Onua Pa Kwaku:
I enjoyed perusing your posting below. Also, some of us, who have suffered degradation in the past as pressmen and women in Ghana, do appreciate the observance of Press Freedom Day. We also appreciate it very much when we read eloquent writings about press freedom as well as the lack of it and also about actions in our country's democratic practices (including your reference to an "instituted defective CONSTITUTION").
Maybe, some of you have either easily forgotten or not been aware that I was one of the two employees (but the only Journalist) of THE PIONEER newspaper of Kumasi arrested and detained for several days by Chairman I.K. Acheampong's National Redemption Council (NRC) when the NRC used a decree to ban THE PIONEER, sent its armed soldiers to invade the paper's Adum premises and, subsequently, to arrest and detain two of us in Kumasi-based military barracks. At the time, I was the deputy editor (sub-editor) of THE PIONEER (deputy to Editor A.D. Appiah); my colleague arrested with me (on the day THE PIONEER was banned by an NRC decree) was Mr. Emmanuel Ofori, the Business Manager. After an over night of a torturing session at the military barracks by armed soldiers, Mr. Ofori (whose "private parts" were stepped on repeatedly by some cruel soldiers) could hardly walk the next day. He eventually died! Amnesty International and other external agencies (including the Press Union of Liberia, PUL) protested and appealed for our release, hence I came out alive. THE PIONEER was banned because of what NRC members claimed to be anti-military rule editorials of the newspaper, especially an editorial titled "NRC: Did we go or did we come?".
As a Professor Emeritus of an American university today (enjoying retirement in peace), I am currently writing my intellectual memoirs. The professional Editor working with me finds it hard to believe some of the humiliations that I endured in Ghana the past, including the NRC episode narrated above, reasons which make some of us prefer perpetual exile. For example, I remember going to the Castle in Accra to meet "Uncle" Joe Appiah (as a former legal adviser to THE PIONEER newspaper) to complain about my cruel or shabby treatment by armed soldiers of the NRC government. Enjoying a lit-cigarette between the fingers of his right hand, "Uncle" Joe said that he was on that day recommending a Ghanaian Lawyer (who was his friend) to become Chief Justice of Ghana under the NRC. In his plain talk, "Uncle" Joe, characteristically, smiled as he cautioned me not to play with armed soldiers. "Akwasi, all of us have suffered in one way or the other in Ghana politics, but I advise you not to play with armed soldiers." In the end, he asked me to meet him in Kumasi on the coming weekend. When I did go to see him at his Adum home, as he requested, "Uncle" Joe informed me that the Ghana High Commission in Canada needed a Press Officer (or a Press Attache), and that he was willing to recommend me for the position to Mr. G.T. Anim of the Ghana Information Services Department. I was shocked that after being arrested, detained and tortured by the NRC regime's Kumasi-based armed soldiers as an editor/employee of the banned PIONEER newspaper, anyone would ask me to work overseas for the NRC regime headed by Chairman I.K. Acheampong! Instead, I asked "Uncle" Joe why, as a man of principle, he would agree to serve the NRC regime as a Roving Ambassador and in other positions. "Akwasi, I am tired of being in the opposition. In Ghana, it does not pay to be in the opposition...," "Uncle" Joe basically said.
Thank God that there is a Press Freedom Day in the world!
What about our "defective CONSTITUTION', as you described it below? After all, any unbiased Ghanaian should take a careful look at our current CONSTITUTION, and then see how it was created, with several sections or clauses written against Ghanaians living abroad, who cannot return to Ghana today and decide immediately to run for public offices, including parliament. I often wonder if a constitution should be that inimical and discouraging. When I asked a Legon professor, who served on the constitution writing commission, about such clauses in the Ghana constitution, which are clearly meant to be against some of us living abroad, he told me that the producers of the constitution (or commissioners) wanted to make sure that some of us living abroad would not suddenly return to Ghana to hijack political power with our earned or saved dollars and pound sterling! In jest, he added: "Also, the writers of the Ghana constitution wanted some of you to return to Ghana to live for a while and to suffer some of the mosquito bites before you qualify to run for any public office..."
In his book, AFRICA IN SEARCH OF DEMOCRACY, the late Prime Minister K.A. Busia narrated the story of a Chinese man and his family, who chose to stay in the bush, where there was a wild lion or leopard. When he was asked why he preferred staying in such a dangerous bush, the man said, as I recall from Dr. Busia's book, it was because there was no dictator in the bush! That meant the man and his family preferred staying in the bush, where they could become prey of the wild beast to coming to stay in town, where a dictator could harass, arrest or jail them!
Professor Wole Soyinka and I have been friends for years, long, long before he won a Nobel prize. When my spouse and I successfully nominated and brought him for an Indiana University distinguished lectureship, he teased and called me "ancient exile", mainly for continuing to stay abroad for so long. He returned home from self-imposed exile after Abacha died suddenly in Nigeria. Sadly, I remain in my self-imposed exile (since the early 1970s). Maybe, I am like the Chinese man described by Dr. Busia in his book: I find it safer living abroad!
Again, praise Almighty God for Press Freedom Day!
A.B. Assensoh.
