Culture of silence: No journalist worth his or her pen ought to speak this way - Kwakye Ofosu

Former Deputy Information Minister, Felix Kwakye Ofosu has said that Journalists worth their salt will not complain that they are afraid to be attacked by criticizing Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s government because they helped bring the government into power.

There is a growing concern among media practitioners that the culture of silence is creeping in in Ghana under the current administration.

The killing of Ahmed Suale and the arrest, subsequent detention of some journalists with modernghana.com and the attacks on Journalists who express their opinions on social media have given credence to the fact that the country is not safe for critical journalism.

But Felix Kwakye Ofosu believes that claims that the culture of silence is creeping in gradually should be taken with a pinch of salt.

“I have heard a number of journalists say they are unable to take on the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration as they did the Mahama administration because of fear they will be attacked. No journalist worth his or her pen ought to speak this way. It is the business of journalists to hold governments to account even at the peril of their lives,” he said in a post he shared on Facebook.

To him, the media contributed in bringing Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to power and therefore it’s imperative that they endure whatever comes with his ascension to power.

He said the media ignored the signs written on the wall saying “When they ignored the ample warnings about his high-handedness and hounding of critics with the unleashing of violent militants on internal critics, how could they be surprised that in government, he doesn’t take kindly to criticism and scrutiny from journalists?”

Read His Full Statement Here

I have heard a number of journalists say they are unable to take on the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration as they did the Mahama administration because of fear they will be attacked.

No journalist worth his or her pen ought to speak this way. It is the business of journalists to hold governments to account even at the peril of their lives.

The rise to power of Akufo-Addo itself is steeped in the underperformance of sections of the media. Their complicity in the heist pulled over Ghanaians cannot be overemphasized.

When they chose to overlook the many red flags that foretold the disastrous government Akufo-Addo will from, how did they expect anything different once he came to power?

When deliberately seeking to muffle NDC voices on their programs through biased and lopsided panelling, where one NDC guest would have to contend with three NPP panellists disguised as “neutrals” just so the NPP was positively projected, what were they looking forward to once Akufo-Addo held court in government?

When they ignored the ample warnings about his high-handedness and hounding of critics with the unleashing of violent militants on internal critics, how could they be surprised that in government, he doesn’t take kindly to criticism and scrutiny from journalists?

Can they genuinely be surprised that 8 Ghanaians were gunned down during the 2020 polls making it the bloodiest under the fourth republic?

If the man plucked feathers from a tortoise and they overlooked it, how can they expect that he will show mercy to a fowl?

When despite obvious evidence that Bawumia was dabbling in nonsensical economic propaganda especially with our public debt and cedi depreciation, they failed to fact-check him, what outcomes did they hope we would reap as a nation once he helmed the economic management team?

Can they be surprised that the economy is in its worst shape in four decades?

So rather than cite the current hostile climate as the reason why they can’t hold this government to account, it should serve as motivation to do far more than before to tear down the very artifice they unwittingly helped to erect around Akufo-Addo which has ensured that he got the power to do what he is doing to them currently.