On Saturday, the deputy Tourism Minister James Agyenim Boateng and the Head of the Communications Team of the New Patriotic Party Nana Akomeah rolled a contest of reason and intellectual discourse to one of abuse.The slanderous war of words on this very high-profile news analysis programme exploded when the Communications Director for the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) and Member of Parliament (MP) for Okaikoi South, Honourable Nana Akomea, chopped no words in labeling the Deputy Minister, “a stupid fool”.
This disgraceful verbal exchange begun when the Deputy Tourism Minister termed Nana Akomea “a shameful-ridiculous” person for organizing a press conference and alleging that a Deputy Minister for Information, Baba Jamal, under the tutelage of government tactics to use state funds to encourage Journalists to exaggerate and mislead stories to enhance the chances of the NDC ahead of the 2012 general elections. They were discussing the hotly controversial mystery tape in which an inaudible voice alleged to be that of Baba Jamal is heard making these promises of car and cash as reward for doing government’s request.
Although officials of the rulling government have slammed the content of the tape describing it as manufacture, but the opposition believes it is authentic and genuine and has therefore called for further investigation into it.
Representatives of the two parties were in no mood for courtesy and went all mouth raging with insults.
Earlier in his opening remarks Nana Akomea called for a voice expert to authenticate the voice on the tape. But the Deputy Tourism Minister James Agyenim Boateng deems no such expert is needed.
He stated, “...You find a Member of Parliament, a Director of Communications of the opposition political party who holds a press conference, denigrates a deputy minister of information, runs him down, runs a whole government machinery down; makes serious allegations as wanting to bribe and corrupt journalist. He sits on a platform like this, you give him the opportunity to prove the very issues that he calls a press conference and speaks to, then he says that lets find an expert to establish the authenticity of the tape. What kind of shameful conduct is this?”
“This is ridiculous and you ought not be involved in something like this,” Boateng said. “What is wrong with it?” Akomea questioned.
“The point is that everybody who knows Baba Jamal and has heard his voice before will tell you; you don’t need to be a voice expert to tell that that is not Baba Jamal’s voice on that tape. And I think it betrays the intelligence of those who addressed that press conference to come up with something as ridiculous as that," Boateng specified.
“I would not be insulted on this Programme,” Nana Akomea objected and asked for a withdrawal which the minister declined.
“Nana Akomea should be telling us when this meeting took place…” “There are simple, sensible, basic questions that ought to be asked as far as this tape is concerned,” he said, adding, “I will not unsay anything I have said in relation to this tape.”
“You are a stupid fool if you will sit on this program and call me unintelligent. You are a stupid fool and you are a government minister…you are calling me unintelligent. You are a very stupid fool. Stupid fool, you are being stupid,” Nana Akomea remonstrated toughly.
Both men refused to retract and apologise for their comments.
It appears that the war against politics of insults is far-off from being won.
Source: Ghana Politics / Ghana News
No comments:
Post a Comment