Man’s response to the Akufo-Addo controversy: “You don’t correct an elder in public even when they are wrong”

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has come under fire for furiously ordering the chief of Mempeasem to stand during the playing of the national anthem in public. NDC deputy communications officer Malik Basintale has criticised the president for the outburst.

The Communicator thinks it was extremely disrespectful of the President to give the chief those instructions during the celebration of Green Ghana Day.

Akufo-Addo’s actions, in Malik’s opinion, are a result of his upbringing outside of Ghana, where youngsters are taught not to correct their elders in front of others, even when they are in the wrong, because of this, Malik said.

“If President Akufo-Addo had spent his whole life in Ghana, he would have discovered what I discovered growing up: that there are some things you shouldn’t do to an adult in public. …We were taught that even when a senior citizen makes a mistake in front of others, you shouldn’t tell him directly that you lied, or that it’s inappropriate to insult or criticise him in front of others.

God forbid, this is a conventional ruler! A group followed this individual as he arrived. Malik said on a panel for the TV3 New Day show, “You believe that the best approach to handle this guy, who oversees a significant portion of the state’s sovereignty, is to openly express your displeasure at him as if he were a kid or young boy, just because you believe that he may have erred.

President Akufo-Addo was shown in a viral video that went popular on social media between June 10 and June 13, 2023, clearly irritated and directing Henry Quartey to handle a matter that allegedly occurred during the anthem recital.

The Mempeasem chief and his elders were seated during the occasion but the crowd enthusiastically stood for the playing of the national anthem as a show of patriotism.

The Chief of Mempeasem, Nii Torgbor Obodai Ampaw VI, has now apologised to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for offending him on June 9, 2023, at the Green Ghana Day celebration.

The chief said that his choice to stay seated throughout the playing of the national anthem at the Green Ghana Day event was not a sign of disrespect for the President or the song, but rather a result of his poor health.