The University of Ghana Parliament House (UGPH) has taken notice with great disappointment of recent publications by private newspaper The Herald such as the 17th – 18th March, 19th – 20th March 2014 issues that unashamedly referred to the Vice Chancellor of Ghana’s premier University, Professor Ernest Aryeetey as “Idi Amin”, a name synonymous with brutal military dictatorship.
We all remember Idi Amin of Uganda as a head of state with a record of brutality during whose regime, thousands of people perished in Uganda.
It is therefore unacceptable to nickname a professor of Economics and chief administrator of a reputable academic institution after such a personality. While we try hard to understand the motive behind such stories, we are certain that neither the Vice Chancellor nor any official of the University of Ghana in any sense merits such an unenviable labeling by The Herald newspaper.
It is worrying that The Herald and those like it in the media fraternity seem to be making frantic efforts to drag the name of the University of Ghana into disrepute through bad press and negative reportage. They must however be reminded that they are in so doing throwing the ethics of good journalism to the dogs.
We will like to state unequivocally that the University of Ghana Parliament House has disagreed with some of the policies of the Vice Chancellor, as many Ghanaians have, including but not limited to the road user charges which has recently generated significant public interest. It is however unfortunate that anybody or group of people will seek to use those disagreements as a conduit to drag the name of the Vice Chancellor and for that matter the University into disrepute.
The House demands that The Herald Newspaper withdraws the insulting stories and apologize profusely to the Vice Chancellor and the University of Ghana.
We strongly believe that the principle of Freedom of Speech as upheld in Ghana does not grant any private or public individual or establishment the liberty to make a rag of another’s personality in a way that downgrades the essence of true democracy.
Jonas Nyabor
Public Affairs Director
University of Ghana Parliament House
0262121225
