Though he is considered a local governance expert, Professor Kwamena Ahwoi, one of the long term serving ministers under the Fourth Republican Constitution, appears to have bitten more than he can chew.
His controversial book, ‘Working with Rawlings’, has triggered waves of protest from the umbrella family, with Dan Abodakpi, former Minister of Trade and Industry, and the Founder of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Jerry John Rawlings, the protests.
Portions of the book allege that some young politicians were recruited and groomed to respond to the Founder of the party, Jerry John Rawlings, anytime the latter criticised the then John Atta Mills’ administration. These supposed recruits, according to Prof Kwamena Ahwoi, were later described by former President Rawlings as ‘babies with sheep teeth.’
But Messrs Edward Omane Boamah, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa and Felix Kwakye Ofosu, who, according to page 211 of the book, were recruited and groomed to attack the former President, have all come out to deny the claim.
The book reads: “Any time former President Rawlings attacked or insulted President Mills publicly, one of the younger members of the party would take him on publicly, not with insults, but logic.”
Meanwhile, the trio has, separately, on their Facebook pages, placed on record that the claim could not be true, was offensive, and at best an exaggeration by the media.
Whereas the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu Constituency, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, said the relevant portions of the book, particularly page 211, have been maliciously interpreted, a former Deputy Communication Minister, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, also held that the media had exaggerated such portions of the book.
Okudzeto posted: “It has become necessary to react to vilifications targeted at my person and other young members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) as a consequence of portions and misleading interpretations by sections of the media and the public of the book titled ‘Working with Rawlings’ as authored by NDC stalwart Professor Kwamena Ahwoi.
“The claim by several media reportage that some of my colleagues and I were ‘recruited and groomed to attack the founder of the NDC during the Atta Mills’ administration’ are false, malicious, offensive and most unfair. It is worth pointing out that the media renditions are not contained in the aforementioned book.
“Respectfully, I am an avowed devotee of the politics of principle and conviction. I have a mind of my own, and I am not one to be “recruited” to say or do what I do not believe in, or consider dishonourable.
“For the record, I have at no time been drafted to “talk back” at the Founder of the NDC, former President Jerry John Rawlings, neither have I needed prodding to defend the unblemished record and exemplary virtues of the iconic Asomdwehene – Prof. John Evans Atta Mills – particularly, having been spurred on at all times by unwavering personal conviction, added to the fact that I had responsibility to serve as Deputy Minister for Information at the time, and for which I had, amongst others, the core duty to defend and protect the image of the government.
“In more than a decade of public life, the reverence and respect I have for our elders and forebears, within and without the NDC, cannot be questioned. I have always been greatly indebted to our venerable elders for their generous wise counsel and mentorship in shaping my career.
“Everything within me abhors the politics of insults and denigrating our elders, knowing that affronts our much-cherished traditions. Indeed, the distinguished author himself acknowledges at page 211 that in speaking for Prof. Mills, we did not resort to insults, but logic.
“I am in politics for the pursuit of nobler and higher objectives; that, in our collective struggles, we can build for ourselves a fair, just and egalitarian society. We cannot waste precious time on anything to the contrary.”
Portions of the disclaimer Dr Edward Omane Boamah posted also read: “Respectfully, I need to place on record that this claim is wholly and completely inaccurate and untrue. As a young man and politician with core convictions, I was never engaged, nor could I have allowed myself to be used, by anyone to talk back at former President Rawlings. My principled stand in defending the late President Atta Mills, without insults, against attacks I thought were underserved was borne out of my respect and appreciation of the personality of the late President Mills – the Asomdwehene – his pureness of heart and other sterling and unique qualities that he possessed to a fault.
“The suggestion that my defence of the late President was part of a deliberate “strategy” by elders is irksome to me. It does not reflect my personality as a politician of conviction and not of convenience.
Felix Kwakye Ofosu also had this as a disclaimer: “I have become aware of media reports suggesting that I was recruited together with others to denigrate or attack President Jerry John Rawlings following his criticism of the late President John Evans Atta Mills of blessed memory. While acknowledging that the media reports are, at best, an exaggeration of portions of [the] book… I wish to place on record that at no point have I been part of any plot, recruitment exercise, or strategy to “talk back” at President Rawlings.
“I have never required prompting or goading to speak about what I believe to be right or wrong.
All my contributions in the said matter were devoid of insults or aspersions as claimed by the media reports. It is worth noting that the book in question speaks about our resort to logic rather than insults.
The post We are not babies with sharp teeth; Omane Boamah, Okudzeto, Kwakye Ofosu go bonkers over Kwamena Ahwoi’s controversial book appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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