Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia’s description of Minority MPs as “ignorant” is not offensive, hence there will be no need to for him to apologise, Dr Oduro Osae, Dean of Graduate Studies at the Institute of Local Government, has said.
According to him, the expression ‘ignorant’ is used when one does not understand a situation or does not know that a fact exists, and therefore, cannot be an insult for which an apology must be demanded.
His comments come in the wake of Keta MP Richard Quashigah demanding an apology from Vice President Bawumia for describing the Minority in Parliament as “ignorant”.
Speaking to the media in Washington DC about the Minority’s claim that the recent $2.25billion domestic bond issued by the Akufo-Addo government was done in “secrecy”, without parliamentary approval, and “cooked” to favour US-based investor Franklin Templeton, Dr Bawumia said: “This shows a lack of understanding, the Minority have never understood this economy and it’s just amazing that people on that side who were actually in charge of managing the economy will be making such statements. It really shows ignorance and I am so sad when I hear that from people who should know better.
“So they need to understand, maybe they should read a little, but they need to understand what took place: we issued a cedi bond, there’s no secrecy to the matter, it was very well invested in. The holders have invested many times in Ghana in bonds that were in place when Seth Terkper issued them, they bought them, 24 per cent interest rate. This time it is 19%, we are doing even much better, but this is what politics has been reduced to, trying to say things which really have no basis and are basically wrapped in ignorance, and, so, I’m a bit sad for Ghana and for them because they are really demonstrating a lot of ignorance in the process of managing this economy.”
However, Mr Quashigah, who is the Deputy Minority Ranking Member on the Employment Committee of Parliament, took strong exception to Dr Bawumia’s tagging of the Minority as “ignorant”.
In a statement titled: Bawumia must apologise to Ghanaians and Minority in Parliament, Mr Quashigah said: “If indeed those were his words, then it is not only unfortunate but a very jaundiced conclusion to have been made by him. If indeed the reportage as put out by the media is accurate, then he is advised to learn to speak with diplomacy and dignity expected of a vice president or else before long he could cause this nation an incalculable international embarrassment.”
But speaking on this development in an interview with Emefa Apawu on the 505 programme on Class 91.3FM on Friday April 21, Dr Osae said: “It is about time as a country we ensured there is decorum and mutual respect in our political space, especially among our political leadership. I think the issue at stake is very important to all of us as Ghanaians and the least we expected should be personality attacks or insults.
“What we expected was an intellectual debate that should help Ghanaians to understand what is happening. If the NDC or the minority caucus is saying that what Dr Bawumia said was not the best and so he shouldn’t have said that, equally they have used a lot of unpalatable…words that should not have been used. But my call is that there should be decorum in our political space, our political leaders must make sure that they speak on issues that can help all of us as Ghanaians.”
Asked whether the Vice president would have to apologise as the minority has demanded, Dr Osae replied: “Not at all. I think when you go into the Oxford Advanced Dictionary and somebody uses the word ‘ignorant’, it means either the person does not understand the issues or he is not aware that the particular fact exists. So what I am expecting them (the Minority) to do is that Dr Bawumia has indicated why he thinks they are ignorant. I think the best they can do is to also come out with an alternative to what Dr Bawumia has said to prove to him and the NPP that after all they are not ignorant and that they have been reading. In my view I don’t think Dr Bawumia should be apologising at all.”
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