The Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu, has reacted to the decision by Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang to foreword the controversial book: ‘Working with Rawlings’ by Prof. Kwamena Ahwoi.
In a four-page critique on the controversial book made available to Adomonline.com, Mr Amidu said Prof. Opoku-Agyemang put her reputation on the line with her comments in Prof. Ahwoi’s book.
“Whilst the foreword is normally not an integral part of the book, no ethical academic will ever write a foreword to a scholarly book without first reading the book to make an objective assessment of its veracity because the writer of the foreword knows the invitation to write the foreword was based on the intention to use his or her reputation to entice the public to invest financial and human resources in purchasing and reading it.
“In this instance, the writer of the foreword is marketing the book with her credentials of PhD/FGA and has an ethical obligation to the public for integrity and truth in what she says with her credentials in the foreword,” he said.
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Read his full statement on the foreword by Prof. Opoku-Agyemang:
For instance in the foreword to the book which is normally not an integral part of the book the reader is told by one Naana J. Opoku-Agyemang, PhD/FGA that:
“Written in clear, engaging prose, the writer invites the reader to receive the content of the narrative honestly delivered. The vivid, engaging and deeply reflective eye witness account couched in unencumbered prose, brings to the fore events narrated with open honesty and transparency.
The first person narrative perspective releases the reader from the potentially uncomfortable position of an intruder to that of a trusted addressee. This is especially so as the text grounds its content in verifiable fact, at times seeking and receiving the approval of non-fictive persons.” (Italics supplied)
Whilst the foreword is normally not an integral part of the book, no ethical academic will ever write a foreword to a scholarly book without first reading the book to make an objective assessment of its veracity because the writer of the foreword knows the invitation to write the foreword was based on the intention to use his or her reputation to entice the public to invest financial and human resources in purchasing and reading it. In this instance, the writer of the foreword is marketing the book with her credentials of PhD/FGA and has an ethical obligation to the public for integrity and truth in what she says with her credentials in the foreword.
Did the writer of the foreword play any significant role as an editor, a reviewer, and an institutional colleague of the primary author in his narratives and writing or authoring of the book such that by the ethics of scholarly and professional writing she or he should not ethically have written the foreword to the book? Did she or he conceal those facts which make for an accountable and transparent ethical foreword writing in her foreword to the book?