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| The writer, Manasseh Awuni Azure (A Ghanaian Journalist) |
Yes,
if kwashiorkor grabs you and you survive to tell your story, you’ll agree with
me that poverty is concrete noun, and not an abstract noun as your English
teacher told you. And if someone sends you Antoa to curse you and says, “Let
him die”, it is not as painful as when he says, “Let him be poor.” But thank
God, those days are gone and your boy can now dine with the big men, and
Saturday is another such occasion!
The
venue will be the Banquet Hall of the State House, where Ghana’s most noble and
ignoble men will converge to award Stars of the Order of the Volta and Stars of
Order of the Vulture. The Ghana Journalists’ Association (GJA) awards are here
and it will be interesting to see the men who buy ink in barrels gather to take
stock of themselves and honour outstanding performances. There will be more
than enough to quaff and munch and yours truly has started fasting for the day.
This will be my third consecutive GJA Awards Night since, by God’s abounding
grace, I moved from the peninsular district of Kete-Krachi to Accra, thanks to
the Ghana Institute of Journalism. I’m in the process of becoming a member of
the GJA and next year, hey, I’ll ride a donkey from here to Bongo if, or rather
when, I pick one or more of the award next year.
After
the northern journalists’ awards recently, I wrote a news commentary extolling
the virtues of some journalists from the savanna regions who have over the
years made northerners proud. I named names such as George Sydney Abugri and
Anas Aremeyaw Anas among others, and a few minutes after the news commentary
was aired on GBC Radio, one of the veterans in GBC Radio Newsroom saw me and
called me. He looked very serious and I wondered whether I had defamed someone
in the commentary.
“Do
you know of Razak El-Alawa?” he asked me when I followed him to the newsroom. I
scratched my head and my mind travelled many centuries back. I had actually not
met the man before, and apart from a few articles I had read in the Daily
Graphic with that byline, how was a 1985-born supposed to know about him? But
fortunately I remembered while sipping a bottle of alvaro at the previous GJA
awards night, I saw that name repeat itself twice in the colourful brochure
that carried a full list of Ghanaian journalists’ hall of fame. The man is the only
three-time winner of that award, followed by Kwaku Sakyi Addo and…
“So
why did you not add his name. As for George Sydney Abugri, Anas Aremeyaw Anas
and those you mentioned in the commentary, when did they come? If you like, sit
down and I can give you names of northern Journalists … ”
I
told him that I knew Anas was from Bimbilla and Afroman Sydney Abugri was from
Bawku but had no faintest idea which part of the planet Alhaji Razak was
hatched. And what about the name Razak? Well, we cannot conclude that because
Albert Abongo is the MP for Bongo, Kanda Bongo Man is also from Bongo.
“I
should have researched further,” I admitted and that ended the argument. The
man in question is not a northerner, but ask me his interest and I’ll tell you
that he is proud of journalism of his days and cannot afford to hear “amateur
journalists” taking credit leaving his diligent companions of yesteryears. And
I must admit that it is at such occasions as the GJA awards that one meets the
great writers our history.
This
year’s GJA awards promises to be great. Recently I heard the GJA President, Mr.
Ransford Tetteh, saying he was happy about the keen interest shown in the
awards. This, to him, has confirmed that the men and women behind the keyboards
and microphones have developed faith in the GJA. It is good when the
competition is patronized. But I think Mr. Tetteh and his men should concern
themselves with the quality of the entries and not just the quantity. They say
this year has the greatest number of entries.
The Ghana
Institute of Journalism’s library may not be more spacious than a big lotto
kiosk, but it is home to some of the best books on journalism and communication
one can ever find on Odomankoma’s planet.
And
one of such books I paid a penalty for returning it late is the Best Newspaper
Writing published by the Poynter Institute of the USA. The book is published
annually and it contains the winning and shortlisted stories of the American
Society of Newspaper Editors (ASNE) annual media awards. When I compare those
stories to newspaper stories that win awards here, I feel we’re still many
miles away from modernity.
A
few newspaper writings such as our columnists (the Alomeles, Akordors, Abugris,
and the Kwaku Sakyi-Addos are men of their own classes) and stories of Anas and
a few can match the best anywhere. But we still have a long way to go in print
journalism.
