Ochere-Darko Must Render Proper Apologies For "Stupid" Insults! Part II*

Feature Article, By Nana Akyea Mensah, The Odikro.

There is no doubt that Mr. Ochere-Darko is feeling the heat and the fallouts of his extremely embarrassing behaviour. He has gone into damage control mode, short of doing the right thing. He even seems to be ready to tell any lie, rather than to apologize for the obvious misbehaviour in public. And he makes a mess of those lies too, just as he made a mess of the charge that J.B. Danquah was a CIA agent. He lied to defend Danquah, and he is lying to defend himself! A good reason why the current apologies of Ochere-Darko are unacceptable is simply because he even lies about the fact that he did not insult Dr. Omane Boamah, whilst we all see and hear Ochere-Darko clearly asking, "Why is he so stupid?", amid the staccato of "stupidity," and "stupid" per second, "Would you stop this stupidity? Why is he so stupid? You are sitting here and accusing somebody of being a CIA agent, what sort of stupidity is that? What is this stupidity?" Gabby never explained why it is wrong to accuse "somebody of being a CIA agent"!

Even though we all hear Ochere-Darko insulting Dr. Omane Boamah is so stupid that he is even finding it difficult to fathom the reason why, he is still claiming that is not supposed to be taken as an insult! He still refuses to do the right thing and to apologize. He is growing more and more disgusting with each passing day without those apologies! Gabby Otchere Darko still maintains that stands by what he said even though he believes his choice of word was a bit harsh. He even denies the insult! For once, Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe got it right. He described Ochere-Darko's behaviour as a "rather startlingly infantile reaction"! Coming from no less a person than the last remaining apostle of Dr. J. B. Danquah, a politically endangered species, Kwame Okoampa himself, this is serious. From the look of things, it even seems Okoampa-Ahoofe would have behaved better than Gabby! So, where is Gabby's defence? One would have thought that Gabby was a little less arrogant and sober of the two!

The strange "gift" Ochere-Darko appears to be endowed with, is his ability to lie about the obvious. I never stop to wonder why this man is constantly behaving as though he has the monopoly over the truth. After the ridiculous defence of Danquah's CIA past, and surreptitious attempts to replace "the American embassy" with "the CIA" which is published in a book widely in circulation, Gabby is again lying about a live radio and TV event watched by millions and of which the records are still freely available! He first lies publicly about the contents of a book that is no secret, then lies about his own public statements! Speaking recently said on the Citi Breakfast Show on Monday September 26, when he was again asked by the host, this time, Mr. Bernard Avle, whether he was ready to apologise to the deputy Minister, Gabby's answer was startling:

"I did not say that the man is stupid. I thought that the man insulted the memory of J. B Danquah when he reduced everything that J. B Danquah did for Ghana particularly from 1923 to when he died in prison in 1965 as betrayer of the Nationalist project and reduced him to being a CIA agent. I thought that was most insulting and I told him that such a statement was irresponsible and I used the word stupid and I still stand by what I meant to say". See: , Gabby: I Won't Apologise To The Deputy Minister, Date: 26-Sep-2011, Source: Citifmonline.com.

Please Watch Video:"Gabby walks off Newsfile after 'stupid' insult Politics.flv," and check it for yourself! Perhaps, Gabby should have ridiculously said, "I did not say 'that the man is stupid', I only asked 'Why is he so stupid?'" That would be contradictory and illogical, but at least he would have perhaps been closer to what happened and his own regrets about it, and of course, the understandable need to lie about it all! After wondering aloud the fact that he was already looking for reasons why Dr. Omane Boamah was not just stupid, but "so stupid", he even denies insulting him! Who said, "Why is he so stupid?" Is that not an insult? Hah? Gabby?

Is Gabby going to come and tell me that my feature article, "J. B. Danquah Was A CIA Asset!" is also "stupidity, nothing but stupidity! This is pure stupidity!"? Is that how to conduct "an intellectual discussion"? Or is it Okoampa who is going to bell the cat? Is it not strange that not a single disciple of Danquah has stepped forward in his defence since the publication of this article? Gabby was reported in the news as saying: "Gabby Otchere Darko added that intellectual discussions should not involve people like Dr. Omane Boamah." I think it is about time that our media took a cue from Gabby's own words, except that the one to exclude ought not to be Dr. Omane Boamah, who was simply stating a fact, but the arrogant and insulting Ochere-Darko himself!

Gabby was reminded to use decent language, but he couldn't be bothered. He did not only repeat the insult, but he hits Dr. Omane Boamah. In answer to Dr. Omane Boamah's protestation, "You are even hitting me", Gabby could not be bothered. He only responds, "No, what sort of stupidity is that?" He does not even excuse the physical aggression! No self-respecting studio will allow this guy to pass through their doors for any such event in the future! On the contrary, he probably offers an explanation for hitting a fellow panellist: "No, what sort of stupidity is that?" Calls by Dr. Omane Boamah to Ochere-Darko reminding him to "Use decent language," went unheeded.

