Jon Benjamin had a distinct style – Iain Walker

The British High Commissioner to Ghana Iain Walker has said he does not aim to compare himself to his immediate predecessor Jon Benjamin because ‘he had a distinct style’.

“If you want to be happy you don’t compare yourself with others, you don’t trade your originality for approval from others.

“I believe my predecessor had his own distinct style and I have my distinct style too. My priority is to make the very best of my time as I find myself here,” Walker told Morning Starr host Francis Abban Thursday.

Mr. Benjamin has been tagged by many Ghanaians as the most controversial diplomat to have ever served in Ghana. He was criticised by political parties for his often public commentaries on internal politics of the country. He is on record to have taunted former President John Mahama when he embarked on what appeared like a project-commissioning campaign ahead of the 2016 presidential and parliamentary elections.

His views on corruption in the country sparked outrage among Ghanaians early this year.

“We have seen far too much greedy, wanton corruption in too many spheres in government, in politics, public administration, in business, in traditional leadership, in football and in the media and there are too many levels from top to bottom. I refer to highly padded single-source contracts and unfairly awarded tenders. I refer to obvious conflict of interests by those using state positions to promote private business interest,” he said at a Public event in Accra June 2017.