Mr. Manasseh Azure the Joy News investigative reporter has gained a lot of notoriety over the years for his explosive work. His recent expose, depicting the alleged training of an NPP sponsored vigilante group in Osu Castle, has doubtlessly caused a great deal of consternation and hand-wringing among Ghanaians.
By all measures, it was a brave move on the part of the young man and his media organization. Not only did he lay bare the rank hypocrisy that continues to characterize our politics, he also highlighted a system that tacitly encourages political thuggery but vociferously denies such exists.
We all knew Azure’s investigative work was going to upset the powers that be. While some have commended him for allowing the Ghanaian public to have a first hand look the symbiotic relations between the Presidency and vigilante groups and the threat that faces the nation from these motley crews of political thugs, others haven’t been so charitable. They have described Azure as an irritant, unscrupulous, unprofessional and unethical.
That Azure would be viciously attacked by the likes of Kennedy Agyapong, Oppong Nkrumah the information minister and individuals such as one Ibard Ibrahim who parades himself as a security expert but lacks the requisite qualifications to back up his claims and to date hasn’t proved his worth except going on television as a talking head, was not in the least surprising. The attacks were not unexpected. Azure had rattled some feathers and he was going to be savaged, no matter what.
By the nature of their work, investigative reporters have always deliberately or inadvertently stepped on toes. But in the process of making the rich and politically connected nervous, panicky and grossly uncomfortable, investigative journalists do the nation a great deal of favor by bringing into the open the perverse corruption and greedy that permeates the upper echelons of our society.
Ibard and his gang of naysayers who don’t appreciate Manasseh’s work can go burn the ocean. How hypocritical of these folks. They indeed have the temerity to even question Manasseh’s ethics.
They are pouring scorn and contempt on Manasseh now, but they are the same people who embraced and heaped boats of praise on him when he did a number on former president John Mahama with the Ford Explorer expose just before the elections in 2016 and in all probability, more or less, tilted the elections in Nana’s favor.
Let’s get one thing absolutely clear: Manasseh much like another assiduous investigative reporter, Anas Amerayaw Anas, who three weeks ago for the umpteenth time put together a video that exposed corruption in the higher circles of the NPP government, is a national asset and must be protected. To this end, I would urge Ibard and the other suckers to lay off Manasseh.
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