Media Silence Not Helping Our Democracy

The media is unofficially the fourth arm of government. And part of their function is to assist the official and constitutionally established arms of government to deliver quality governance to its citizenry. The media does this by strongly representing the voice of every citizen to the three arms, regardless of one’s status in life, political and religious affiliations.

Each and every one of us has the responsibility of unearthing the odds, lampooning the norms of impunity, expressing to no uncertain terms, the repulsive and distasteful attitude of the three arms, especially the executive arm of government towards its citizenry. Our views will be heard and taken seriously if the media remain neutral in broadcasting our opinions.

Much as a few good efforts have been made and are being made to fulfill its core mandate of representing the voice of the country, Ghana's media, to a very large extent, is silently immoral. In recent times, they have become more of political party fanatics than of their real mandate. They have lost their sense of responsibility in very serious issue that affects our very lives as people.

It is over three months now since the three Takoradi girls were kidnapped, yet the president has not said anything about it. His spiritual father, Owusu Bempah, told the whole world that he knows where the girls are but would only tell Ghanaians their whereabouts if the president instructs him to do so. The media went silent on this and refused to be the voice for the poor families of the girls to ensure the spiritual father of the president was arrested and investigated. The president and his government have engaged in numerous scandalous acts but the media is shielding the president and the government to the detriment of the citizenry.

The president has borrowed so much and has nothing to show for it but our media is mute on it. Government is packed with very close family members and close friends of the president and the media is silent.

Peaceful election is a non-negotiable element of a stable democracy, yet, Akuffo Addo family related member, Jean Mensah, is handling affairs of the Electoral Commission in a very biased manner in favour of the NPP but our media is silent on it.

For the fact that the media have lost their morals, they are being subjected to all manner of ill-treatment by the government and they show no solidarity for each other. Media practitioners are being brutalised on regular basis, killed, threatened with death and the same media is busy shielding and defending government and the president.

Women who have been the most vulnerable in our society have been tagged by our president as low minded and can't be part of fore takers of decision, but we are yet to hear our media represent the poor voice of our women to the world.

The president's decision to force the US military base on us has attracted the big eye of terrorists on our once peaceful and safe country and the media is silent. Is it the case that they are aware of their own lost moral and that is why they can't and are not representing the Ghanaian masses? Is it the case that they are beneficiaries of this looting government and therefore support the president to clear every appointee of corruption?

Ghana's media must wake up and work to reclaim their lost morality in the media fraternity across the length and breadth of this country. The culture of silence this government is trying so hard to introduce and sustain in this country is inimical to our democracy. With the full support of the media, we can resist this culture of silence with our might. Ghana is not for Nana Addo and NPP, but Ghanaians in general. This is a clarion call I'm making to all media practitioners to reconsider and revise their notes so that they can remain the voice of the voiceless.

Writer
Cornelius Naasoa Wuobar
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