Kweku Baako replaces Mustapha Hamid as Information Minister?

There comes a time in the life of a failing individual when the tally of his actions and inactions establishes beyond a shadow of a doubt that, he is helplessly incompetent and past redemption.

That hour has come upon Mustapha Hamid to gracefully accept to bow out of the Ministry of Information, before the president, pushes him out, because the clock now ticks toward his moment of ultimate disgrace.

I had a dream, one that will have become a reality if I was the appointing authourity. Since the birth of this administration, if there is any one man, who has stood out, as having worked hard, not only to bring the New Patriotic Party to power, but is working to perpetuate it, it is Abdul Malik Kweku Baako.

One of the things, one could commend the president for doing, was the dispatch with which, he named his ministers.

A lot of the names were considered to be square pegs in round holes, but as it is with everyone, sometimes, it is better to give people the benefit of the doubt. After almost a year in office, I can safely say, someone of them are a waste on the public purse.

In the political arena, at least, I have always been of the opinion that worshiping our political office holders is dangerous because there is no way of holding the people we worship accountable.

We can yell at them. We can make fun of them. We can shun them. In all things, they should be answerable to us. In fundamental terms, they are our servants. They work for us and we pay them.

This is why, I am of the firm believer that, as President, Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo, prepares to make his first cabinet reshuffle, I humbly propose that, Mr. Baako, be made the Minister of Information to replace the rusty Mustapha Hamid.

Mustapha Hamid, began to show disturbing signs of inadequacy, when in the run up to the 2016 general election, he held a press conference, where he recounted how President John Mahama and his younger brother, Ibrahim Mahama, allegedly attempted to bribe the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Northern Region Chairman, Daniel Bugri Naabu, for him to smear the image of their Flagbearer, Nana Akufo-Addo.

At that press conference, Mustapha Hamid actually wept, ostensibly to show to Ghanaians the extent to which the erstwhile administration was prepared to go to win that election.

The tragedy of Mustapha Hamid is that he never leveled up with his listeners. He allowed his listeners to be lost in what T.S. Eliot called the shadow that falls between the desire and the spasm/ between the potency and the existence/ between the essence and the descent/.

Now that his fortune has changed, by getting his heart desire with an appointment, he is trapped in Alexander Pope’s admonition that, “the higher you climb, the more your ass is showing.”

Today, his performance is nothing good to write home about, Kweku Baako, is filling the vacuum, his apparent lack of finesse has created.

Mr. Baako, is the number one defender of the government, sometimes it becomes so obvious that, he misses the point.

A case in point was when the Special Development Initiatives Ministry GH¢800,000 website issue came up, he was all over trying to do damage control, insisting against all the available evidence that, it was rather GH¢80,000.

Kweku Baako, has demonstrated enough capacity to take up the job of Information Minister, he has been heard severally, saying that, the president, will soon announce a reshuffle and that some of the newly created ministries, will be aligned.

He claims that the 110 ministers is not caste in iron and soon, Ghanaians will see some action from the president.

Mr. Baako, will not be the first journalist to be appointed Information Minister, Elizabeth Ohene, who was Information Minister, under President John Agyekum Kufuor was a reporter for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

Someone like Fritz Baffuor, who served under president John vans Atta Mills, under that same capacity, was a former broadcaster with the Ghana Television.

Journalists who move on to speak for a politician are often those who are politically aligned with the particular politician or political party. They shared the vision of that particular politician and hoped to help the politician communicate that vision to the country and Kweku Baako, shares the vision of president Akufo-Addo.

So Mr Baako, has a moment with destiny to accept to be government spokesperson, they is always a missing link when issues come up and he hasn’t spoken.

He is on top of issues and have more facts than, the appointed spokesperson, making it official only confirms, what is already out there in the public domain.

The days of sitting on the fringes are over for Mr Baako, he must accept to get onto the field, so that, when he is being tackled, it is done knowing that, he is not a spectator, who is sitting in the stand and shouting the loudest, but someone, who is actively on the field.

Certainly, the defense Mr Baako, puts up will not go without reward, so it is better to have him officially assume the role, so that, when he is paid, it will done so, knowing that, he has earned his keep.

Frankly, the problem with Mustapha Hamid is something more serious than his unsuitability. The real problem is his conceit. He is just as incapable of appreciating his inadequacy on his own as he is impervious to any suggestion to take steps to address it. Until he addresses his challenges, Kweku Baako, will do a fine job than him.

Only Kweku Baako, can wake me up from this terrible dream of mine.