Leave Baby Ansabah Alone!

There has been a cacophony of noises over the past few days owing to a decision taken by the �powers that be� to send our Editor, Mr. Ebenezer Ato Sam also known as Baby Ansabah on President Mills� recent trip to the Island state of Trinidad & Tobago (T&T). Initially, while the thing was made to present Prof. Mills as one who did not discriminate when it comes to selecting or choosing a corps of journalists to form part of his presidential delegation, the story was twisted as though Mr. Ato Sam had gate crashed at the president�s trip. Then there was this aspect which alleged that the man had been smuggled on the trip by national security elements still holding allegiance to the NPP, to enable Mr. Sam spy on President J.E A. Mills Haba. This brings home the legend that although every animal runs, it�s only the cow that people poke fun at, because of the way and manner it runs. During the previous regimes, certain journalists had the opportunity to travel with the President. We recall during Kufuor�s tenure in office, a basket full of journalists and media practitioners accompanied the President on his numerous international engagements. Before then, the Joe Bradford Nyinahs, Gayheart Edem Mensah�s and several others travelled with the Head of State. Ato Sam, alias Baby Ansabah never travelled on any of President Kufuor�s trips outside the country until he had the rare opportunity to do so when Prof Mills, who had promised to keep an open and accountable government, deemed it wise to have him considered as one of the reporters in his team to attend the 6th session of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Port of Spain, the capital town of Trinidad. So far the summit has ended and Prof. Mills has returned safely home. There has not been any reportage suggestive of any espionage conducted by Mr. Ato Sam on Professor Mills. Secondly there has not been any official denial, that Mr. Ato Sam was legitimately included on the trip. It can also not be established that he misrepresented and bull-dozed his way onto the trip. Aside from all the foregoing deductions, no radio or TV station had claimed officially, that a name clash or miscarriage of information that made Mr. Ato Same travel with President Mills. For the information and attention of all those doubting Thomases, Mr. Ato Sam did not even undertake the T & T trip on a visa acquired for him by the Government, His invitation, we understand came late, at a time visas were being acquired for his other colleagues, to some, travelling is a privilege. But it should not be so. Our boss is not travel shy. Although he was not part of a �cult� group of journalists and media practitioners who traveled at the expense of the State on almost all the foreign trips of President J.A. Kufuor. Those who are complaining think that they had done the monkey work for Baboons like Ato Sam (Baby Ansabah) to emerge from nowhere to �chop�. No one would relish a situation after making so much sacrifices and self-denial, to let others from nowhere come and profit from the fruits of their labour. So we have no qualms with those who poured their anger on the Baby Ansabah T & T Journey to report on the just-ended CHOGM. Those who work on the paper to ensure its survival and resilience, these past three years, have known the tempestuous journeys we�ve traversed. Since the paper was launched on November 30, 2006 many more newspapers have also been launched, but ask yourself, dear reader, where those papers are? They have simply floundered and fallen. It�s not been easy, we must confess. The Kufuor administration did not help the New Punch, NPP did not invest in the New Punch, and does not own it. This ought to be made succinctly clear. It�s not easy to run and sustain newspaper in Ghana. The advertising companies are not helping and the politicians only tend to use us for what we importune ourselves to sing their praises. The New Punch might have learned a little leftist and this saw the NDC and all it stood for as wishful thinking. Our position is not the same now. We are poised to carve a new image for ourselves. An image of ambidextrousness; objectivity, truth and fairness to all at all material times. It�s on the basis of this that our Editor accepted to be on the President�s trip to Trinidad & Tobago. Indeed if Baby Ansabah is diabolical, it ought to have reflected in his life and character as of now. We believe, as an editor, no one can question his editorial principles if these are to help to redefine our socio-politico-ethos. Let�s begin to praise officialdom where praise is due and criticize when the need arises, for sycophancy particularly gaping sycophancy, is the bane of this nation. Leave Baby Ansabah Alone! The former President, as records indicate, travelled more than 184 times within a span of eight (8) years. Most Journalists and reporters from elsewhere had opportunity to be on almost all the Presidential delegations, with the exception of yours truly. �This time round, courtesy Prof. J.E.A Mills acting through National Security Council �I, went, I, saw, and would report what ought to be reported�, says Baby Ansabah.