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| | Prof. Yankah Mounts Academy Platform |    | | |  The Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Academic and Student Affairs of the University of Ghana, Prof. Kwesi Yankah, has called for speedy intervention by government and other organs such as the Council of State, the National House of Chiefs as well as religious bodies and civil society, to curb the current state of rhetoric in the Ghanaian public sphere.
He said that the situation was a source of concern which does not auger well for peace and democracy. He noted that the adoption of a slogan such as “All die be die”, the establishment of a “Heroes Fund” could all be interpreted as “institutional preparations for lawlessness, hooliganism and civil strife in Election 2012”.
Prof. Yankah, who is a Fellow of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences (GAAS) made these remarks while delivering an Occasional Lecture organized by the Academy on the topic, “Dzi Wo Fie Asem: Rhetoric and the Politics of Expediency” at the British Council Hall in Accra.
Beginning with a historical perspective, Prof. Yankah noted that the period between the First and Fourth Republic was replete with such abuses notably by public officials, adding that greater emphasis was placed on the propriety of speech within the context of usage rather than its logical propriety.
Earlier, he argued that even though rhetoric or the art of persuasion is important in politics, we hardly pause to examine logical links between words carefully or artfully couched for public consumption, on one hand and political reality, on the other.
The politics of expediency, Prof. Yankah said, was pronounced with the practice in which state policy emanated from a variety of sources and through different voices resulting in a comedy of contradictions in interpretation, followed by blatant public denials of embarrassing statements or misdeeds, and subsequent threats of legal action. Prof. Yankah added that such disorder in policy articulation and interpretation was not only characteristic of state governance, but also spilled over to political parties, and the national to regional, district and other levels.
Even though the “twin-trigger” for his lecture was motivated by the Fante proverb, “Dzi Wo Fie Asem” used by His Excellency the President of Ghana, President J. E. A. Mills, during an encounter with the Ghanaian mass media on the Ivorian crises, as well as a statement made by the flag-bearer of the opposition New Patriotic Party, Nana Akufo-Addo, “All Die Be Die”, Prof. Yankah also provided analyses of famous proverbs and political quotes associated with past Presidents and Heads of State including Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and Dr. Kofi Abrefa Busia.
He prescribed, among his list of antidotes to the canker of rhetorics for political expediency, the institution of a “single voice” speaking for the Presidency.
The lecture, which was co-sponsored by the University of Ghana, was chaired by the President of the GAAS, Prof. Francis K. Allotey. He noted that the Academy was overwhelmed with the participation which he compared to a lecture delivered by the late Professor Adu Boahen. He thanked Prof. Yankah for delivering what he described a relevant, entertaining, and excellent lecture.
Earlier in his opening remarks, the Honorary Secretary of the GAAS, Prof. Ralph Mills-Tettey, said Prof. Yankah, a Fellow of the GAAS, had written extensively on the rhetoric of proverb communication in Africa.
Alumni of Mensah Sarbah Hall, where Prof. Yankah had previously served as the Senior Tutor and Hall Master rose to the occasion to honour him after the lecture which he delivered in his characteristic linguist style. Led by the Master of the Hall, Dr. George Asare Darpaah presented a bouquet to the distinguished alumnus of the Hall for making Mensah Sarbah Hall proud.
Please click here for the full lecture. | | | | Date Published: 04/07/2011 | | | |   |
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