Mr. Gabby Asare Otchere Darko, one of the leading members of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has said a true democrat is one who can give and take in equal measure.
He indicated that he will defend people’s right to criticize him harshly and expect them to also defend his “right to criticize your criticism of me harshly.”
In a tweet, he said “What I see now in Ghana is a Culture of Bizarre Intolerance but by a Special Class who believe they have the right to speak and squeal freely but others must be silent and not challenge the views of that Special Class.”
We must neither be in a competition with the west nor with our neighbours. Ours is to be in a never-ending race to better ourselves and our society and make our own unique contribution to global civilisation. We must shape and define our own attractiveness and competitiveness.
— Gabby Otchere-Darko (@GabbyDarko) April 28, 2021
“We must neither be in a competition with the west nor with our neighbours. Ours is to be in a never-ending race to better ourselves and our society and make our own unique contribution to global civilisation. We must shape and define our own attractiveness and competitiveness.
“A true democrat is one who can give and take in equal measure. I will defend your right to criticise me harshly and expect you to defend my right to criticise your criticism of me harshly. Our styles may differ. But, that’s democracy for you.”
A true democrat is one who can give and take in equal measure. I will defend your right to criticise me harshly and expect you to defend my right to criticise your criticism of me harshly. Our styles may differ. But, that’s democracy for you.
— Gabby Otchere-Darko (@GabbyDarko) April 28, 2021
His comments come after businessman Sam Jonah KBE, has passed a damning verdict on the state of Ghana in his recent public lecturer.
Sir Sam Jonah said among other things that “What is baffling is that those who used to have voices on these things seem to have lost their voices. People speak on issues based on who is in power.
“Is our deafening silence suggesting that we are no longer concerned about issues that we complained about not too long ago, particularly when those issues persist….. The molestation of and in some cases assassination of journalists, murder of MPs, corruption, the harassment of anti-corruption agents.
“We have just finished another election, the 8th in the series since the beginning of our fourth Republican democratic experiment. As usual, the accolades came in from all corners of the world, and we took them with pride. What we failed to tell the world is that some people lost their lives in the course of the election.
“No election is as important as to warrant the loss of even one life. And the silence over it is numbing as it gives the impression that it is okay, and it is to be expected. No it is not to be expected. One of the saddest moments for me was after the State of the Nation address when an MP was asked why there had not been serious outpouring of grief about the death of the innocent people in Techiman , his response was that as far as he was concerned, they were undeserving of any sympathy because he saw them as armed robbers.
“For me, that was a new low for the country. We also witnessed arguably the biggest assault on our democracy since the beginning of the Fourth Republic when on the eve of the swearing-in of the President at a time when there were no ministers, and crucially there was no minister of defence, armed soldiers that is to say, officers from an institution that works by command, invaded our Parliament and up till date, no serious answers have been provided.
“This could have had grave consequences and for the future of our country, the least the country deserves is a public enquiry. Have we become so numb to these things?”
