Broadcast journalist Nana Aba Anamoah was figuratively served a “plate of humble pie” over a recent comment she made on UTV regarding the funeral of the late Asantehemaa.
The overly verbose motor-mouth journalist was on UTV’s United Showbiz program pontificating over a supposed inability of media houses to provide educative commentary on the coverage of the cultural display at the late Asantehemaa’s “Dɔte Yie”.
According to Ms. Anamoah, the absence of royal historian commentators was a poor showing on the part of Ghana’s media, describing it as a failure of media houses.
“I think the major failing for this funeral… If you watch other funerals—and I have to bring in Queen Elizabeth’s funeral—you had royal commentators who understood the details of the event. They explained the symbolism and what each act meant. When you watched that funeral from Westminster Abbey, it was educational from the beginning to the end.
“What we haven’t done well in Ghana is to specialise. There should be people who have authority over traditions like this. It doesn’t necessarily have to be an Ashanti. We have historians who understand the tradition. What we could have done as media houses was to involve them, because that’s what happened with Queen Elizabeth’s funeral,” she said.
However, before she finished her point, she was immediately challenged and forced to backtrack after the show host and other pundits pointed out that media houses such as UTV and Peace FM had in fact engaged experienced historians who provided educative commentary during the coverage.
“You should have watched UTV, it was live with an experienced commentator,” Vida Adutwumwaa Boateng interjected to correct her.
Meanwhile, reacting to the video shared on UTV’s social media, many questioned why Nana Aba Anamoah did not lead the television station she manages to provide strong coverage and royal commentary during the four-day funeral of the Asantehemaa’s “Dɔte Yie.”
The rich culture of Asanteman witnessed in the regional of the Ashanti Region, Kumasi was once again on full display to the world during the four-day funeral rites of the late Asantehemaa, Nana Konadu Yiadom III.