Policy analyst and Vice President of Imani Africa, Selorm Branttie has called out veteran journalist and the Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako for slamming singer Black Sherif.

Reacting to a post from Black Sherif, who questioned and sought accountability from Ghanaian leaders for using Ghana's name to secure substantial funding from international bodies without providing evidence of how that money was used, Kweku Baako described the opinion of Black Sherif and the response from netizens who praised him as “ignorance glorified”.

It is against this backdrop that the Vice President of Imani has questioned the rationale behind Kweku Baako’s comment.

According to him, the youth are agitated about certain decisions taken by the government that have detrimental effects on them, effects the president and people in power are not aware of, as such, any demand from the youth about decisions that affect their lives should not be deemed as ignorant.

In his view, the veteran journalist has exposed his ignorance of the reality of the youth by making that pronouncement.

“Nana Addo will not be able to see the effects of his regime and how it’s affected the youth, but the youth can see how it’s affected them, and they have the right to make their own decisions,” he explained in a Facebook post.

He added, “That you are far removed from their plight does not make them ignorant. You are ignorant to their reality.”

Branttie added that, after several years of independence and with the nation’s rich human and natural resources, it is pathetic for our leaders to be demanding reparation from international bodies.

He explained, “You have a country like Ghana with all its brain power and resources and our president is begging for slave reparations. Nkrumah never went to beg for reparations. He believed in the power and industry of the modern African. He went to the UN General Assembly to forge alliances that created the non-aligned movement. Then we have Nana Addo who goes and beg for slave reparations when he has mismanaged everything this nation holds sacred?”

Akufo-Addo's demand for reparation and the #OccupyJulorbiHouse protest

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has made a bold statement at the 78th General Assembly of the United Nations, calling for reparations to be paid to Africa for the Slave Trade.

Describing the Slave Trade as a time of ‘horrors,’ the president said that while the present generations of the nations who perpetrated these evils are no longer around, it cannot be overlooked.

This, he added, is because the current generations are beneficiaries of the evils their forebears perpetrated, taking advantage of productive Africans during the Slave Trade.

He, therefore, called for reparations to be paid to Africa although, he stressed, no amount would be able to make up for those many years of enslavement on the continent.

Barely a day after the comments were made, several Ghanaians coincidentally gathered for the #OccupyJulorbiHouse protest to demand good governance, accountability and better conditions as they complained about how hardship had engulfed them due to mismanagement of the economy.

Some protesters were assaulted and arrested by the police who said the people engaged in unlawful assembly and violating the Public Order Act after they chose to ignore court documents served on the organizers, Democracy Hub, advising them to abstain from proceeding with the scheduled demonstration.

Reacting to the development, Black Sherif, citing what he witnessed at the UN conference could not fathom why the government would ask for money in the name of the country, misuse the funds and deny the people the right to demonstrate.

“Left the UN conference in New York City right after the president of Ghana’s presentation. I’ve never heard a figure like what he asked for from the UN. So if they carry all these money give dem, where them dey take pass? Hand on my heart I dey tell you there’s no evidence for all the money these people dey borrow in our name,” Black Sherif wrote.

While some praised Blacko, Kweku Baako criticized the musician, asserting that his remarks were based on ignorance, as the president was making reference to reparations and not requesting a loan.

EAN/BB