My ‘Papa nu’ comment was “in jest” – Oppong Nkrumah

Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has apologised for referring to Deputy Energy Minister John Jinapor as ‘Papa nu’ in parliament.

During a parliamentary debate to approve the Agyapa Royalties Limited agreement on Friday, August 14, Mr Opong Nkrumah used the term to refer to Mr Jinapor to call for an acceptance of the deal.

However, the development infuriated the Minority who demanded an apology.
After the passage of the bill, the MP for Ofoase-Ayirebi told the house: “Mr. Speaker, earlier, I was trying to catch your eye to request that the use of my expression which caused apprehension on the other side be expunged from the record. I didn’t mean it to offend anybody. It was in jest. And if anybody took offence to it, the records should reflect that it’s been expunged”.

This was after the Minority MPs had exited the chamber.

Origin of ‘Papa nu’

‘Papa nu’ in the Ghanaian Twi language literary means ‘that man’.
The term, however, gained popularity on social media after a feud between Kumawood actress Tracy Boakye and musician Mzbel.

The actress used the term several times in videos released in social media to refer to a married she claimed she was dating together with her rival at the same time.

Social media commentators have tried to link the man in question to the opposition NDC and this has gained traction with several memes and a song by Barima Sydney, a pro-NPP musician.

The two ladies have not named the man, neither have they suggested links to the NDC, even though the rivals have publicly declared support and campaigned for the NDC in the 2016 elections.

What happened in Parliament on Friday

The Agyapa Royalties Limited deal debate was tabled coincidentally at the time when the beef between the two ladies had become topical.

In the middle of the debate in the House, Mr Oppong Nkrumah sought to make a contribution and stated: “Mr Speaker, I want to encourage my colleagues on the other side (Minority). I want to encourage my good friend who just spoke [John Jinapor].

In my hometown, we will say, ‘Papa nu.’ ‘Papa nu.’ I want to encourage ‘Papa nu’ to take some time and follow the structure of this conversation and support”.

Mr Oppong Nkrumah tried to defend his comments by reading a portion of Parliament’s Standing Orders, which gives permission to legislators to express themselves in some local languages including Twi.

But the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, rose in defence to demand a retraction over what he said was a language which should not be used in Parliament.

He criticised the Information Minister for using terms what he said were terms used in social media.

He further demanded a retraction else the Minority would not recognise Mr Oppong Nkrumah as Information Minister and they would find a new name for him.

“You come to parliament to employ those words used on social media; we take strong objection to it. If you don’t withdraw, we won’t recognise you today as a minister. We will not. Do what you will do,” Haruna Iddrisu said casting an angry posture.

“From today, we won’t recognise you as minister of this republic. And we will not accord you any respect as a minister. Let’s throw it to the dogs. What do you take us for? So, ‘Papa nu’ accepted. But from today, we will not.

“We will give you a name and we are serving notice. He (Mr Jinapor) was elected just like you (Mr Oppong Nkrumah) and his constituents respect him. Because you people use ‘Papa nu’ on social media [and] we know what it means, we will match you. You have lost my respect as Minority leader from today. We will match you. We too, we will call you ‘Maame nu,” Mr. Iddrisu added.

This generated a heated atmosphere as the Majority members re-echoed the ‘Papa nu’ phrase during further fury from the Minority side.

But the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joe Osei Owusu, who was presiding over the House, demanded an end to the saga.

“I don’t think we will gain anything as a house by pretending this is new. And the threats don’t come to anything. So, the house will proceed,” he said.

The Minority legislators then walked out of the chamber in protest.