Irresponsible Journalism

, The Bane Of Ghana’s Development

By Diboriyom Kasim Hassan

“If Adam, the first man on earth had returned to earth, the only place he will recognize is this community”, lamentation of a village chief over the lack of development in his area as a result of inaction by politicians.

This reminds me of the honourable words of one of the Supreme Court judges who spoke about the role and duty of responsible journalism and gave a parable of a woman who died in labour due to lack of logistics to aid her.

I am of the strongest believe that it is the role of journalist to spearhead the development of their host nation, but the story is totally different in Ghana as one can argue with some degree of strength that some journalists are becoming a disgrace to that noble profession in a country where two senior most and respected journalists become spokespersons for political parties and the writing of others only spread hatred and polarization. This really is a cause for concern.

Take Abdul Malik Kweku Baako Jnr and Kwesi Pratt Jnr for instance, who nobody can doubt their professionalism and can do spirit. The former speaks for ex President Agyekum Kufour and the New Patriotic Party whereas the latter spoke for late President John Evans Mills and the National Democratic Congress. This is unbelievable as this makes some of us to be in a state of hopelessness when it comes to true journalism.

It is very clear to me that our institutions are nothing but a mirage; corruption is everywhere, our political leaders are morally corrupt. The masses are suffering and no one speaks for them; it’s now everyone for himself and God for us all. Political parties are nothing but cults and even some judges in our courts are causing financial lost to the state by sentencing people to longer jail terms due to their inability to pay bribes. How much does a mobile phone cost for somebody to serve a seven year jail term for it; this is outrageous!

I took my frustration to the social media, Ghanaweb to be precise, and I smelled rat. Some write-ups are in very bad taste because the authors are preaching either political hatred or glorifying tribalism whereas others too are doing very well; notably amongst them is Joseph Ziem whose articles are development and socially oriented. I am in love with his articles and I follow them with keen interest.

Ziem either writes about a particular community that lacks some social amenities or whose residents are engaged in immoral and unlawful acts. In fact, some of his write-ups always pursue a relentless appeal on society’s ignorance, backwardness and abominable apathy, as he always try to awaken and drive society on the road to active involvement in the task of curing itself of malady.

I took it upon myself to dedicate this piece to Joseph Ziem for his effort. This is my personal view as I will write on others who are doing well when it comes to responsible journalism. Ziem, keep the flame burning, Ghana needs journalist of your caliber.

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