Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has stated that he has reason to believe that American rapper Meek Mill has been sincere in his apology to Ghanaians.
In a Facebook post sighted by GhanaWeb, the MP has called on Ghanaians to forgive the rapper, who has been under heavy criticism for sharing snippets of a music video with shots from Ghana’s presidency.
"It does appear Meek Mill’s multiple apologies to Ghanaians are quite sincere & should be accepted by all," he wrote.
The rapper, following widespread criticism coupled with allegations of him desecrating the Jubilee House, issued an apology to Ghanaians, saying he never meant to disrespect the country or the presidency.
"To the people of Ghana no video I drop is ever meant to disrespect the people of Ghana …. The fastest way to make connection is thru music and I wanted to do that with displaying art … im in my 30’s from America and didn’t know much about the lifestyle here," his first apology shared in a series of tweets on Monday, January 9, 2023 said.
"My apologies to the people if any disrespect! We still gonna push to make the connection between black people in America and Africa … what I’m trying to do is more than a video and you should see coming soon! My apologies to the the office also!" it read.
"I don’t think they knew it was video footage when we asked to shoot its a small camera and one kid … in America we didn’t know this existed and was excited to show because they don’t show Ghana on our media much! So I’ll take responsibility for my mistake! Not intentional," he added.
Despite asking that the rapper be forgiven for his gaffe, Mr. Ablakwa, who has asked for a probe into the incident and appropriate sanctions to be applied to culpable individuals, said the admission by Meek Mill has further justified his call.
"My only serious reservation, however, is his claim that he engaged in all that deplorable desecration & major security breach on the blind side of officials.
"Is the President safe? Is Ghana safe?" he questioned.
"This has, without a scintilla of doubt, further justified earlier demands for urgent investigations & severe sanctions," the opposition MP added.
Meek Mill shared the video on his Instagram page after he visited the presidency following his recent trip to Ghana.
In the video shared by the rapper on his Instagram page, Meek Mill is captured in different places at the presidency from the frontage, through the main corridors, in the main conference hall—at a point positioned behind the presidential lectern—and later in a sitting area rapping.
His critics have cited security and moral concerns about the rapper’s actions.
Meanwhile, Meek Mill has since deleted the video, which has gone viral on social media.
GA/WA