"What Animal Is That?" - What Kweku Baako's Said About 'Papa No'
The hullabaloo surrounding the phrase 'Papa No' seems not to be dying down anytime soon, as renowned journalist Kweku Baako Jnr. has reacted to its 'appearance' in Parliament.
'Papa No' to wit 'that man' in Akan; a local dialect; became very popular on social media following a feud between two celebrities; Mzbel and Tracy Boakye.
Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah made it more popular when he used it to describe John Jinapor, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Yapei Kusawgu Constituency during proceedings in the House.
“Mr Speaker, I want to encourage my colleagues on the other side. I want to encourage my good friend who just spoke (John Jinapor). In my hometown, we will say, ‘Papa no.’ ‘Papa no.’ I want to encourage ‘Papa no’ to take some time and follow the structure of this conversation and support,” the Ofoase Ayirebi MP told the House.
Haruna Iddrisu's rebuttal
Minority leader Haruna Iddrisu in reaction demanded Kojo Oppong Nkrumah withdraw the comment else....
“You come to parliament to employ those words used on social media, we take strong objection to it. If you don’t withdraw, we won’t recognize you today as a minister. We will not. Do what you will do...We will give you a name. We will give you a name. And we are serving notice, he was elected just like you. And his constituents respect him. Because you people use ‘Papa no’ on social media. We know what it means. We will match you. You have lost my respect as Minority leader from today. We will match you. We too, we will call you ‘Maame no,” Haruna Iddrisu said.
Subsequently, the phrase was expunged from the Parliamentary records.
The 'animal' 'Papa No'
Reacting to this, Kweku Baako felt the Minority leader overreacted.
"Papa No, what is that; what animal is that? It has taken a different dimension on social media because ordinarily, it is a harmless description. Even saying it in parliament . . . it's the reaction by my good friend Haruna Iddrisu; I think he overreacted. Perhaps Kojo too subconsciously threw in that social media gun; that was why it became a big deal . . . " he said on Peace FM's morning show 'Kokrokoo'.
"In a way, there was also a bit of innuendo," he added.
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