Affail Monney
“Institutional memory” is sometimes embarrassingly short in this country. So much so that even the organisation that groups together, those who should record our social history — the Ghana Journalists Association– occasionally become guilty of that social vice.
For instance, at the GJA’s first event
to launch its 70thanniversary celebrations — gracefully
performed by ex-President J A Kufuor — some of the people who played a
great role in starting to organise journalists in this country were not
publicly mentioned. But there should have been a “libation” poured in
their honour, as per tradition.
Martin Therson-Cofie (founding editor of
the Daily Graphic) was one of few names that brought back memories
of those early days. To be sure, the martyrs of Ghanaian journalism – Tommy
Thompson, John Kugblenu and the recently -murdered Ahmed Saule – were
acknowledged and mourned.
But they represented journalism in
general, whereas there were others before them who specifically contributed
towards organising journalists into a coherent group. I value them greatly,
because journalists are not the easiest people to pry away from self-interest,
egotism and indiscipline into trying to achieve a common goal.
In that sphere, I remember the genial
Carl Reindorf (who flitted effortlessly between journalism and public
relations) and was a most energetic organising secretary of the early
“Press Club”.
Then there was that other very sociable
gentleman, Eric Adjorlolo of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, who was our
Treasurer.
But the man who was the most visible
official of the Press Club was Henry Ofori, our long-term Secretary. He was
clubbable, even-tempered, and provided with the ability to dissolve
tension by creating laughter. For, he was, of course, “Carl Mutt” of
the Graphic and Sunday Mirror; and also, the
great humorist known as Cassius Nimbus.
Henry Ofori’s good nature hid a
widespread knowledge of world affairs, which impelled him to position the
Ghanaian Press Club in the post-colonial world by affiliating to international
organisations, such as the International Organisation of Journalists.
Our subsequent exposure to the world at
large brought immense rewards: important visitors to Ghana made it a point
to come see us at the Press Club. We hosted Malcolm X. Many great African
freedom fighters came and drank with us. And we played host to some of Africa’s
most distinguished exiles – Sam Ikoku, and Olu Adebanjo, from Nigeria, a
guy called Damz from (I think) Niger, and South Africans like Tennyson Makiwane
and Alfred Hutchinson.
You can read about foreign countries as
much as you like, without getting to know how it feels to be from a foreign
country. But sit down and have a chat and that country will annex part of your
psyche – especially if its story of struggle was exciting enough, as was the
case with South Africa and many others.
By becoming international in outlook, we
also strengthened our status at home. For the Ghana Press Club was the venue
where the Attorney-General of the time, Geoffrey Bing, exposed a story
the London Daily Express had published, which
wrongly described a group of prisoners chained together, apparently in Togo, as
Ghanaian political prisoners. My guess is that the Daily Express was
led astray in a sting operation perpetrated against it by a double agent acting
as its stringer in Lome! “Fake news” wasn’t invented yesterday!
It was also at the Press Club that
Geoffrey Bing’s successor, Bashiru Kwaw-Swanzy, announced that the Government
would not accept the “dichotomous” judgement rendered by the Ghana High Court
in which it acquitted Tawia Adamafio, Ako Adjei and others, of treason.
Following that statement the Chief Justice, Sir Arku Korsah was sacked,
alongside Mr Justice Edward Akufo-Addo (father of our current President) and Mr
Justice W B Van Lare.
Yes – the Press Club was often the
centre of earth-shaking activity in Ghana, and our Secretary, Henry Ofori,
managed to accommodate it all.
By sheer force of his personality, Ofori
even turn the so-called “Socialist Boys” whom everyone erected into cardboard
figures to be feared and/or detested (Kofi Batsa, editor of the Spark) T.
D. Baffoe (editor of The Ghanaian Times) Eric Heyman (Editor
of The Evening News) into humans of flesh and blood who drank
beer and ate kebabs with us.
Powerful “party media men”, such as the
Minister of Defence, Mr Kofi Baako, regained their journalistic love of fun
when they were with us. Such men as Yaw Eduful (Press Officer to President
Kwame Nkrumah); Cecil Forde (Member of the Publicity Secretariat at Flagstaff
House), Kojo Addison, Director of the Ideological Institute.
That did not deter journalists
ostensibly “hostile” to the party in power from also frequenting the Press
Club. One of these was Sam Arthur (former editor of the Ashanti Pioneer),
who got on so well with his erstwhile political enemies that they appointed him
the first Director of the Ghana Institute of Journalism.
Others who come readily to mind were
Francis Awuku, E K Asilijo, Goodie Anim, K B Brown, Bob Okanta, Regina Addae,
Akua Asabeah, Edith Wuver and Patience Carboo-Sumney.
Now, please remember that these were
times when Preventive Detention was visited upon anyone suspected of being
“subversive” (what an inelegant term!) Yet, we could argue, at our Club House,
over almost everything. There was anger at times, and even threats of physical
violence. But there were always people good people around to defuse tension and
use laughter to prove that man is not made of argument alone.
Journalists today don’t seem to value the virtue of socialising. I go to the International Press Centre often, but there are many journalists I have never met face to face. Well, let me tell them that it was in T D Baffoe’s house that I first heard a record of Dusty Springfield and in Kofi Batsa’s house that I first heard a Beatles song. But if you read what we wrote, you’d think we were eternal antagonists!
TO BE CONTINUED
From Cameron Duodu
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