The vetting of Deputy Minister-Designate for Energy and Green Transition, Richard Gyan-Mensah, took an unexpected turn when he struggled to recall details from a book he claimed to have read.
During the session on Tuesday, February 25, the Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, posed a simple yet revealing question: “Since you list reading as a hobby on your CV, can you tell us the last book you read?”
Gyan-Mensah confidently responded, “Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe.”
What followed, however, was a moment of irony as the nominee found himself unable to provide a proper characterization of the novel’s protagonist, Okonkwo.
Pressed by Afenyo-Markin to describe Okonkwo’s defining traits and what led to his downfall, Gyan-Mensah stumbled over his words, offering vague and a wrong description of Okonkwo.
His hesitation and struggle to recall key details left many in the chamber amused, with some drawing parallels between the situation and the novel’s title—indeed, things seemed to be falling apart for the nominee at that moment.
Watch the video below to see the exchanges between Gyan-Mensah and Afenyo-Markin.