A woman leading change in society

In recent times, there has been a significant rise in the recognition of the role of women as positive change agents driving national development. From politics to business, science to the arts, women have been at the forefront of transformational movements, breaking barriers, and reshaping societal norms. The story of women taking up significant roles in the world can never be completed without a special mention of the huge strides made by Ghana.

The past two decades have witnessed a lot of women leading various roles and advocacies in Ghana, and their contributions toward nation-building have become the rallying point for up-and-coming young female advocates like myself.

Without having to bore you with shining examples you already know, permit me to mention just a few within the media fraternity: Portia Solomon of TV3, Bridget Otoo of Metro TV, Emefa Apaw of Multimedia, among others.

This article seeks to address the recent brouhaha surrounding the kids’ reality show, "ACTUAL BOSSES," which airs every Sunday on GHOne TV and is hosted by our own sister and friend, Nana Aba Anamoah of the EIB Network. Nana Aba Anamoah is, undoubtedly, one of the most influential and, perhaps, the most experienced female figures in the Ghanaian media landscape. She is rumored to be the godmother of many of the young female media personalities we all celebrate from time to time. She is, no doubt, a woman who has successfully carved a strong presence and public ratings for herself, for which people have developed huge respect over the last couple of decades. With such a strong background in journalism and media practice, it is extremely difficult for me to brush off the obvious "Jandam" politics Nana Aba Anamoah has decided to engage in using that kids’ reality show platform.

It would be recalled that during the Sunday 22nd October, 2023 edition of the said show, Nana Aba Anamoah uncharacteristically pulled out the image of Former President John Dramani Mahama and led her guests, three young children of ages under 13 years old, with leading questions to unleash distasteful and false propaganda against the former President and his leadership. Quite interestingly, Nana Aba Anamoah immediately followed this debacle with an image of Vice President Bawumia and, through the same leading questions, led the said children to shower propagandist praises on the Vice President. For the records, Ghana still experiences "dumsor" under the Akufo Addo/Bawumia administration, even after all the visionary investments made by former President John Dramani Mahama in the energy sector. Is Nana Aba Anamoah oblivious to the confessions of Dr. Bawumia in March 2016 in an interview on Joy FM where he conceded that President Mahama had solved the energy crisis but doesn’t deserve any credit for fixing it? In February 2015, while delivering a State of the Nation Address to the Parliament of Ghana, President Mahama made the most courageous admission of the energy crisis and went further to make the most courageous pledge to Ghanaians to find a permanent solution to the crisis. Indeed, he lived by his word and resolved the crisis before he handed over power. Is Nana Aba Anamoah oblivious to the many accusations by key players of the current government to the extent that President Mahama bequeathed more available power than the nation even needs? Why then do you feed such unsuspecting minds with such vile propaganda against President Mahama?

It is obvious that Nana Aba Anamoah is on a mission, and the supposed reality show, "ACTUAL BOSSES," is a mischievous creation just to further the said mission. This will be just an addition to her usual overt hatred for President Mahama and the National Democratic Congress. A few days before the 'October 22' show, on October 2, 2023, Nana Aba, in response to a fan’s attack on government, posted that "NDC, NPP's claim to make Ghana a better place is a joke." She conveniently dragged NDC into the conversation even when the said fan was specific in his quest for accountability from those he pays his taxes to. Some of us aren’t surprised at all at the level of insanity she has opted for just in furtherance of her baseless hatred for President Mahama and the NDC. To assemble and spend precious time and energy to coach children just to deploy them for attacks on President Mahama and the NDC is actually a wasteful venture. Ghanaians don’t need such jaundiced theatrics to appreciate the economic mess we all find ourselves in at the moment.

I am a big advocate of women empowerment and leadership in the national development agenda and have always been happy with Nana Aba Anamoah’s enterprise within the media space. It is for this reason that I find her latest "Jandam" conduct irresponsible, to say the least. Of course, as a citizen of sound mind and voting age, she has every right to support any political party or agenda of her choice. I won’t begrudge her on that. I would rather throw a bold challenge to Nana Aba to be bold to declare her political affiliation so we can elevate the discourse to that terrain. Her style of always acting apolitical and hiding behind tweets and programs to subtly attack President Mahama and the NDC is rather sheepish and complete cowardice. Let it be known to Nana Aba Anamoah that President Mahama has a solid track record of being a true democrat who genuinely understands the rights of others. He is open to criticism, even the most unconstructive ones. This is also the nature of his followers like myself. What we will not countenance is such "Jandam" politics as she engaged in with those kids on Sunday, October 22, 2023. It may be in everyone’s interest that she advises herself and immediately calls herself to order.

The Holy Bible teaches us in Matthew 7:2 that we shall be judged in the same judgment we pronounce on others. Again, in Deuteronomy 5:20, the good Book admonishes us to desist from bearing false witness against our neighbors. If Nana Aba Anamoah has any modicum of sanity, she would retract the said publication and unconditionally apologize to President Mahama for the unprovoked and unjust attacks. Finally, let me offer this friendly advice, "A woman leading change should not be a political "Jandam" strategist, or she loses her direction, audience, and shine."