From a publication on Ghanaweb on Tuesday, 31 January 2017, sourced from the Al-Hajj newspaper titled, “Ibrahim Mahama warns Kennedy Agyapong, as could be read via the web link below, I have my own reservations.

http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Ibrahim-Mahama-warns-Kenned...

The Managing Editor of the newspaper (Al Hajj), Alhaji Bature, is an intrinsic liar; a known partisan affiliated to the NDC. His publications are always pregnant with nothing, but absolute lies directed at discrediting the political rivals of the NDC. He always puts words into the mouths of people just to have them hate one another, or to incite them to take action against others. Subsequently, I cannot take him very seriously with regards to his newspaper’s reportage on Ibrahim Mahama, the younger brother of former President Mahama; purportedly threatening to deal with Hon. Kennedy Agyepong should he not desist from soiling his hard earned reputation.

This same Alhaji Bature once published a fictitious article about me (Rockson Adofo). He claimed that Nana Akufo Addo’s supporters, of whom I figure principally, had been incited to cause the destoolment of Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II on learning that Otumfuo had bribed the Atuguba’s Supreme Court judges to declare a ruling in favour of then Presidential-candidate/President John Dramani Mahama in Election 2012.

The article is found on Ghanaweb under their General News of Thursday, 26 September 2013, sourced from AL-Hajj and titled, “Akufo-Addo’s men involved in plot to remove Otumfuo”. It can be read from the web link below.

http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Akufo-Addo-s-men-involved-i...

He wrote this article following the Supreme Court’s ruling in favour of President Mahama with regards to the 2012 Election petition filed against the Electoral Commission by Nana Akufo Addo, Dr Bawumia and the late Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey of cherished memory.

He might have arrived at this conclusion following my numerous publications on the Kumawu chieftaincy case where doubt was cast on Asantehene’s role as the Asante Overlord who claims to have absolute right to interfere in Kumawu chieftaincy affairs whereas actually, he has not. Additionally, my publications in support of Nana Akufo Addo might have moved Alhaji Bature to publish that malicious article about me.

Having known Alhaji Bature to be a liar and his newspaper only good to be consigned to the refuse dump, I will not take his views expressed as purportedly coming from Ibrahim Mahama against Hon. Kennedy Agyepong any serious.

However, were his assertions really coming from Ibrahim Mahama, then I will have to ask or point out the following three things to Ibrahim Mahama.

1. Was he not the cause of the collapse, and the eventual dubious sale of the Ghana Merchant Bank to some questionable persons? Had he not refused to pay, or was dithering to pay up, the loan, he had taken from the Bank hence the near-folding up of the bank that led to its sale? As soon as the bank was sold, he offered to make full payment of his loan (debt) to the bank which went to benefit the new owners, I should think.

2. When some Ghana gold ingots in transit to Iran was allegedly temporarily impounded in Turkey, was Ibrahim Mahama’s name not nationally mentioned as being behind the illegal removal of the bullion from Ghana? Was it Hon. Kennedy Agyepong who started that allegation or who brought it to the attention of the public? No!

3. In the month of November and December 2016, some NDC faithful including President Mahama and Ibrahim Mahama did embark on what they called “fit walk”. They used to walk down the streets of the cities in their numbers. Their main aim was to prove that President Mahama was young, energetic and could rule Ghana better than Nana Akufo Addo whom they claimed to be too old, sick and weak to be the leader of Ghana. During that spurious exercise, did Ibrahim Mahama not have armed military personnel guarding him? Was that not an abuse of power come about because of his senior brother being the President of Ghana? Did this issue not raise a national concern?

Hon. Kennedy Agyepong has not been soiling his hard-earned reputation as alleged, but his own untoward behaviours among which he number-plated two of his fleet of expensive cars “PEPENI No. 1 & PEPENI No. 2) give him away to be ridiculed. Therefore, both Ibrahim Mahama and Alhaji Bature must get their facts right and get their act together.

Can Ibrahim Mahama swear on the Koran or the Bible or any fetish he believes in that he has not corrupted himself by the fact that his brother was the President of Ghana?

He should please give us a break. Since I do not believe all that Alhaji Bature says in his rubbish newspaper which is not even worth using for a toilet roll, I will not say anything further about Ibrahim Mahama and I do profusely apologise to him if I have hurt his feelings by this write-up. I was compelled to write this article following all that Alhaji Bature said about him threatening to take action against Hon. Kennedy Agyepong.

In case Ibrahim Mahama has cheated anyone in the course of amassing his massive wealth, I shall only advise him to be like Zacchaeus, the Jewish tax collector who after encountering Jesus Christ said, in Luke 19:8 – And Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount."

The culture of silence and the bullying of the poor by the rich must be the thing of the past, and it shall be! I say shame on Alhaji Bature and his disgracefully substandard journalism.

Rockson Adofo

(Written on Friday, 3 February 2017)