... for “Yahuda Top Security” Anansesem (Fairy-Tale)

The recent misinformation and irresponsible reporting from the Ghana News Agency (GNA) calls for some type of action from the Ministry of Information or whoever is responsible for selecting the top officials at the GNA. We think that a severe reprimand of the General Manager and editors who allowed the story to be published is in order. Cleary, we all know now that there was no boost to "Government's efforts at fighting the narcotic drug menace and illegal armed trafficking…as officials of Yahuda Security Management Consulting, a top United Kingdom security firm arrived in Accra to assist national security agencies.” On the contrary, the good name and reputation of Ghana and Ghanaians were dragged into the mud, and without good cause.

We say sack the GNA bosses for negligence and professional malpractice. Sack them for allowing the “Anansesem” to be published and circulated because they allowed some wannabee from Yahuda Security Management Consulting (a Ms Cynthia Mensa) to simply walk into GNA’s government-assigned offices to claim the ridiculous, that she’d been moved when “President Mills' team… (interacted)… with the Ghanaian community in UK…” In the same story, the GNA bosses allowed to be published another statement from a second individual from the same company. Apparently, a Dr Ebenezer Tetteh informed the GNA that they would focus on “optimisation of airport and coastal security, protection of sensitive strategic installations, stemming the tide of the drugs trade and prevention of terrorism.” But it was all a farce, we know now.

Quickly, the Yahuda story was reproduced on Ghanaweb and many naïve, gullible, and rabble-rousing contributors went all kind of ways with the anansesem. There were many who believed the anansesem - hook, line and sinker. And so, many were they who hurled invectives at the Mills administration, while others from the opposite side counter-attacked pointlessly, we must add.

From our vantage point, this is what we wrote as comment to the Ghanaweb, with some corrections:

“Not sure why a private company will be in this business. This is typically a bilateral support event, between national government(s), that is typically achieved through training and logistical support, from the country receiving all the drugs. GNA begins with “Government's efforts” and throws around “Officials of Yahuda were inspired by the humility and commitment of President Mills' team.” What does that mean? Why is it that the entire piece does not name one official or public agency? Why Yahuda Security Management? (Prof Lungu, Ghanaweb, 19 May).

We knew GNA had missed the road this time, and in a very big and grave way. It is our opinion that it was utterly irresponsible for the GNA to publish the piece without making a single call to the appropriate Ghanaian officials. It is apparent that GNA did not even bother to make simple internet searches to validate “Yahuda Security” as a trusted source, company, or existing domain name.

But it is now evident that the GNA, a public media agency that tells us it is “instrumental in carrying government messages, policies, plans and programmes to the people,” failed miserably as a professional entity. Clearly, the GNA bosses should have known that there is no “top security agency” anywhere in the world that does not have a website. And so, as subsequently reported on Ghanaweb, an outfit called CPP’s International Research Directorate revealed that GNA’s “Top Security Firm” was registered one day before they walked into the GNA offices, in a residential neighborhood of London. Wonders, Ghana media Giant!

Furthering its lackadaisical attitude to news reporting, the GNA bosses on 23 May published “a release from the Ministry of Information purported to have been signed by Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Deputy Minister of Information, saying that "GOV'T HAS NO DEALING WITH YAHUDA SECURITY…” One would think that “purported” actually goes with the “Yahuda,” not with a government press release that is effortlessly vetted by assigning a student intern to make a call to the office of the minister, if that is all the resource you have. But that is not all. GNA officials are either so naive or indolent, or maybe they are just plain stupid and making too much easy money. These people could not tell that the statement in the press release advising “the media to endeavour to clarify issues, especially those that bother on security, with it in order to avoid embarrassments of this nature,” was addressed to GNA, precisely. If the GNA boss was smart or awake, he would have done the responsible and honourable thing by publishing a correction and issuing an apology for professional malpractice and negligence. Not so!

In conclusion and to repeat, in the case of the Yahuda anansesem, we think that GNA bosses need to apologize to the people for acting as central rumor mill processors, for propagating self-interest stories that have absolutely no public benefit, for misleading the people, for grossly failing at "dissemination of truthful unbiased news." To cut to the chase, the credibility and news-worthiness of future reports from the GNA is seriously damaged in the eyes of the objective, Ghana-centered observer. The Yahuda Anansesem compels us to doubt the competence, dedication, and integrity of the GNA boss and the editors who allowed publication of the “weather-balloon” anansesem. We are saying that those reputations, images, and characters at GNA need to change.

We say sack the GNA boss and the editors who allowed the Yahuda fairy-tale to see the light of the day.

© 26 May 2009, Prof Lungu, Tokyo, Japan. “Ghana-centered” and “Ghana-centeredness” are a distinctive community outreach trademarks associated with Prof Lungu and www.GhanaHero.com. Visit us and read about our Ghana-centered agenda. Visit us at www.GhanaHero.com. Listen to “FOIB – Are You Pickable.” on MP3.