The aftermath of the Blakk Rasta debacle, Any lessons for Ghana’s Presenters?

“He is a disappointment to Rastafarianism”, “He is a liar”, “He is a hypocrite and a big coward”, “He makes wild claims when he knows he has no evidence to proof”, “It is good he has been sacked, at least there will be some decency on radio” … and the list continues.

These and others were some of the barrage of uncharitable criticisms and insults that were heaped on the turbaned head of Hitz FM presenter and musician, Abubakar Ahmed a.k.a Blakk Rasta following his unsubstantial able rants on his radio show that 80% of Ghana’s parliamentarians use Marijuana.

Eventually, Blakk Rasta had no option than to make good use of the wise saying in proverbs 15 verse 1: “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger”.

Thus, he, upon his invitation to face the privileges committee of parliament, made a sharp U-turn by rendering profuse unqualified apologies to the lawmakers for his comments, explaining that he made those pronouncements out of the spur of the moment: when “he was on heat”.

Unambiguously a typical case of “a child can play with its mother's breasts but certainly not with the father's testicles”.

Although controversial Blakk Rasta is not the sole preserve of such a perception, since most people including your good self might be holding a similar view, the fact that he had no evidence to buttress it makes it an unsuitable categorical radio statement.

I therefore, find the scathing attacks and his subsequent dismissal, or rather resignation, quite deserving and rightly so because as professionally as he is expected to behave, he should have known that broadcasting and wild allegations are never supposed to be bed mates. Even though it is common to hear the Ghanaian public make wild, unwarranted and unevidenced allegations against public officers on daily basis, mostly out of mere perception, it was absolutely unforgivable for a presenter to make similar assertions on radio.

This is because, most Ghanaians have come to attach some religiousity to information they hear in the media to the extent that some people will not believe things they witnessed themselves until it is confirmed by the media.

This is the kind of power the media wields which it must strive to guard jealously.

As the dust on this issue has almost settled and most people have closed that chapter to focus on another topical gossip, perhaps Asamoah Gyan’s multi-million cedi move to Shangai SIPG, I would like to remind my colleague media practitioners not to just brush this subject aside as one of those issues, but to let it serve as both a lesson and a reminder of our sacred responsibility to treat our listeners to nothing but true information and to have high regards for their rights to fair, credible and unbiased information.

Unless we want to behave hypocritically and hold on to the belief that only the one who has been caught stealing is considered a thief, I believe all will agree with me that this is not the first time a presenter has spewed a fabrication on air.

On a daily basis, we hear much respected presenters make similar and even worse unsubstantiated claims, with sometimes very damaging consequences on the victims, either in doing the bidding of their pay masters or for their own parochial and selfish objectives. Careless exaggerations, deliberate misinterpretations, malicious sensationalization, framing etc. has become the order of the day! We all seem to find nothing wrong with it and rather consider it “tasty” like the “Kasi3bo” on Adom FM, until we become the unfortunate beneficiaries, then we begin to complain.

We, as a country, have to nip this ugly unprofessional practice on our airwaves in the bud. Media practitioners must realize that, in this age of social media proliferation in which most Ghanaians have become pocket journalists on social media, the only characteristic that distinguishes the professional practitioner from the rest is credibility.

Journalism and media thrives on credibility and once a presenter/Journalist loses it, he or she has no job and must better find one! Media houses must institute self-check and peer review mechanisms to keep employees in check and to ultimately help sanitize the media profession while enhancing credibility. Under no circumstance must any journalist/presenter take listeners for granted.

Listeners as media consumers must take a cue from 1 Corinthians 10:23 which says “All things are lawful; but not all things are expedient. All things are lawful; but not all things edify”. We must be able to decipher good from bad, listen to credible presenters and avoid the sensational ones.

The point is when they are not listened to, they will eventually quite to find other jobs and eventually, only the reliable ones will remain on the airwaves. Let’s say a big “NO” to Journalism/Broadcasting of sensationalism, fabrications, exaggerations, false allegations etc. Ghana deserves better!!

#Mohammed Zunurene (Usta), Broadcast Journalist.
Email:Ustabone2001@yahoo.com