Needless Brouhaha

This certainly is not the time for financially distressed Ghana to be mired in a needless engagement over whether the No. 1 Gentleman�s voice, as played on radio, was genuine or fake. If the subject spills over to the week we have just begun, it will deal a fatal blow to the national conversation being organized about the economy. For a forum that appears moribund at birth, cacophonous arguments over the authenticity of the President�s voice can only raise the stress level of the Flagstaff House, especially the Information Ministry. We are unable to resist blaming managers of the President�s affairs in the face of the furore ignited by the infamous speech and the unfortunate presentation of a so-called authentic one to as it were, rubbish the original one. We do not seek to steep ourselves in this damage control brouhaha and the poor work executed by whoever thought he was doing Mr. President a quality service. The managers being referred to could have allowed sleeping dogs to lie as Ghanaians discuss the subject as freely as they wish. Many things influenced the general impression about the President�s visit and the resultant confusion underpinning it anyway. We do not want to believe that Mr. President demanded the playing of Lumba�s hit song � Yentie Obiaa � as he cruised on the streets of Kumasi to as it were, taunt those opposed to his rule. If he did we would be surprised because of its impact on the already polarized society � Ghana. �Not listening to anybody,� the bottom-line of Lumba�s rendition as played during the President�s Kumasi mission, presupposes an acknowledgment of an underlying problem with a section of the residents in the Garden City. But taunting this segment rather than engaging them, is the worst reaction under the circumstances, we dare state. All these issues could have been managed without the needless dust which has now been raked � had the President�s image-makers been a little bit circumspect and exhibited better appreciation of the level of polarization in the country. Mr. President cannot afford to ignore those who do not buy into his policies. Democracy would cease to be what it is supposed to be when we all belong to the same political party and even refuse to criticize policies of ruling governments when these are unpopular. We hear the police have waded into the subject, further widening the frontier in a manner which is injurious to the President�s interest. The release from the CID PRO last weekend smelled a certain degree of an unnecessary pulling of strings and issuance of orders. The last thing the President would want at this stage is an undue prolonging of the brouhaha; but the factors playing out as aforementioned will do just that. The subject makes wonderful headlines and so if the President�s managers would continue to goof about, they must be marching into the hands of headline casters.