The ball is now squarely in court of the producer of the programme, and the Ghanaian media in general to come out and pronounce on the behaviour of Mr. Gabriel Asare Ochere-Darko. For those who do not know the background to this story, it is very simple. Discussing the third celebration of the Founder's day marked on Wednesday September 21, deputy Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Omane Boamah described Dr. J. B. Danquah, after whom the Danquah Institute is named, as a CIA agent. Dr. Omane Boamah's description of the Dr. J. B Danquah as a CIA agent immediately got Gabby Ochere-Darko insulting the deputy Minister.

"Would you stop this stupidity? Would you stop this stupidity? Why is he so stupid? You are sitting here and accusing somebody of being a CIA agent, what sort of stupidity is that? What is this stupidity? This is stupidity...you consider a founder of Ghana as a CIA agent, what sort of stupidity is this? ...this is pure stupidity."

Gabby Otchere Darko was then asked by the host of the show to apologize to listeners and Dr. Omane Boamah for the insulting language but Gabby would only apologize to listeners. He stubbornly refused to apologize to the deputy Minister. He rather chose the option of walking out of the studio than to apologize for the insults. He was subsequently asked to leave the studios for his refusal to apologize to Omane Boamah, since that was the rule. Gabby Otchere Darko accepted the option of not apologizing and walking out to apologize and stay, and walked off the live program stating:

"When you want us to have an intellectual programme like this, you don't bring people like this. I am not going to apologise, I can apologise to the viewers and listeners but not him. He insults J.B. Danquah and you want me to apologise to him? ...I am not going to do that. Why should I do that? ... If that is what you want I will walk out on your programme, I won't do it!"

One tactic adopted by the Danquah camp is an attempt to intimidate the press, especially the host of the programme. The host was fantastic. If anything at all, he was wrong for allowing Ochere-Darko to sit in whilst no apologies to Dr. Omane Boamah was forth-coming. Unsurprisingly, most of the Danquah fundamentalists have since not only leaped to the defence of Ochere-Darko, but they are blaming everybody else except the culprit. Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., for example puts the blame squarely on the shoulders of the host of the programme:

"Personally, I feel that the host of the Newsfile program, if he already has no quick fact-checking research assistants, ought to be promptly provided with the same. For, in the cyber-tech culture of the twenty-first century, it is rather primitive for the host of any high-wire political program to let rhetorically uncouth and incontinently mendacious operatives like Dr. Omane-Boamah to literally get away with murder." See: "Omane-Boamah Deserved that Bit of It , Feature Article of Friday, 30 September 2011, by Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., Ph.D.

I don't understand why some people think our media can be bullied so easily, but they must be fooling themselves. We shall never allow this to happen to our media because it is is the backbone of our democracy. I have confirmed those allegations in a feature article already. So, for his answer, I refer Kwame Okoampa to read: "J. B. Danquah Was A CIA Asset!", Feature Article of Saturday, 1 October 2011, Columnist: Mensah, Nana Akyea, and leave "the host of the Newsfile program" in peace! If Okoampa has any sensible contribution to make to this debate, I openly invite him to respond to this article! As for Gabby, he must be made to retract his words. Why should he be allowed into such programmes again after refusing to apologize to Dr. Omane Boamah, saying, "I am not going to do that. Why should I do that? ... If that is what you want I will walk out on your programme, I won't do it!"

Gabby must be made to do it. I think that it is very important for our media to immediately place a "cordon sanitaire" (hygienic barrier) around this person and the Danquah Institute, until he does what he is supposed to do. If he refuses to listen to the media, the media has an obligation not to listen to him. This is not very complicated. Dr. Omane Boamah cites a book to make the allegation that Dr. J. B. Danquah was a CIA agent. The evidence collaborates what the records say of his arrest and detention. So what is it that makes Dr. Omane Boamah "so stupid"? And, by the way, shouldn't Gabby also apologize for all these publicly verifiable lies if he wants to restore the credibility of the Danquah Institute?

Gabriel Asare Ochere-Darko is a long story to tell. Thus it is a pleasure to see him stubbornly refusing to apologize as quickly as possible, so that the long story I have been yearning to tell can be told. I shall bring out many uncomfortable facts of public interest as a way of piling pressure on him to do the right thing. I shall be focusing soon on Ochere-Darko and the canvassing for US military bases in Ghana, and how this connects with the Danquah tradition. It is OK if Gabby does not feel like apologizing for this "stupidity". By the time I am through with him Ghanaians will be asking his boss, Mr. Akufo-Addo himself, to tell us all what he knows about secret plans by the NPP to establish a US military base in Ghana, and stop running away from the question!

Forward Ever! Backwards Never!!! Nana Akyea Mensah, The Odikro, http://nanaakyeamensah.blogspot.com/ Member, Pan-Africanist International -a grammar of Pan-Africanism and its manners of articulation!