You expected us to “scowl like mad dogs”? – Saddick Adams blasts critics over hugs with sports minister

Saddick Adams has addressed the cordial images capturing his encounter with Sports Minister Mustapha Ussif in the parliament lobby on February 14, 2024.

Adams, alongside other prominent sports journalists, spearheaded the ‘Save Ghana Football’ protest, rallying hundreds to march through the streets of Accra to protest against the mismanagement of football in the country.

Their protest included a stop at Parliament, where they presented a petition and observed deliberations on the state of Ghanaian football by lawmakers.

A video surfaced showing Saddick, Patrick Osei Agyemang (also known as Songo), and Dan Kweku Yeboah exchanging pleasantries with the sports minister, including handshakes and hugs, which quickly gained traction online.

Critics argued that the video contradicted the anger and concerns expressed during the protest, but Adams addressed these criticisms in a post on X, providing a detailed explanation of the events that unfolded at Parliament.

The accusatory post against him by a user by the name of @natioonn read: “Dear Saddick, I’m your biggest fan and I support everything you’ve said about the state of Ghana football, but after watching the video of you and Country Man Zongo when you met the Sports Minister, I’m convinced that nobody is actually angry in this country. We are all hungry and need our share of the national cake.”

Read Obama’s response below:

Massa, We protested against an institution and its leader. The first point of our petition is asking for this person’s ministry to be investigated for financial infractions we have observed.

Parliament receives this petition in his presence and instantly commissions the House to begin the investigation.

We leave the chamber and the minister excuses the house to exchange short pleasantries with us and thank us for taking the bold initiative to help fix the game. We also express our appreciation that he came to meet us.

So to you, it is at the parliament lobby that we should have grabbed him by the throat or scowled like mad dogs just to show that we are angry?

We are sports journalists meeting a sports minister after protesting against his tenure. A man we have shared meetings with and exchanged ideas with privately as brothers.

Is our courage as journalists rather not to be seen in us doing what we did and still exchanging pleasantries like civilised human beings?

I’m not trained to behave in an uncivilised manner towards all manner of people.

There is certainly time for everything.