Vicissitudes of writing? - Brig Gen Dan Frimpong (Rtd) writes
For writers, feedback is an important ingredient we require for improvement, as we share our opinion. As a Twi proverb/saying roughly translates into English, “the one hacking a path in the forest cannot tell if the path behind him is crooked.” It takes someone behind him to notice the crookedness, and steer him back on the straight-and-level.
On entering the Mess, the Colonel, my former student came straight to me and asked if he could join me. His first question was, “Sir, can I ask you a question?” to which I responded in the affirmative smiling. He continued, “Sir, as you know already, I am a PhD candidate and have stated writing my doctoral thesis. I spend hours writing one page. Then after reading it the following day, I realise what I have written is not good enough. So, I have to start all over again!
Sir, my question is, how are you able to write weekly and consistently, and I guess not without criticisms? We both laughed as I remembered some of the hard knocks I have had, probably the latest being my recent article on “24th February 1966.”
Jaji-Kaduna
In the late 1980s, I studied at the Senior Division of the Command-and-Staff-College, Jaji-Kaduna, Nigeria. After central lectures in the auditorium for all 105 of us students, we went into small tutorial groups called Syndicates for detailed discussions. Each syndicate averagely had between 8-10 Majors/equivalent, led by a Directing Staff/(DS) or Lecturer of the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel (Lt-Col)/equivalent.
For a particular term, an avid reader mate of mine came to our Syndicate Room every morning with one of Nigeria’s top newspapers, the Vanguard, the Punch or the Sun. Routinely, he would read an “Opinion” piece by a writer and shred the article/opinion to pieces, condemning everything, but never making a suggestion as an alternative. Fed up with this routine, a six-footer Engineer officer grabbed him by the wrist one morning and asked in pidgin, “You sabi (know) the word Rejoinder?” He then warned him to stop disturbing our peace with his constant destructive criticisms and channel his efforts into rejoinders, and more importantly, originate articles himself. With that, we had our peace from the critic’s morning tirade against Opinion writers!
I told my Colonel PhD candidate my Jaji story to emphasise the point made by my mate the Engineer officer to our mate the critic that, writing is not easy. He must therefore not expect it to be easy at the PhD level, and persevere.
Vicissitudes
An article I wrote in 2021 on the dangers of writing/journalism stated:
The Dutch investigative-journalist Peter de Fries died on 15 July 2021, nine days after being shot in Amsterdam for his writings.
On 20 July 2021, Moroccan journalist Omar Radi was jailed for six years, ten days after colleague Soulimane Raissouni was jailed for five years. According to their lawyers, both were jailed on trumped-up sexual offences, for their writings.
In her article in the Daily Graphic on 15 June 2021 titled “534 kids dead….and their blood was red,” the pediatrician Dr Adoma Dwomo-Fokuo Odame lamented the loss of 534 children in Ghana in May 2021.
While a response said “this article moved me to tears,” a reaction read “complaints, complaints, complaints! What will governments do that will satisfy Ghanaians? As a pediatrician trained by taxpayer’s money, what has been your contribution to Healthcare apart from complaining?.......Gosh, let us be satisfied with the little we have. Rome was not built in a day!” (Verbatim)
Attacking the pediatrician reminded me of an incident in the late-1970s.
Prof and Winnie
While waiting at the Cape Coast University-Gate for public transport to Accra, Winnie’s professor fortuitously appeared, also heading for Accra. Having settled comfortably in Prof’s car, Winnie began singing the song from Prof’s radio. Unimpressed with her, Prof said “Winnie, if you had to sing for a living, you would starve!”
From the experience of Ghanaian authors/writers, I have adapted Prof’s saying to, “if you had to write for a living, you would starve.”
Reading
While the expression “Ghanaians don’t read” has unfortunately become accepted, where Ghanaians read, they do so not primarily to enjoy the educative/informative/entertainment value of books/articles, but to fault-find. Otherwise, what did the pediatrician write stating facts/figures as a professional which was so offensive that, it rocketed the reader to space?
Her offending submission stated
“I am a pediatrician. I speak for children…During the four weeks that you have been debating which government has done more for Healthcare, the young ones have fallen. In May 2021, we lost 534 children under the age of five years……Imagine Parliament with 534 MPs dead in one month.”
The accuser only saw the pediatrician’s submission from his perspective. Once it did not fit his mold, it constituted an affront.
Questioning the pediatrician on her contribution to Healthcare suggests he thinks doctors become pediatricians by complaining, while making no contribution to national development!
Dangers
Following the publication of his book, “The Satanic Verses,” in 1988, Indian-born British-American author Salman Rushdie was accused of blasphemy. A death sentence was pronounced on him by Ayatolla Khomeini of Iran in 1989.
In October 2017, Maltese blogger/investigative journalist Daphne Galizia was blown-up by a car-bomb for her corruption-investigations in Malta.
Like Shylock in Shakespeare’s “Merchant of Venice,” those who feel threatened by writings often fight back furiously relishing the opportunity to take their pound-of-flesh, to the point of killing! Writing can therefore be dangerous not only for professional journalists like Grandma Elizabeth Ohene/Ajoa Yeboah-Afari/Nana Gyan Apenteng/Enimil Ashon, but also for amateur hobbyists like me.
Conclusion
In our culture which claims to protect/respect females, I found the man’s discourteous/pretentious attack on the lady pediatrician unfortunate. All she did wrong was to have written the truth he did not like! Unfortunately, this is what writers sometimes suffer! However, there are many well-wishing readers.
While many writers express opinions candidly, some readers impute unintended motives, for which a death sentence could be imposed as in Rushdie’s case, or outright murder like the Galizia and de Fries’ cases. In Ghana, investigative-journalist Ahmed Suale was murdered.
On 29 July 2019, an independent-inquiry in Malta into the murder of Galizia stated “the Maltese state has to bear responsibility for her assassination because of the culture of impunity emanating from the highest levels of government.”
While Ghana’s 1992 Constitution allows freedom-of-speech, it does not mention freedom to insult/incite to kill fellow Ghanaians for disagreeing with an opinion. So, while Writing may not offer any economic gains, it could also be a dangerous enterprise. Whatever people may have against writing the truth, every society needs principled/objective writers like pediatrician Dr Adoma Dwomo-Fokuo Odame, who must be protected by the State, as stated by the Maltese independent-inquiry.
Finally, writers are not averse to feedback. On the contrary, we gain from positive criticism by readers. However, as readers seek improvement from us, please remember Muhammed Ali’s boxing coach Anglo Dundee’s saying that, “Criticism is good, but encouragement is better.”
Also remember that, we have a ceiling of only 800-words and therefore, cannot possibly consider every point readers may think of, as we would do in a journal. Perhaps, your rejoinders can educate us all.
Leadership, lead by Example/Integrity/Humility! Fellow Ghanaians, WAKE UP!
The writer is former CEO, African Peace Support Trainers Association, Nairobi, Kenya and Council Chairman, Family Health University, Accra
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