The
electronic media seem to be doing better. Joy FM and Citi FM are Great. Unique
FM’s Perspectives and Radio Ghana’s Ghana Today are news programmes that seem
to make up for the-minister-said stories replete in their major bulletins.
Metro TV seem to have enough time for their news and they carry good stories.
TV3 have the best news ideas, than any media house in Ghana but they scratch
the surface of the stories.
Perhaps,
they need to be reminded that how fast you do something will be forgotten but
how well you do it will forever be remembered. GTV parades the best reporters
in Ghana but their “output” is a subject of my subsequent write-ups. I sometimes
wonder whether the prime time is for News or advertisement. The only station
with nationwide coverage! They, too, must be reminded that the size of an
animal does not matter; what matters is the taste in its soup.
Nevertheless,
Saturday is going to be a great day! And the big question is who will wear the
coveted crown of the GJA Journalist of the Year?
To
me, the GJA Journalist of the Year should go to Mr. Henking Adjase-Kodjo! And I
don’t want anybody to ask me who the hell he is, because his journalistic
credentials may not fill an A4 sheet of paper. I mean Verdana font type. Font
size 32. Bold. Justified! Sorry, Henking, I didn’t mean it.
Certainly,
Henkings name will not be mentioned at the GJA awards. He’ll not be nominated,
let alone win an award. But to the people of Odumase-Krobo in the Lower Manya
Krobo of the Eastern Region, especially the current, past and future students
of the Odumase Presbyterian JHS, Henking is not only the Journalist of the Year
for the year under review but forever. He is their hero. He is their saviour.
He
has demonstrated that with the stroke of the pen, the journalist is an
architect of change and development. His parents must be proud of him and so
will his community. Henking has demonstrated the naked truth in my mentor
Chinua Achebe’s saying, that the cock belongs to one person but its crow is the
asset of the entire village. And this week that we’re about to witness the
Ghanaian journalists day of honor, I don’t think there is an individual who’s
worthier of my praise than Henking.
Now,
the news in details, credit to GBC’s Mercy Sowah. That woman and her voice!
Only God knows the number of admirers out there who tell me they feel GBC Radio
news doesn’t end when she’s reading. That’s another subject for another day.
The
year was 2009. Henking was a still in GIJ. He was our Clerk of the SRC General
Assembly. The best we’ve had so far, and they will ever have. He was in his
final year and they were on their monotonous academic writing they call thesis.
Final exams were near. And a referral in one subject meant that you’ll not
graduate, thanks to gatekeeper Ms. Avordeda. Familiar name, GIJ alumni?
But
despite the stress of having to meet all his responsibilities in GIJ, Henking
Adjase-Kodjo found time to do a series of stories on the miserable state of
affairs of the Odumase Presby JHS. Seven stories in all, on the same subject!
The school was built in 1888 and had not seen any renovation after 121 years of
existence. So what happened? In 2008, part of the building collapsed and killed
a 13-year old pupil and injured three other pupils.
The
rest of the building became a death trap, but the teachers and pupils had no
option. So they risked their lives in there. The district assembly was too poor
to help. NADMO, according to the headmaster of the school, did not pay heed to
them when the school authorities reported their plight to them. The headmaster
also explained that they had appealed to Ghana Cement Company Ltd (our own
GHACEM) but nothing came out of it. And the central government? The Jubilee
House was a priority!
But
when Henking took his pen and wrote a touching story ,which presented the views
of all interest groups of the school, and the Daily Graphic carried it in its
May 7, 2009, edition of and there was change. Zain Ghana was touched by the
story and today, the school has a new six-unit classroom block, a staff common
room, a well-stocked library and a computer laboratory with internet
facilities. The pupils also have new furniture. Pupils of the school now have
ceiling fans above their heads, refrigerators to supply them with cold water
and instead of stinky KVIPS, they can now sit on WCs and do their own thing,
thanks to Zain. And thanks to Daily Graphic for carrying the story.
But
the hero himself is 27 year-old Henking Adjase-Kodjo.
