatically, "TRIBE" is a noun. Other words, derived from "TRIBE" are:

● Tribalism: noun as an act
● Tribalist: noun as an actor
● Tribalistic: adjective.
Similarly, "NORTHERN" is a two-morpheme adjective made up of "NORTH" as a free morpheme and "ERN" as a bound morpheme. "NORTH" is not a "TRIBE" but a geographical location. Simply, it is the opposite of "SOUTH." A person who comes from the NORTH is a NORTHERNER. But he or she belongs to a specific tribe that CANNOT unilaterally constitute NORTH.

In the light of the above explanations, it is clear that discrimination on the basis of geographical locations such as NORTH, SOUTH, EAST and WEST is "REGIONALISM" or "SECTIONALISM." It is never TRIBALISM. Let the praise-singers consult experts of International Relations and Diplomacy for further clarification.

Correction
Having schooled the praise-singers on the basic usage of the words under review, I humbly offer them the following correction:

● TRIBAL card should be REGIONAL card or SECTIONAL card.

Another interesting phrase in their heap of garbage called a story is "A sources..." Stated in paragraph 7 of the rubbish, this phrase tells us their ignorance of the difference between singularity and plurality. The indefinite article "A" means one; it is singular. And the morpheme "S" in "sources" is an indication of plurality. It is therefore grammatically suicidal to quantify "sources" with "A."

Correction
The embarrassing phrase could be corrected as follows:

● A source...
Or
● Sources...
The first one signifies one SOURCE, and the second one is about many SOURCES.

Besides, in paragraph 2, they claim: "This reporter went round the various Muslim communities..." However, by their own confirmation, both of them authored the piece. Perhaps, Dodoo and Quainoo used the morbid thinking of one of them to produce the stinky piece.

Correction
Since the lazy minds that created the fiction are two, "This reporter" should be corrected as:

● "These reporters..."
Jumping from incomplete sentences to incomplete sentences, the praise-singers mention in paragraph 8: "The source stated that the attempt to sabotage the chairman was as a results of measures he put in place to prevent some scrupulous members from penetrating the VISA acquisition system in the name of protocol."

The key word in this clumsy sentence is "SCRUPULOUS." This adjective among others means "very concerned to avoid doing wrong" or "very careful to avoid a blunder." How then can "scrupulous members penetrate the VISA acquisition system in the name of protocol"? Obviously, the adjective is contextually faulty.

Correction
Let Dodoo and Quainoo know that the suitable word is:

● UNSCRUPULOUS.
The prefix "UN" in "UNSCRUPULOUS" negates the meaning of the adjective. In simple language, "UN" makes it "NOT SCRUPULOUS."

Furthermore, the praise-singers misspell "PAYMASTERS" as "PAY MASTERS" in paragraph 9. It is surprising that in spite of the pay they receive from their PAYMASTERS, Dodoo and Quainoo CANNOT spell the compound word "PAYMASTERS."

Now listen to the conclusion of the language anarchists masquerading as media practitioners: "All efforts were made to contact the Ghana Hajj Board communication team yield no results." Hahahahaha! This convoluted sentence is a showcase of the communicative deficiency of Dodoo and Quainoo. It tells us the level of their linguistic and logical morbidity. With all humility, I offer them corrections.

Correction
The nasty sentence can be corrected in the following ways:

● All efforts to contact the communication team YIELDED no result.

Or
● Efforts to contact the communication team were futile.

Logical Errors and Corrections
In their attempt to throw dust into the eyes of readers, Dodoo and Quainoo resort to the use of phrases such as "Muslim clerics" and "different sects and organizations." These phrases are Logical Fallacies of Generalization, which are unethical in all forms of intellectual discourse. The following questions explain my assertion:

● When they say "Muslim clerics", do they mean all Muslims clerics in the world?

● When they say "different sects", do they refer to all the different (Muslim) sects in the world?

Clearly, it is impossible for them to speak to all Muslim clerics in the world to generate the contents of their fiction.

Correction
To correct the Logical Fallacies of Generalization occasioned by wrong constructions, Dodoo and Quainoo may consider the following phrases:

● Some Muslim clerics...
● A section of Muslim clerics...
● Selected Muslim clerics...
Word of Advice
As a member of the inky fraternity and learning industry, I humbly advise Dodoo and Quainoo to refrain from destructive journalism. Their campaign of calumny against Northerners to please their paymasters collapses at birth. Their vilification of Northerners just to get their share of the Hajj loot cannot win them any sympathy in the Zongo communities. Their efforts to discredit Northerners in responsible positions only exposes their schemes to sow a seed of national disintegration. May Allah save us.

As a humble soul, I am ready to engage them on any form of constructive discourse that showcases the beauty of unity in diversity. But I refuse to help them to sow a seed of ethnic tension in this country. Let them know that Hajj operation is a serious task that cannot be reduced to a mere game of Northerners Versus Southerners.

Appeal to the Chair
I take this opportunity to state that my Boss Alhaji Gomda and I have no intention "to unseat the current hajj board chairman." We are products of sentenarian parents and beneficiaries of proper domestic training. We are the last persons to disrespect an elderly man of the caliber of Shaikh I.C. Quaye. We love him and respect him although he antagonizes us and treats us with scorn for reasons best known to himself.

Specifically, I have called for a probe into the operations of Hajj 2017, of which I was part. I believe that my call is within my constitutional right to freedom of speech, and in line with the operational values of transparency and accountability. I cannot imagine how this harmless call can amount to "attempts to unseat the current hajj board chairman." Those who have nothing to hide should not fear any probe.

If the Chairman thinks we have wronged him, we do apologize. But we appeal to him to treat all of us working under him fairly and justly. We are certainly not among his favorites, but we are still entitled to fair treatment from him as a leader and father.

If he allows us the objective critics around him, we can complement the efforts of the bootlickers to balance the equation of service to him, to the nation, to humanity. But if he maintains only the bootlicking brigade around him, they will bury him in the pit of failure decorated with empty praises.

Shaikh should permit me to draw his attention to the following words of Allah:

● "O Believers! Be upright bearers of witness for Allah, and do not let the enmity of any people move you to deviate from justice. Act justly, that is nearer to God-fearing. And fear Allah. Surely Allah is well aware of what you do." (Quran 5: 8)

Conclusion
Conclusively, I entreat all Ghanaians, particularly Muslims, to avoid reckless utterances on tribalism in the name of Hajj operations. Let us see tribalism as a culture of the jungle, where anaconda moves with anaconda, tiger with tiger, lion with lion, and monkey with monkey. Indeed, none of us had the opportunity to negotiate with God and to choose our tribes, dialects, and races during our birth. They are God-given identities which we must appreciate and nurture in the collective interest of humanity.

Fellow Ghanaians, fellow Muslims, permit me to end this rejoinder with the following divine words:

● "O Human beings! We created you all from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, so that you may know one another. Verily the noblest of you in the sight of Allah is the most God-fearing of you. Surely Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware." (Quran 49: 13)

May Allah bless all of us.

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