Practice mature politics, culture of insults is a shame - Dr Lawrence Tetteh cautions politicians

The use of intemperate languages in inter-party political discourse in Ghana has been described by founder of World Miracle Outreach as a shame and a dent in the country’s democratic principles.

In the words of Dr Lawrence Tetteh, the practice of raining insults on one’s political opponents on live TV and radio interviews taints the democratic strives in the country.

Striking a comparison between Ghana and other advanced democracies, he said countries like the United States of America (USA), England and others practice political discourses which assess values and competencies of individuals, not attack their personalities.

Dr Tetteh said, “The nations that we want to emulate; America, England, other places that practice democracy, they talk on values and vote on values not attacking people’s personalities. The culture of insult in Ghana on our radios is a shame. It’s embarrassing that after so many years after the fourth republic we still go into this culture of insult…”

Speaking in an exclusive interview with GhanaWeb, Dr Lawrence Tetteh argued that in some instances, some people are more admired in their political parties in Ghana because of their ability to set opponents for ridicule and drag their reputation in the mud.

His comments follow recent attacks launched on Prof Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang after her appointment as the running mate of former President John Dramani Mahama, on the ticket of the opposition NDC.

He argued, “It’s not just about Prof Jane, just as the woman is not supposed to be insulted, the man is not supposed to be insulted too…Today in Ghana the more you insult people on radio the more your party likes you…”

Dr Tetteh cautioned political personalities to exercise some level of decorum in the run-up to the December polls to save the country from further embarrassment, and also preserve the democratic principles of the country.

“The problem is that we play cheap politics, we must play mature politics in Ghana where we don’t undermine people’s hard-won reputation and credibility in the name of politics…If we can play mature politics we can have mature leaders…,” he said.