Sorry, they say, seems to be the hardest word to come out of a man’s mouth. Because of the word sorry, many people find it convenient to live within themselves rather than apologizing for their misdemeanors live at peace with neighbours, friends, brothers or sisters. It takes a bold person to apologize for his or her mistake and either allow sleeping dogs to lie or re-establish good relations with friends or neighbours.
The reports in the Media that, Ghanaian’s former International Footballer, Samuel Osei Kuffour has apologized to the Vice President, John Dramani Mahama for his alleged show of disrespect to the security detail of the vice President, lays to rest, all the hullabaloo concerning that recent incident in a traffic.
The former Bayern Munich and Black stars Defender was said to have reacted in a bad way by stucking out a finger through one of his car windows when he was caught up in traffic melee occasioned by Mr. Mahama’s Convoy. The situation subsequently generated heated arguments among a section of the public, particularly on some radio stations with some calling the former footballer all sorts of names and saying his alleged petulant behaviour smacks of arrogances. There were others who even decided to give the whole saga a political twist. Of course, nothing happens in our society today, without putting a political slant or spin on it.
Whatever the fuss, the former Ghanaian footballer has palpably demonstrated that, it takes a lot of guts to admit one’s mistake, apologize and then move on. Offering his apology at the residence of the Vice-President in Accra, Samuel Osei Kuffour also presented a set of football boots he used in the 2006 world cup to the Vice-President. Obviously, a story with a happy ending. Intransigence, recalcitrance and ego-centrism have obviously given way to common sense.
Vice President Mahama described the former footballer as a disciplined man who would not engage in acts of indiscipline. Hoping that his meeting with the former Ghanaian soccer icon would close the chapter on the issue, Vice –President Mahama also cautioned the media against stretching certain minute incidences into elephantine proportions. In his words, it was the media which had blow the incidence into distressing dimensions for the two protagonists in the whole scenario.
The media’s tendency to exaggerate every little issue beyond certain dimensions have, on occasions caused distortions and destabilizations in societal cohesion. Time and again, the media have been asked to be circumspect in the way they put out stories to the public yet these appeals continue to fall on deaf ears. It is only a matter of time that some of these trivial stories that are always overblown by the media create unnecessary tensions with their consequent disasters. These must not be allowed to happen.
The earlier the media treat trivial stories as such the better, it would be for our social cohesion and the unity of the country.
BY EDMOND TETTEH, A JOURNALIST
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