Sent: Friday, May 03, 2013 7:28 PM
To: glu-ghana-leadership-forum@googlegroups.com; 'Yaa Antwi'; 'Doris Dartey 3'; jkzorm2001@yahoo.com; 'Ebo Assan Donkoh'; 'Camynta Baezie'; 'Doreen Graphic'; 'Etonam Mortey'; 'Gheysika Agambilla'; 'Anthony Obeng Afrane'; ranst59@yahoo.com; 'Janet Quarcoo'; 'kwasi gyan-apenteng'; 'Eunice Anim'; 'Dinah Amankwah'; 'Manu Herbstein'; 'kabral blay-amihere'; usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com; 'Ekow Henry'; 'Nana Apenteng'; 'Paa Kwasi Gyan-Apenteng'; 'E APENTENG'; Assensoh, Akwasi B.
Cc: the-third-force-ghana@googlegroups.com; nia_for_ghana@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: Press Freedom Day
Kwasi,
Thanks for reminding us.
Folks, we must all never forget that it was not only 30 years ago when Tommy Thomson, and I think Kofi Coomson also had their offices smeared with human feces for criticizing the NDC,, I mean the PNDC.
Even on the GLU forum wasn't it 2 or 3 years ago that somebody wrote to me that I was not showing enough respect (whatever that means) to Chairman Rawlings and Pro. Atta Mills, my own age mates, and I was criticizing them and hence they would "show me where power lies" when I came to Ghana!? Huh!!
Do some of you remember?
Of course when I went to ECG to send them my rotten food in a nice package the Manager was not there,, else more news would have been made that day that Joy-FM did. The coward could not meet me in 2010 even though I was there for 3 months! And my gun was ready!
Look folks, in Ghana we have hooligans who have joined together with a few military boys to take over our nation some 32 years ago and instituted a defective CONSTITUTION, and nobody seems to notice! Yes, the era of Kufuor seems to have ushered in a breadth of fresh air, if anybody remembers. In fact Kufuor, no matter how ego-maniac and attention loving he is, will be remembered by not arresting anybody when rumors and scandals were published against him for womanizing or his son getting loans to buy a hotel that was named Hotel Kufuor. Could other leaders have sat idle and not reacted?
So let us all join in and congratulate the men and women in the media and celebrate with them the World's Press Freedom day.
Sorry I saw this late but better late than never.
Oooh! Boy! ,, Kwasi,, you have a lot of people on the list,, Honorable men and women,, I beg oooo!! (If I tred on anybody's toes). Electricity and Water and Underground sewage are too important to me I was prepared to do a one-man demonstration but I missed the Manager and could not hold his shirt collar that day!
God bless Ghana!
Kwaku A. Danso, M.Eng., PhD (Organization & Management/Leadership)
President - Ghana Leadership Union (NGO), Moderator-GLU and GLF Forums.
http://groups.google.com/group/glu-ghana-leadership-forum?hl=en?hl=en
Author: Leadership Concepts and the Role of Government in Africa: The Case of Ghana
Publisher - Global Express Communications - www.globalexpressghana.com
From: glu-ghana-leadership-forum@googlegroups.com [mailto:glu-ghana-leadership-forum@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Kwasi Gyan-Apenteng
Sent: Friday, May 03, 2013 2:13 AM
To: GLU; Yaa Antwi; Doris Dartey 3; jkzorm2001@yahoo.com; Ebo Assan Donkoh; Camynta Baezie; Doreen Graphic; Etonam Mortey; Gheysika Agambilla; Anthony Obeng Afrane; ranst59@yahoo.com; Janet Quarcoo; kwasi gyan-apenteng; Eunice Anim; Dinah Amankwah; Manu Herbstein; kabral blay-amihere; usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com; Ekow Henry; Nana Apenteng; Paa Kwasi Gyan-Apenteng; E APENTENG; A. B. Assenso
Subject: Press Freedom Day
Today is World Press Freedom Day, a day set aside to salute journalists and others who work to
enhance press freedom around the world. While we enjoy considerable press freedom in Ghana
we cannot take it for granted. We have to remember also that it was not always like this;
some people fought for this freedom - some paid with their lives and freedom.
Today, some people who gladly describe themselves as journalists and "media personnel"
are too careless and arrogant with what they do...
We need to remember that this freedom is always in danger and has to be guarded and respected
every single minute of every single day. Press freedom is the chief guarantor of all our other freedoms.
Today, our thoughts must go to people in countries where this freedom is supressed and denied to citizens.
In our West Africa sub-region, The Gambia springs to mind but it is not the only place where journalists have died,
been imprisoned or exiled in the course of their work and in the fight for press freedom, human rights, democracy
and social justice.
Press freedom must be protected and nurtured, so on this day I salute journalists and all those whose work
enhance this freedom including civil society and citizen's groups. Let us all work together in this cause.
Kwasi Gyan-Apenteng
Consultant in Communication, Culture and Media
President, Ghana Association of Writers
Member, National Media Commission
PAWA HOUSE
Roman Ridge, Accra
--
Created for dialogue on the role and effectiveness of leadership and active citizen participation across generations -Ghana, Africa & Global, by Dr.K.Danso
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "GLU-Ghana Leadership Forum" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to glu-ghana-leadership-forum+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to glu-ghana-leadership-forum@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/glu-ghana-leadership-forum?hl=en.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
No comments:
Post a Comment