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Opinions of Monday, 3 May 2021

Columnist: Dawda Eric

Manasseh Awuni's deafening silence on Otabil's scandal makes him morally unfit to speak

Manasseh Azure Awuni, Investigative Journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni, Investigative Journalist

The founder of Light House Chapel International, Dr.Dag Heward-Mills has been the topic in this country. The proponent of the topic is no less a person than Manasseh Azure Awuni.

The "fourthestate" which is an online portal has put out a lot of articles extensively written by Manasseh Azure Awuni. The portal captures what is happening at Light House Chapel as one of the ills in the society. The Reverend Minister has been accused of swerving payment of his workers SSNIT contribution.

What must be noted that, guilty can only be pronounced by a competent court of jurisdiction and since same has not been established, Dr.Heward Mills must be allowed to enjoy his peace of mind.

The purpose of this write up is to bring to mind Manasseh Azure Awuni's consistent selectivity and hypocritical behavior on matters involving people who are not in his good books. The records would show that, I have on different occasions mounted spirited defence for him when he came under serious attacks when he conducted an investigation into Gyeeda, Sada and Asongtaba.

Today I cannot do same for him because he has decided to throw objectivity to the dogs. He threw his objectivity to the wind when he opted not to speak on Pastor Mensa Otabil's debacle. In 2018, Bank of Ghana took a bold initiative to sanitize the financial sector by a clean up exercise.

With regard to that exercise, some banks were heavily indicted in an audit report conducted by KMPG under the directives of the governor of Bank of Ghana, Dr.Ernest Addison. What actually became an electric shock to many people was the fact that, Pastor Mensah Otabil was a board member of one those banks whose criminal activities caused the government of Ghana so much.

As we speak, if these two matters involving Pastor Mensa Otabil and Dr Dag Heward Mills are put on a scale, what is currently hanging on Pastor Mensa Otabil's neck would even break the scale yet Manasseh Azure Awuni has for some time now kept mute on Mr.Mensah Otabil's involvement in the collapse of capital bank but finds it expedient to wade into peoples issue. Is his defeaning silence on Otabil's scandal not enough for reasonable minds to question Azure Awuni's credibility as an investigative journalist?

Quite surprisenly, when people called on him to share his opinion on the said matter, he declined and gave reasons that, he could not do that, because of his close association with Pastor Mensa Otabil.

According to Awuni's theory, when you are in his good books, you can stage a coup d'état against a constitutionally elected government, he doesn't care in so far as you continue to be in his good books. His lame reason for not speaking on Otabil's issue makes him a puppet who comes out to devour like a hung lion anytime hunger knocks on his door.

Such a dangerous character must not be allowed to hide behind journalism to wage hate induced campaign against people he doesn't want to see or hear their names. Truth be told, Manasseh Azure Awuni lost my respect for him the very day he sought to justify his silence on Otabil's issue. He must be told in plain language that, he sunk his credibility in "chorkor gutters" when he declined to climb the ladder of moral authority laid before him by his followers to have a bite of the cherry.

#The one who kept mute on Otabil's rot must equally keep mute when peoples issue come to the public domain.#