Our MP’s have developed a lot of prickliness these days. The smallest issue get on their nerves, leading to them inviting people to appear before them.
It happened after Blakk Rasta said a lot of them smoke wee, and it’s happened again when Professor Duodu echoed the comments we’ve repeated ad nauseam on this site; Ghanaians are displaying a lot of ignorance in dealing with this Ebola vaccine trial issue.
Professor Duodu, a scientist, said a lot of the MP’s comments on the issue displayed ignorance. This enraged Parliament house, who invited him to answer for his comments.
Speaking on Joy FM’s news file, Kweku Baako Jnr agreed with Professor Duodu’s comments, claiming they were factual, since the MP’s did in fact display ignorance.
Most of the MP’s line of thinking, like most ignorant Ghanaians, was that the virus was being tried amongst the people. Since that was not what was happening, Professor Duodu was right with his comments.
“Were we trying the disease? Is it the disease that is being tried? This is coming from a position of ignorance or lack of knowledge or lack of information.
Whichever way you want to call it, it is ignorant, bottom line”, the journalist stated.
So the MP’s can be annoyed all they want, but the bottom line is they were speaking in response to a sensitive public issue, and they were driven by emotion rather than having done any research on the topic. So they should correct themselves, rather than showing impotent rage because someone called them out on it.
Here are some of the ‘ignorant’ comments passed by the MP’s…
Pusiga MP, Hajia Laadi Ayamba said:
“I just ask myself, try? How do you try such a deadly and unthinkable disease that we have all prayed against on humans in no other country than Ghana where fortunately God has protected us? We prayed fervently and it did not hit us. Why are you now trying it on human beings? Have they finished trying it on rats, mice and chimpanzees?”
KT Hammond , MP of Adansi Asokwa said:
“This is completely improper, this is a health hazard. When one goes to Europe and all those countries we hear about testing of new vaccines before they come on stream. Serious precautions are taken to make sure they are tested on specific animals like Guinea pigs, chimpanzees and eventually on human beings.”
Gershon Gbediame, NDC MP for Nkwanta South, said:
“Mr. Speaker, if people have been infected with a particular virus and they want to try a vaccine, good sense tells us that those who have suffered from it must first be tried to see their response to the vaccine but I do not understand what the reaction will be from somebody who has never suffered from it”