Humour in Ghana journalism

CECIL, alias Lee of Community 3, Tema, and formerly of Vibe FM, has said he would recommend the Sikaman Palava’ column to hypertensives, that is, those suffering from high blood pressure. According to him, the column is a medical therapy and a perfect prescription for the afflicted.

Well, Lee might be right, because mails I receive from all over the world, courtesy of the Internet have also alluded to a calming effect of the column. Emails pour in from as far as the Philipines, are oiling my knuckles.  I feel flattered.

I get mails from the Middle East, Canada, United States and some African countries. I often get amazed that playing with words on paper elicits such profound interest in my readers. I thank my readers for the recognition and acknowledgement.

However, I am not alone in this game of humour peddling. Oldboy Professor Kwesi Yankah who has been a great inspiration is one personality whose word juggling has illuminated the pages of newspapers, right from the Abonsam Fireman days. His pen is still dripping of humour. 

Where is Ivan Dornu Adjokatcher, the ex-darling of THE MIRROR? Full of wit, he ran a column that had quite a following. One day he met me and I told him he was crazy if not, then he was downright mad. 

Ivan went and edited a private newspaper and had a brush with the owner. He left. He sent me a postcard from the United States. Very good pals we’ve always been. He needs to return to the fold.

 Now, Ghana journalism would have been tasteless without writers of humour, those who see the interesting side of serious issues.  

Nigerian humorists are great and some of their writers have really made all the difference in the newspaper industry, with their amazing paper industry sense of humour.

Many of them studied journalism in Ghana with our folks here and went on to carve niches for themselves. Nigerians have a good sense of humour and this is exemplified in their drama and writings. 

Read Chukwemeka Ike and Elechi Amadi and you’ll be getting the drift. Even Wole Soyinka (Nobel prize winner for literature) whom I sometimes consider overly stiff and pedantic, exudes a unique kind of humour in his plays.

In Ghana, aside Amu Djokoto’s “The Strange Man’ which spots many faces of humour and Atukwel Okai whose poetry induces some mirth, the literati  have generally gone dry of humour. 

Any good piece of writing must either be poetry or prose must either be highly intellectual, controversial or humorous. Ghanaian writers should take up the challenge and publishers should offer the platform for the expression of various genres of penmanship. 

Every publisher in Ghana is doing only school books. Is all that publishing is about? Only a few like Woeli and Holiano are doing something else.

In Ghana broadcasting, there are great touches of humour worth reading. Foremost is Kwame Sefa Kayi who gave Radio Gold a great and left to pitch camp with Peace FM.

He hosts a very explosive morning Kokrokoo programme that could blow through the roof tops if it is not tempered with humour. When you have guys like Kwaku Baako Junior, Kwesi Pratt (also Junior?), Baby Ansaba and boxing  supremo NDC titan, Ama Benyiwa-Doe, on the show, only a sense of humour can avert mayhem.

They are all nice fellows but when it comes to politics, I fear for Kwame’s jaws. I wonder how he survives day after day.

Kwame’s spontaneous burst of humour once in a while does the programme a lot of good. No wonder his programme was last year adjudged Best CIMG Radio Programme.

Let’s not forget JOY FM’s Ato-Kwamena and of course Bola Ray also of Joy and “Music Music fame. They know what it takes to make others laugh. I hate to miss Ato during the newspaper review on Joy. I always have something to laugh about.

At least, you can laugh in Ghana even if you are not permitted to sneeze on Sundays and public holidays.

This article was first published on Saturday August 19, 2006

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