Thinking Aloud: Defused atmosphere
There is nothing that wastes the body like worry and one who has
any faith in God should be ashamed to worry about anything whatsoever. —
Mahatma Gandhi.
In Deuteronomy 4:7, it is stated that “no
other nation, no matter how great, has a god who is near when they need
him as the Lord our God is to us. He answers us whenever we call for
help.” That is what Gandhi sets out to preach; that all those who put
their trust in God, should not fall prey to needless worry.
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How true it is, that in our country’s dire need for order and peace in the midst of intense labour unrest and industrial action, the Supreme Court has saved us further anguish by agreeing to open up the election petition to open sitting and live broadcast.
But for that
initiative, the calmness that we have been experiencing since the case
began would have caused panic and createdchaos, especially with the
strike action by public sector doctors.
There are some who
have suggested that many of the groups which have embarked upon
industrial actions are surrogates and not acting on their own
convictions. And if the hearings were to have been closed, with the
myriad of interpretations, misinformation, mal-information and
disinformation, there would have been so much confusion.
But
all these have been defused with the decision by the Supreme Court to
open up to the public. Suddenly, many Ghanaians have utility for the
media, especially Ghana Television. The number of odious films and
verbiage that were the lot of the electronic media have eased and now
they seem to have captive audiences.
Those who watch the hearings live, are able to make their own assessments, even if some of the processes are not properly understood instead of commentaries and self-conceited propaganda.
Therefore, even the pig-headed are
sobered that they cannot shout because all those listening or watching
the radio and television stations carrying the life broadcast have first
hand information themselves and do not need the self-appointed
commentators.
Another good thing is about the fact that some
of the television and radio stations which want to discuss the issue,
engage the services of qualified legal officers or people with knowledge
in the law in their studios or on the telephone to explain, expatiate,
analyse or comment about any issue relating to the matter or evidence
before the court.
Indeed, that is the way things must be,
since in most jurisdictions, the question of contempt is rarely applied
when its effect would be the silencing of media or public from
expressing their views about issues of public interest.
A former Australian Chief Justice, Mr Justice Griffith, indeed, spoke of what our Supreme Court had done in submitting that “it has become part of the ordinary course of life in civilised communities to publish through the medium of the press information as to matters of interest to the public, using the term to mean matters as to which the public entertain a natural and legitimate curiosity.
It would be unfortunate for civilisation, if satisfaction of such a curiosity by this means is prohibited.”
The utility value of the case for Ghanaians cannot be quantified or compared. That is why those who think that the live coverage is a waste of resources and productive man hours must rethink their positions.
Money
is not everything, that is why it is argued that, all work and no play
makes Jack a dull boy. There is time for everything and for now, the
intrinsic value for the majority of Ghanaians is the live broadcast of
proceedings from the Supreme Court on the election petition.
Peace
and order have no price. Therefore, if we spend money on the live
broadcast to calm nerves and avoid chaos, it would be more productive
than saving money and closing the chapter on live telecast.
We
have entered into a new vista which has endeared us to the world.
Thankfully, the decision to allow the live broadcast was taken by the
Supreme Court, which is not bound by any precedence if at any other
time, the court deems it necessary in the national interest not to allow
live broadcasts.
Indeed, the live broadcast of the Supreme
Court proceedings in the election petition is one factor that has
enabled us to weather the storm in the midst of the serious labour
unrests. Curtail it and the dysfunctional effects would play out,
including the fact that the abysmal failure by the Starlets would have
attracted the level of attention it deserves, if the trial was not open
to live broadcast.
Article by Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh