Is Kwaku Baako Jnr loosing his shine, relevance and admirers?

On account of two recent major occurrences in Ghana, one wonders what has become of the venerable Kwaku Baako Jnr's sterling performance, records, good sense of judgement and capability to intercepting even highly classified documents, which are all admired and appreciated by many.

Ghanaians remember vividly how one of the greatest and beloved voices and faces in Ghana’s political and social landscape, Kwaku Baako Jnr. waged a sprinted defence of Mrs Charlotte Osei in the wake of allegations made against the EC chairperson by her own staff.

In one of his many defences on radio (Peace FM precisely) Baako indicated that there was no merit in those allegations levelled by the EC staff, and went further to predict confidently, that nothing good will come out of the investigation of these allegations. And of course, he continued to defend Mrs Charlotte Osei by stating that the 6-point recommendation to remove her from office was too harsh (Newsfile on Joy FM/Multi TV).

Maybe Kwaku Baako Jnr. was counting on his good old pal, Anas to go and influence the committee members with $5K each to make the case, in his own words, basaaaa!



And then came the Anas’ number 12 and the rise of Kennedy Agyepong's unexpected strong and unrelenting intervention and challenge of Anas' character and journalistic/investigative work ethics. Kennedy Agyepong characteristically, minced no words in his allegations, that Anas is the most corrupt person in Ghana today, in addition to other serious accusations related to extortion and entrapment.

Once again, strangely but not a surprise, the great and beloved Kwaku Baako Jnr. did not allow Anas, the ace investigative journalist of international repute as he is acclaimed to be, to come out and defend himself regularly. Baako transformed into his topmost elements, defending Anas with same ferocity as he did for the now confirmed "corrupt and incompetent" EC chairperson, Mrs Charlotte Osei. Now the verdict is out! Mrs Charlotte Osei has been found culpable of some of the allegations levelled against her and has been sacked.



Those who made the allegations against Mrs Charlotte Osei have been vindicated. Kennedy Agyepong has unequivocally proved his case (he says there are still more to come). Sadly and very unfortunately, we have heard Kwaku Baako Jnr. on radio (Kokrokoo on Peace FM) saying that he classified one top NPP man who attempted to advise him to "tone down on his defence" of Anas relative to Kennedy Agyepong’s issue as "taaabooo or amoakua' (wood and squirrel), amidst laughter and jiggles from other panellists and the host (Kwame Sefa-Kayi). Hopefully, after watching Kennedy Agyepong’s video (who watches the watchman), and upon sober reflections, Kwaku Baako Jnr. may go and apologise to the top NPP man that he subjected to bashing.

Indeed, we are fully aware and appreciate the fact that the success and fortunes of the New Crusading Guide newspaper are intrinsically intertwined with that of the now revealed exploits of Anas, so Baako's defence of him is understandable. However, it is also important to accept the fact that Kweku Baako cannot continue to defend the indefensible at the detriment of his numerous admirers who in one way or the other patronise his newspaper (he who pays the piper, calls the tunes). Anaaaa?

Kwaku Baako in my candid opinion, and that of many Ghanaians, should critically consider customer sentiments and his utterances for the survival of his newspaper (the New Crusading Guide), this is crucial, as the burble of Anas begins to burst, and Kennedy Agyepong is still talking and appears to be very credible so far in my estimation.

On the basis of these significant events and issues emerging in Ghana, it is legitimate to ask whether Kwaku Baako Jnr. is loosing his Shine, Relevance and Admirers.

I sincerely hope this is not the case, because I am one of his admirers without a doubt, and rightly so. But he can get it wrong sometimes as shown in his defence of Anas and Charlotte Osei.