Good Evening Ghana should be taken seriously – Manasseh Azure Awuni sarcastically tells critics

Manasseh Azure Awuni, a freelance investigative journalist has sarcastically advised the public to take Paul Adom-Otchere’s ‘Good Evening Ghana’ show on Metro TV seriously.

According to him, it is not right for any individual to classify the biweekly political show as “comedy”.

Manasseh was commenting on a Facebook (FB) post by Sulemana Braimah, the Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), who had earlier written: “The KSM show used to be my favourite comedy show on TV. Now, my favourite comedy show is Good Evening Ghana.”

And in a rather sarcastic tone to rub it in further, Manasseh jabbed the Good Evening Ghana show: “I strongly disagree with you. A show that staunchly defends the Jubilee House and [the] same Jubilee House thinks the host is doing PR deserving of payment should be taken seriously. “It must not be classified as comedy.”

Paul Adom-Otchere’s ‘Good Evening Ghana’ was a few days ago described by NDC scribe Johnson Asiedu Nketia as a "lotto staking show because it lacks critical "analysis".

Adom-Otchere, the Good Evening Ghana show host uses his editorial segment to take on some individuals, criticizing them strongly for stating their opinions on some pertinent issues in the country.

In one of such editions, Adom-Otchere took on Dr Zanetor Rawlings, the Klottey-Korley MP, scolding her for writing a press release that criticized how the coronavirus pandemic lockdown cooked food was shared.

In another, he took Manasseh Awuni Azure to the cleaners, accusing the award-winning journalist of shoddy journalism. That particular show was announced on FB ahead of time with Manasseh Awuni Azure announced as the target.

Manasseh Awuni Azure responded rather cheekily on FB at the time that he would be watching the show.

But the Tuesday, April 13, episode of Good Evening Ghana appears to have taken Paul Adom-Otchere's show further down the abyss.

At the start of his show on that fateful day, Paul Adom-Otchere used the first 20 minutes to address something Manasseh Azure Awuni had written on his Facebook timeline regarding Twitter’s decision to set up its headquarters in Ghana. In an announcement, the Twitter boss thanked President Akufo-Addo.

Manasseh Azure Awuni had responded to the Twitter boss, “Kudos to JA Kufuor, Atta Mills, John Mahama and all who have promoted free speech and made us attractive to the likes of Twitter,” thereby referencing former Ghanaian Presidents who had promoted free speech.

This comment by the investigative journalist did not go down well with the Good Evening Ghana host, who then took to his editorial segment and cast innuendos on Manasseh Azure Awuni thus: “Mr Facebook poster, this shows that you are a very bitter person; don’t be bitter; relax; calm down. The essence of life is love, we love each other and we criticize each other.

He continued: “This your bitterness against Akufo-Addo is not going to take you anywhere and it’s not your decision. The Ghanaian people decided that the man has been re-elected for a second time; you fought, you did all that you can; called him all sorts of names because you said he did not achieve something.

Today, you are saying that John Mahama is pro-free speech. Are you not the same person who was on Stan Dogbe’s neck about some journalist who died unfortunately and seizing journalist equipment and all of that? What kind of hypocrisy is this?”

“Is that how you do your investigations; by putting hypocrisy ahead of your work? What is that? Please stop that!”

He went on:

“You criticized John Mahama for everything about his freedom of press credentials, you were tearing Stan Dogbe apart, you were cutting off his neck; we have your articles about Stan Dogbe. You come today and because of hatred and pain against Akufo-Addo, you come and write that JA Kufuor; do you remember JA Kufuor’s tenure, have you done any work on JA Kufuor’s tenure…?”

Adom-Otchere continued: “People must understand that we have a country to build, we fight in elections…whether you like it or not Akufo-Addo is going to be the President of Ghana for the next four years and he is going to do a two-term that any President under the 1992 Constitution can do, he going to repeat the two-term of JA Kufuor and he’s going to repeat the two-term of JJ Rawlings, God being his helper…

“This your hatred and your penchant for bitterness against an individual, the Bible says that if you do it on an individual, you have done it unto God so this your bitterness against an individual is against God. Please repent, take your time, repent and chill out, relax, let’s build the country. Criticize by all means as far as you can and you can criticize all you want all day long, but you cannot be bitter and express this kind of pain.”

He went on further still: "You are somebody that the youth look up to, you are destroying the youth who are looking up to you; this is total bitterness that Twitter has brought its headquarters here…your articles have been read and they disagree with you that’s why they brought [their] headquarters [to] Ghana in spite of your campaign against Akufo-Addo that he doesn’t like press freedom and you talk about JA Kufuor, were you not reminded that under Kufuor regime, the minister who went to Parliament to repeal the Criminal Libel Law was Akufo-Addo […] and so if you talk about JA Kufuor’s administration you have to recognize that as well.

This your hatred and penchant for bitterness against Akufo-Addo won’t take you anywhere, whether you like it or not, Akufo-Addo has taken the oath of office for the second time…in spite of the propagandist position you took doing documentaries here and there…you see where you are today? You see the opinion of the NMC on you, don’t hate. Hatred is not a good thing, don’t hate, love! You are hating too much, you are too bitter, calm down and stop this funny behaviour.”

Paul Adom-Otchere, still on a roll, said:

“The real problem of what you have is delusions of self-grandeur, go and cure it; it’s a serious mental health situation. Twitter has ignored you, they’ve put their headquarters in Accra in the expression of Ghana’s penchant for press freedom under the Akufo-Addo administration. You are suffering from delusions of self-grandeur, you’ve deluded yourself; the Bible said pride comes before a big fall, please calm down, let’s love, let’s move on…"

It is no surprise then - indeed it might be fair game - for Manasseh to classify Paul as a paid hireling. However, for the Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa to amend his records, now classifying the longest-running political TV show as "comedy", it means there is a lot going on that is not right with Good Evening Ghana. Meanwhile, the KSM show is a satire that mocks the entire Ghanaian society.