A Deputy Minister of Education, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwah, has lambasted government communicators who claimed that President John Dramani Mahama’s favourite song is Yen tie Obiaa, one of the tracks on the latest album by celebrated highlife musician, Daddy Lumba.
According to him, President John Dramani Mahama has not stated anywhere that that was his favourite song, and moreover the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has not decided to use the song as its campaign song as being speculated by some government officials in the wake of these controversies.
“Yen tie Obiaa,” one of the songs on celebrated highlife musician, Daddy Lumba’s latest album, is Twi for ‘We won’t listen to anyone’.
The song which was used during the President’s tour of the Ashanti Region has created a lot of controversies leading to the President being tagged ‘insensitive’.
The President’s convoy is reported to have blared the popular song on loud speakers ostensibly to cast insinuations at critics, an action which the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) describes as offensive to the chiefs and people of the region.
The Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr. Samuel Sarpong, a couple of days ago, reportedly indicated that President Mahama is in love with Daddy Lumba’s latest hit track, “Yen tie Obiaa”.
According to him, the lyrics of the song were in line with the objective of the tour.
However, it appears not every member of the current administration is happy with the actions of President John Mahama’s convoy during the recent visit.
“Where from all these government officials who are saying the President likes the song and so on; saying we will adopt it as our campaign song. I think we have to be serious because this is totally needless. Has the campaign team been formed? I think it was miscalculated and not tactful. We have to read the mood of the country… What I am not impressed about is the president’s handlers and all those who were speaking about the issue,” Hon Okudzeto said on Radio Gold’s political platform, Alhaji and Alhaji.
Commenting further on the hullabaloo surrounding what the President said in Kumasi the Deputy Minister said he was surprised and “totally disgusted at the level of irresponsibility in our politics”.
“I have been disappointment that, in all of these discussions, they are sidelining the wickedness of those who doctored the tape, but are rather interested in the President’s innocuous statement. I see his (Prez Mahama) speech as a call for objectivity, it was a very responsible call he made; he quoted an ordinary and known proverb. I see this proverb as a call to objectivity so why should somebody doctor this tape, trying to tribalise the speech?”
