Publishing explosive book months to a crucial election is a misjudgment and bad timing - Prof. Gyampo tells Prof. Ahwoi

Political Scientist at the University of Ghana, Professor Ransford Gyampo, has described the publication of the book, 'working with Rawlings', as a misjudgment and a display of a bad sense of timing given that in about four months, the country will head to general elections.

'Working with Rawlings' authored by Professor Kwamena Ahwoi has become controversial due to revelations about some key members of the Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC)/ National Democratic Congress(NDC), including former President Jerry John Rawlings himself, Dan Abodakpi, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa and several others.

Professor Gyampo considers the timing as inappropriate or a ploy to scuttle the chance of the NDC winning the election so that it can start afresh.

“…. to my mind, politically, the timing for the release of the book, is quite problematic. Indeed, publishing this book with many controversial contents, about four months to an election that promises to be keenly competitive, is either a fundamental mis-judgment and a display of weak sense of timing, or a shadow of an agenda to scuttle a chance, and start afresh with a preference,” he wrote.

Prof Gyampo joins some Ghanaians, especially some members of the NDC, who believe that the timing of the book is to derail the chances of the NDC led by John Mahama in the upcoming elections, and to enable the author and his allies to continue to have influence in the party.

Prof Gyampo has however defended the writer of the foreword of the book, Prof Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, saying that writing a foreword is not necessarily an endorsement of the contents of the book.

“It must also be noted that, foreword writers aren’t necessarily subscribers of the views of authors."

"You can simply tell this by reading the content of the foreword. I have read the foreword as an academic, and I am still wondering why and how anyone who knows what forewords are, will have qualms about the author. The author of the foreword of this book is a big deal to only those who either do not know the purpose of a foreword, or have simply not read what is contained in that section. In academia,,the fact that one writes a foreword of a book,,doesn’t make the author guilty of the content of the book, simplicita,” he asserted.