Freelance Journalist, Manasseh Azure Awuni has called out the President for describing critics of his government as “professional Jeremiahs and naysayers”.
President Akufo-Addo in his 15th address to the nation on measures taken to contain the Covid-19 pandemic took a swipe at critics of the voter registration exercise describing them as “professional Jeremiahs and naysayers” who cynically sought to undermine the determination of Ghanaians to build democratic and peacefully progressive nation by spreading fears and stoking ethnic sentiment for political gains. This, the president noted, has failed as the process turned out successful.
But the freelance Journalist who is displeased with the president’s comments contended that critics of government are not necessarily cynical people who criticize for political expediency as the president said.
He noted that some people are compelled to criticize government because of the bad leadership of the country.
Manasseh Azure stated that criticizing government for its bad decisions and mismanagement of the affairs of the nation is an act of patriotism.
He recounted that when the president was the leader of then opposition party, he criticized the then government for mismanaging the economy and bringing untold hardships onto the Ghanaian people.
According to him, the economic mismanagement and other acts of bad governance have not been resolved hence people cannot stop pointing out the ills of government because he is the president.
Mr. Azure Awuni suggested that if those criticizing government of the day are cynics and professional naysayers, then the president was a leader of the cynics and naysayers when he was criticizing the NDC government in opposition.
“Those of us who were in this country in 2016 still remember the leader of the professional naysayers at the time, the commander-in-chief of Samballat and Tobiah’s army of self-seeking cynics. We still remember those who told us that Ghanaians were sitting on wealth but were very hungry. The Ghana that was “extremely miserable” yesterday cannot become paradise overnight because the one who said it was miserable yesterday is in power today,” a post on his Facebook timeline read.
Taking a swipe at the president, the celebrated journalist said critics of the government should be glad for being called names and criticized because they stand against bad governance.
“Dear critic and cynic with conviction, consider it praiseworthy when the cathedral builder who appointed more ministers than twice the number of ventilators in all the hospitals of our country calls you a naysayer. Count yourself on the right side of history when the so-called anti-corruption crusader who chased Daniel Domelevo out of office calls you a professional Jeremiah.”
