The outgoing British High Commissioner to Ghana, Jon Benjamin has said he has never insulted critics who have slammed him for commenting on local issues.
Jon Benjamin has come under intense criticism for commenting on issues many say are beyond his jurisdiction.
One of those tweets which appeared to be mocking former President Mahama for his many projects ahead of the inauguration, did not sit well with some Ghanaians who took to social media to express their anger.
Aside this development, there have been a number of criticisms by Ghanaian politicians who have argued that the UK High Commissioner has no business meddling in local politics.
But speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, Mr. Benjamin made a strong case for commenting on these developments, saying “there is a way to go through a three year posting without causing any controversy or ruffling any feathers and that is to sit in your office, say nothing, do nothing and maybe hide under the desk metaphorically and what’s the point in that?… saying nothing and meaning nothing, I mean what is the point?”
He further explained that most of his tweets are mostly for persons seeking clarification on pertinent issues.
“A lot of the time I am answering questions people put to me but what I don’t do is to engage in personal insults and call people the sort of epithets that I get called and I think it is very sad when people descend to that level because it’s fine to disagree with people and I am very happy to be disagreed with,” said Jon Benjamin.
He further explained that most of his activities, which will largely be viewed as “traditional diplomacy” was done behind the scenes.
“Everyone concentrates on the fact that I’ve been active on social media but what you see in public in its entirety is actually the smaller part of what we do.
Most of what I do is still defined as traditional diplomacy, it’s behind the scenes, it’s not known, it is government to government negotiations, it is dealing with bilateral issues that come up…”
I’ve grown to love Ghana
Reminiscing his stay in Ghana, Mr. Benjamin said:” I think Ghana is a country I’ve grown to love enormously. I’m going to miss being here and observing what goes on here. Both I personally and the UK want nothing more than the very best possible future for Ghana.”
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