Nyaho-Tamakloe, Wereko-Brobby defend Paul Adom Otchere
Dr Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe, a founder member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has said the “soli joke” on broadcast journalist, Mr Paul Adom Otchere, by financial analyst Sydney Casely-Hayford and President of Policy think tank – IMANI Ghana – Franklin Cudjoe, are most unfortunate and uncalled for.
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Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe, who is also a strong believer in free press and democracy, described the “soli joke” as an attack on journalism in Ghana, which must not be repeated.
Background
It will be recalled that the founding President of IMANI Ghana, Mr Cudjoe and Mr Casely-Hayford had alleged that Mr Adom-Otchere received cash, popularly called 'soli', in appreciation of his hosting President John Dramani Mahama on the Metro TV programme Good Evening Ghana on Thursday, November 28, 2014.
Soli is the name given to money offered journalists by event organisers after covering their programmes. Its propriety has become a subject of both academic and professional debate since the UK High Commissioner to Ghana, Jon Benjamin said at a recent IMANI-Ghana dinner that: “Isn’t covering the news actually their job to start with? And if they aren’t paid sufficiently to do so, isn’t that an issue between them and their employer rather than our, or anyone else’s problem?” He wondered how the same ‘soli’-taking journalists could ascribe to themselves the moral right to expose corruption in society.
Livid Adom Otchere expressed outrage after his attention was drawn to the “sarcastic” comments by the two that President John Mahama gave him ‘soli’ after his recent one-on-one exclusive interview with the first gentleman of the land.
Mr Adom-Otchere denied allegations that he took money from the President before conducting the interview with him, adding that communication to interview the President was sent to the Presidency eight months ago but he only got a reply to undertake it last week.
Sensational and baseless attacks
In the view of Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe, it had become fashionable for certain personalities to seek popularity by launching sensational and baseless attacks on others in the media.
“Many of these personalities are just ‘media politicians’ who played no part in the struggle against tyranny that has produced our political system,” he stated.
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He recalled names such as Haruna Iddrisu, Prof. Felix Nii Lantei Odartey -Wellington, Alhaji of Radio Universe, University of Ghana, Legon, Kwesi Pratt, Kweku Baako, Komla Dumor, Sammy Okaitey, Samuel Atta- Mensah, Sonny Decker ( one of the founders of the News file programmes on Joy FM ), Alhaji Haruna Atta, Kwame Sefa Kayi, Baby Ansabah, Nana Ofori Atta and many others no one even hears of today as some of those “who fought with us in the trenches.”
He described Mr Adom Otchere as actually one of the few who continues to be prominent and we must encourage the others rather than put them down.
“I have personally appeared on Paul Adom Otchere's programme on two occasions and I admire his strict adherence to professional ethics,” he stated.
Unfortunately, Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe pointed out that “our society has become too reliant on broadcast media, which favours sensationalism and soundbites rather than reasoned analysis. That's why these” media politicians” have become prominent. Many of them we do not even know where they came from.”
Wereko-Brobby
Relatedly, the pioneer of private broadcasting in Ghana, Dr Charles Wereko-Brobby (Tarzan), has said the ‘soli’ joke made on Mr Adom Otchere was a bad one.
Wading into the matter, Dr Wereko-Brobbey told Kwadwo Asare Barfour Acheampong (KABA) on ASEMPA FM’s afternoon political programme Ekosii Sen that the soli aspersions and insinuation cast against Adom Otchere “shouldn’t have happened.” It was a “bad joke”, he said.
Commenting on the practice itself, Tarzan, as Wereko-Brobby is known, said: “Demanding soli is not a good thing to do. It is almost becoming part of the culture of the country.”
He observed that it had become a problem in the profession, even though he acknowledged that it was a few journalists involved in the practice of demanding ‘soli’.
The former CEO of power-producing Volta River Authority (VRA), however, noted that the problem was as a result of poor remuneration of journalists by media owners.