I am sometimes engulfed in a pool of perplexity when I see people abuse the art of communication especially those in government. Indeed this is an art that can be used to kill or heal depending on how it is used therefore learning positively the usage of this art should be something we must all strive for. Hence I totally agreed with President Mills when he said that people can always make their views known without the use of intemperate language thus an advice he gave to the T.O.R [Tema Oil Refinery] workers when he paid them a visit. But the question is has President Mills ever given such an advice to his appointees and if he has; do they even practice it and if they don’t what is he doing about it.

In fact some of us sometimes wonder if President Mills really made some of his appointments solely on the basis of those who can talk tough. But when it comes to the art of talking tough, people [i.e. the speakers] can be grouped into two main categories thus those who can talk tough without the use of any invective and those who cannot utter a sentence without maligning people or using any invective. However after a critical analysis of several utterances of some of his appointees I am sometimes tempted to believe that President Mills mistook the latter for the former and a classic example is Koku Anyindoho [i.e. Director of Communication at the Presidency] who I prefer to call a Disaster of communication not only at the presidency but also to the entire country as a whole.

To be frank, Koku is an apology for the art of communication and the earlier the President gets him out of the Presidency; the better for this nation. Below are a few of his [Koku Anyindoho] loose and infantile outbursts:

(A) “I may not like the face of Kufuor and indeed I don’t like his face… And so far as I’m concerned Kufuor for 8years destroyed Ghana”… [i.e. If a communication director can preach and endorse hatred for people publicly I wonder how such a personality can ever go to a place and preach about unity; hmmmh may be unity in hatred is what he would preach]

(B) “Who the hell does Spio think he is?… And if Spio thinks that he is Team-A then go and tell him that I, Koku Anyindoho say that Team-A my foot”… [i.e. Asking people who the hell they are? Hmmmh, has Koku ever asked himself that kind of question before?... Team-A my foot? How would Koku feel if I told him that he is a Director of Communication my foot? If he had asked himself these questions I don’t think that he would have ever said what he said]

(C) “I state categorically that irresponsible people like him [Opare Ansah] will not lead the President down an irresponsible path… And I’m saying that with people like Osei-Kyei Mensah and Opare Ansah in parliament, we [Anyindoho and the Presidency] have a question to answer and President will hear but will not pay attention to the bellicose, whimsical and capricious irresponsibility of Opare Ansah and his lots”… [i.e. How would Koku feel if he or the President is addressed as an irresponsible man; won’t it be an indictment on the Ghanaian populace as a whole so I wonder how Koku would juxtapose this with his statement].

These are few of Koku’s numerous infantile outbursts and I sometimes wonder if President Mills has ever heard of these statements and what he thinks of it. And it is even appalling to always hear him [Koku] defend himself without any sense of apology. In fact, how would President Mills or Koku Anyindoho feel if any of these statements were addressed to them in public the way Koku does. Certainly the answer is obvious and the earlier the President gets rid of that Communication Disaster the better for him and the entire country. Today he [Koku] may be doing it to Ghanaians and we may be taking it likely with him [Koku] but the question is what if he behaves infantile enough more than he normally does and decides to take it outside our boarders; do we know its implications and are we ready to face it. These are questions that President Mills needs to be asking himself and the earlier he does it the better.

In fact Koku Anyindoho is a total disgrace to the art of public speaking therefore President Mills should allow his leadership testosterone to exhibit itself for once by showing Koku the way to the exit door of his government as soon as possible [i.e. NOW].

Obibinii Paa-Kwasi

The Chalant “Atiglinyi”

Obibiniipaakwasi@gmail.com