When
last year the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) organized the students’
award and there was a category for Best Student Journalist, Henking was the one
I tipped to win. I had presented materials from print, radio, TV and the
numerous articles on the internet some people claim are “masterpieces” but the
impact of Henking’s story was enormous and I confessed to him.
So
on that night as I sat through the well-attended NUGS Awards Night in the
auditorium of Zenith College, I had only hopes for winning the Best Student
Writer category because I knew Henking was in the race and since NUGS is about
education, he was sure to pick it up the award for the Best Student Journalist.
It was a well-attended programme, with the descendants of Eve attending in
their numbers. They scooped the well-polished yam mounds on the chests and as
they cat walked, they (I mean the yam mounds) vibrated provokingly. You
couldn’t look away because they were everywhere. And the word “beautiful” is an
understatement. Indeed, heaven will be boring! And hell?
But
the night turned out to be one of the most horrific nights in my life. I didn’t
get the award for the best student writer and didn’t win the best student
journalist, either. So who do you think won the best student journalist award?
No!
Not as you think.
Henking
didn’t win. It was awarded to an Akan newscaster based in Kumasi. And I cannot
hide my disdain for most of these local language newscasters anywhere. Before
this guy came to pick up his award, he gave a “free-style” of the comedy they
mistake for news casting and the whole hall thundered with rapturous applause.
It
was only then that I realized that Henking and I were too noble for those
things they called awards. Where ignorance is bliss… One of the panelists who
did the selection later told me that after the panel had all agreed to award
some of us, the NUGS executive went and sat somewhere and came out with a
different list, saying the “Council of Elders” of NUGS had the final say as to
who won what.
It
was therefore no wonder that after the “newscaster’s” praise had subsided, a
loud voice pierced through the auditorium like a spear, “SAKAWA AWARDS.” And
guess who owned that voice? It was our own Nana Darkwa Baafi, JJ Rawling’s good
friend. But he was 101% right on this occasion. Like a Liverpool fan, he didn’t
walk alone.
But
on the day of his congregation the Ghana Institute of Journalism honoured
Henking. He was adjudged the Most Inspiring Student and a citation was read for
him. What about GJA?
But
on Saturday night if what happened in 2007 should happen again, I’ll have a say
in who becomes the GJA journalist of the year. I still remember that night very
vividly, as vividly as the day I broke my code. I mean the day you broke your
virginity, your dignity.
The
GJA Vice President, Mr. Roland Affail Monney was asked to come and declare the
Journalist of the Year. And he obliged. Spotting a neat, dark suit, he daintily
mounted the podium and the whole State Banquet Hall died. The public address
system used was very lousy but on this occasion, his voice seemed to reach every
corner of the hall even if the microphone was taken away from him.
The
clink of the glasses could be heard far away as worshipers of booze decided to
respect the silence and momentarily placed them on the tables. Nigerians have a
proverb that: “When a soup is unpalatable, and the paste of the pounded yam
that goes with it is not smooth, that is the time to know a man who loves to
eat pounded yam.” But I say that it is when there is excess booze at a state
function that we know true “boozemen.”
But
on this occasion, everybody respected the silence and the sound of Mr. Affail
Monney’s voice rang out like the St. Michael’s Catholic Church bell in
Kete-Krachi. He spoke for some time. And we listened, like a spellbinding
sermon of salvation delivered to people about to face firing squad. Then he
dropped the cluster bombshell! No journalist had written anything sensible
enough to be named GJA Journalist of the Year.
The
news was that there was no news! Period.
But
this year, when such a thing should repeat itself, I will rise up and shout at
the GJA officers like the way Representative Joe Wilson shouted at Obama.
“You
lie! The GJA Journalist of Year is Mr. Henking Adjase-Kodjo, a freelancer for
the Daily Graphic. Hurray!” The only difference will be that I won’t go back to
apologise as Rep. Joe Wilson did.
Long
live journalism.
Long
live Ghanaian journalists who exercise our press freedom responsibly.
Credit:
Manasseh Azure Awuni [www.maxighana.com] Email: azureachebe2@yahoo.com. The
writer is a young freelance journalist based in Accra, Ghana. To read more of
his writing, visit: www.maxighana.com
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