Though they live in a glass house and therefore
should not be throwing stones, and in spite of the call for an end to the
politics of insults, another NPP figure is at it again, hurling insults at the
person of none other than His Excellency President John Dramani Mahama. And,
who else is this abusive person than Akufo-Addo’s nephew, Gabby Otchere Darko.
Incidentally, Mr. Otchere Darko is the same man who
threw all decency to the dogs a few years ago when he cartooned the then
Presidential candidate of the NDC, Prof. Mills, as a dog (poodle).
This insult has left a sour taste in the mouth of
many a Ghanaian but not this Busia-Danquah chap; so, at a time calls are being
made for all to eschew insults in our body politics, he has decided to spit in
the face of all Ghanaians by this time insulting the President by describing
him as a stupid person.
Insult
In an articled headed John Mahama defends All-Die-Be-Die in his book and yet condemns
Akufo-Addo,” Gabby analyses one of the subject matters in President Mahama’s
recently-launched book, My Coup D’etat.
In paragraph nine of his analysis which was published in the Monday, August 3
edition of the The New Statesman, Gabby claimed that at the Special NDC
Delegates Congress in Kumasi last Thursday, President Mahama made a statement
“oafishly”. Hear Gabby;
“As
he (Prez Mahama) said at the NDC Congress, somewhat oafishly and savourlessly, The
death of President (John) Mills has opened a door of opportunities”
Definition
Oafish means a clumsy stupid person. The Oxford
Advanced Learner’s Dictionary also defines an oaf as a stupid person. TheFree Online
dictionary says oafish is “A
person regarded as stupid”. The Collins
Dictionary too defines oafish as “a stupid person.”
So, by saying that the President made a comment
somewhat “oafishly,” is to simply say the President made the comment stupidly.
The ‘Daily Post’ is compelled to publish this insult
for four man reasons.
Firstly, it is the height of all indecency for a
person to say the President, the number one citizen of the land, is stupid,
simply because he disagrees with him.
Secondly, this insult is coming at a time the call
for an end to the politics of insults is generally being adhered to. Thirdly,
because it is coming from an NPP apparatchik who is the first to throw
tantrums, walk-out during live TV and radio programmes if even milder words are
used against him or the flag-bearer of his party and finally, because it is
coming from a key member of Ghana’s biggest opposition party.
Ghanaians are waiting to see what the reaction of
civil society, religious groups and identifiable bodies to this latest vulgar attack
on the President and the Presidency will be.
Of course, Ghanaians are not unaware that anytime
the NPP is caught in such deviant behaviour, the tendency of some identifiable
groups is to make a general condemnation of the matter as if the guilty party
in that particular case is not only the NPP.
Misunderstanding
The article itself which Gabby Otchere- Darko wrote
was in defence of his uncle, Nana Akufo-Addo’s violent “All-Die-Be-Die” mantra.
He argues that standing up to a bully as the young Dramani did to the Ezra, the
bully, while they were in Achimota school as is captured in his book, My Coup D’etat
is no different from
Akufo-Addo’s ‘All die-be-die’ mantra. In Gabby’s estimation therefore, by
highlighting how he stood up to a bully in primary school, the President was
giving thumbs up to the violent-laden “ all-die-be-die mantra.
That Gabby, who is the Director of the pro-NPP
Danquah Institute, chose to lean upon his own misunderstanding of the issue in
the President’s book is obvious. In standing up to Ezra, the young Dramani
simply displayed courage, vaguely aware that bullies are generally cowards.
Nowhere did he give meaning or support the ‘all-die-be-die’ mantra by deciding
he will attack Ezra if the bully insists on eating his snacks. Indeed, the
young Dramani simply exercised ‘Positive defiance’ by refusing to give his
snack out on that particular day as they had all been compelled to be doing
everyday. ‘Positive defiance’ is defiantly not the same as “all-die-be die”
Gabby’s history
This is the second time
Gabby has used the word ‘stupid’ on a member of the Government of Ghana. In a
discussion on Joy FM’s Newsfile programme last year the then deputy Minister of
Science and Technology, Dr Omane Boamah described Dr. J. B. Danquah, a founding
member of the United Party (UP) an antecedent of the New Patriotic Party, as a
CIA agent.
Incensed by the comment from the deputy Minister,
Gabby Asare Otchere Darko, grandson of Dr. J. B Danquah described the
Minister's statement as “stupid”.
“This is stupidity…you consider a founder of Ghana
as a CIA agent, what stupidity is this? . ..this is pure stupidity.”
Asked by host of the show to apologize to Dr.
Omane Boamah for his insultinglanguage, Gabby vehemently refused to do so leading to
his being walked out of
the studio.
