Establish Christian Radio Stations

By Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., Ph.D.

When they are not busy decrying the existence and public expression of homosexuality, these days, our religious leaders appear to have become deeply concerned, if not obsessed, with the perennial culture of political abuse. The latest expression of such displeasure comes from the Moderator of the Methodist Church of Ghana, Rt.-Rev. Emmanuel Kwaku Asante (See “I Feel Ashamed to Listen to Radio – Methodist Church Moderator” Ghanaweb.com 9/10/11).

What clearly appears to have complicated matters and a problem that does not seem to be attracting adequate attention, is the fact that it is only within the last decade, beginning with the 2000 election of President John Agyekum-Kufuor and the passage of the Repeal of the Criminal Libel Code/Law that most Ghanaians have gotten the opportunity to freely and publicly express themselves, politically, without being summarily arrested, prosecuted and imprisoned.

The irony here, however, is that much of the indulgence in the political rhetoric of abuse has come from those who worked assiduously in the past to prevent the salutary germination and growth of our new-found freedom of expression. The latter constituency tends to be largely composed of members of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), most especially those entrusted with cardinal ministerial positions. Anyway, like the law of demand-and-supply, sooner or later, this fetid tide of political abuse is bound to find its own level, even as former President Hilla Limann once predicted vis-à-vis Ghana’s incubation and development of a free-market economy in the early 1980s.

The Methodist Church’s Moderator, unfortunately, puts the proverbial cart before the horse when Prof. E. K. Asante sharply criticizes the youth for their exhibition of gross and abject disrespect for their elders. The fact of the matter, even as the same elders are fond of saying, is that “No crab has ever brought forth a bird.” In other words, our youths can be faulted for their rampant use of abusive language, only to the extent that their parents, guardians and elders can aptly be envisaged to have, for the most part, both publicly and privately conducted themselves with a remarkable modicum of tolerance, politeness and discipline. On the foregoing score, I am afraid to say that, indeed, our elders are as guilty as our youths.

If, indeed, highly influential leaders like Rt.-Rev. Asante really feel the imperative need to drastically moderate, if not totally extirpate, the use of abusive language in the media, particularly print and radio, then, perhaps major religious institutions such as the Methodist Church of Ghana may want to seriously consider getting into the media business as a viable non-profit enterprise. This could provide highly cultivated Ghanaians like the Methodist Church’s Moderator with a viable alternative to what currently prevails. But even more importantly, such enterprise could predictably facilitate healthy competition in media fare and the logical weeding out of those media organizations that woefully fail to measure up to the standards of operation in any civilized society.

*Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., Ph.D., is Associate Professor of English, Journalism and Creative Writing at Nassau Community College of the State University of New York, Garden City. He is Director of The Sintim-Aboagye Center for Politics and Culture and author of 22 books, including “Ama Sefa: Unrequited Love” (iUniverse.com, 2004). E-mail: okoampaahoofe@optimum.net.

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