Extremism and fanaticism are no longer limited to adherents of faith-based organisations. Some politicians are more measured in their extreme activities than some professional and civil society organisations.
While the presidential candidate of the NDC, John Mahama, appears to have seen the light about illegal mining and cautioning that we thread cautiously in dealing with the menace, some professional and civil society groups are in a frenzy attempting to stampede the Akufo-Addo government to act decisively.
The latest chip on the block, Albert Kwabena Dwumfuor, President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), has become bold to the extent that he can look the President of the Republic and Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces in the face and tell him, “You have failed in your fight against galamsey.”
Former President John Mahama, after indicating his desire to grant amnesty to those jailed for their involvement in illegal mining, then went ahead to blame the government for the menace, arguing that although the operators must be held accountable, the ultimate responsibility lies with government officials, particularly District Chief Executives and Ministers of State who he claims facilitate and benefit from the illicit practice.
And while he again condemned President Akufo-Addo for the devastation caused to the environment and water sources because he has failed in the fight against galamsey, for which he claimed to have put his office on the line, the NDC flagbearer is warning that we thread cautiously in the fight against galamsey because it provides jobs for the youth and generates revenue.
We can only say hurrah because a new convert has been won but this time not out of a genuine desire, but out of desperation for political power.
Fellow Ghanaians, what has necessitated John Mahama’s change of campaign strategy? Is it also the case that its attempt to mobilise anti-galamsey crusaders led by the Media Coalition Against Galamsey and other civil society groups to make the government unpopular is also failing to resonate on the ordinary people?
Few months into Election 2024, the GJA President failed to mention the present existential threat to responsible and accountable media practice during his presentation. He faced the President of the Republic, and rendered in a bold style his criticism of the NPP government’s handling of the galamsey menace and offered some solutions in the words of one of Kwame Ampadu’s soundtracks, “So mu gye w’akrantee”.
For the sake of our readers, the theme of the 28th GJA Media Awards last Saturday was, “75 Years of Excellence in Journalism: The Role of the Media in Democratic Governance and Elections.”
Certainly, democratic governance cannot be limited to media practice but how as a country we have conducted the affairs of state over the last three decades. In doing so however, media practitioners must be reminded to stay within the bounds of exercising their freedom with responsibility, especially in the era of widespread fake news exacerbated by the phenomenon of new media.
And that was the reason why the GJA invited an alumnus of the School of Communication Studies of the University of Ghana, Professor Umaru A. Pate, Vice Chancellor, Federal University, Kashere, Gombe State, Nigeria, to do justice to the theme and, indeed, although pressed for time, he gave all of us food for thought.