It wasn’t surprising to many observers when the GJA (Ghana Journalists Association) at its last awards night failed to find a deserving winner of the ‘Journalist of the Year Award.’ They blamed low standards. Journalism in our country is in a sorry state. We have a handful of very good journalists, but that’s just about it.
There’s an old time saying that ‘’if you don’t stand for nothing, you’ll fall for anything.’’ And so when officials of Yahuda Security Management Consulting walked into the GNA (Ghana News Agency) and told them they were one of the top security consultants from the UK, the GNA swallowed it, rolled out the red carpet, gave them an interview and subsequently passed a report on to the gullible lot.
Can you believe this? Anybody can walk into a major news organisation, claim to be something and get an interview. No one bothered to run checks on the authenticity of the claims; no one sought to probe ‘who owned the company, what they’ve achieved to be one of the top, how a bunch of Ghanaians became one of the top security firms in Britain; no one asked them ‘how long they’ve been enjoying a top spot in areas of security in Britain, when they were established, and so on.’ What has happened to the cardinal rule of interviewing – RESEARCH? Even on the spur of the moment, a couple of phone calls and search on the internet can produce something. Even if you didn’t research, your basic five W’s and one H (what, who, why, when, where and how) should get you a lot of insight. Yet the GNA desecrated the profession and failed the nation.
Many of our journalists can’t differentiate between news and PR garbage. It is rather pathetic for staff at the GNA to get overwhelmed by people from “abrokyere.” What happened at the GNA is inexcusable and must be condemned in the strongest of terms. It is embarrassing to the nation and the art of journalism. It is unacceptable for a wire service like the GNA to entertain workers who are lethargic.
There are so many pressing issues screaming for attention, yet the sloppiness at the GNA has left us where we are. There’s simply no place for mediocrity in journalism and like many professions, it is an art – you either learn to do it or get out. The recklessness of a driver or a doctor can cost lives; a careless lawyer can send an innocent man to jail, likewise the journalist. Journalist can destroy a nation, rubbish someone’s career or bring down a government, so they must be very meticulous and act in a manner that is beyond reproach. The GNA and the rest of the nation’s media have a chance to reform. This is an opportunity to clean up the mess, retrain people who are lagging behind or simply ask them to make way for people who are up to the task and challenges of the profession.
To quote Dr. Kwesi Aning of KAIPC, the behaviour of the security company in question “whilst seemingly patriotic is driven by opportunistic tendencies and a desire to exploit the president’s visit to the UK.” This is a company which doesn’t have any track record yet had the audacity to run their mouths about coming to town to advice national security officials on how to secure our country from crime.
If all the reports are anything to go by, this company did not come to Ghana at the invitation of the government. There is absolutely no wrong committed on the part of government and attempts to compare the infamous Osafo Marfo’s saloon loan debacle to this are most unfortunate.
It is also unfortunate if reports of scheduled meetings with national security officials are true. How did they manage to secure appointments with our national security gurus? Are our security capos also wet behind the ears just like the folks at the GNA?
There are serious concerns within security circles about the safety of our president and if a company that was formed less than a week ago can secure appointments with our security capos with the view to advising them on the rather complex issues of security, then we are in deep trouble.
Ghana’s security agencies have had a long standing relationship with their foreign counterparts, especially Britain and the US and any requests for assistance have always been between federal agencies. Whenever our agencies have required help, they sought it from agencies of state and not private security firms. This is not the moment to get into agreement with some opportunists.
Ghana has to be very careful in the manner we roll out red carpet for anyone from “abrokyere” and the government has to be especially cautious. The ruling NDC has the benefit of history and would not be forgiving by Ghanaians if they exhibited gullibility in the running of the country.
We must applaud the courage of Timothy Afful, the patriotic Ghanaian resident in the UK who got the courage to call the GNA and challenge the credibility of Yahuda Security Management Consulting, and like Mr. Timothy, we must all be “deeply concerned” about the security of our country and the seriousness of our journalists.
Credit: Ras Mubarak
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