- Why do people follow Francis Agyekum Yeboah and listen to him?
- Is it because Google or AI is not available on their phones to help them learn and verify information for themselves?
- Is it because he is a medical doctor or the best laboratory scientist in the world?
- Is it because he is a barber?
- Is it because he is the most handsome man in Ghana?
- Is it because he is the most intelligent person in the country?
- And why are some individuals attacking him?
- Will medical doctors, the Ghana Health Service, or regulatory bodies come after him?
- Is it because no one else in Ghana engages in health advocacy apart from him?
These are all valid rhetorical questions. I could attempt to answer each one individually, but that would probably be an unnecessary use of both your time and mine.
The most important question among them is this: Why do so many people follow, listen to, and appreciate Francis Agyekum Yeboah?
Let me begin with a personal observation.
I know and follow one of Ghana's finest medical doctors, a highly accomplished U.S.-trained surgeon who has invested heavily in a world-class podcast studio. Through Facebook, YouTube, and a professional website, he regularly publishes health education content for the public.
Yet, despite the quality of his work, I rarely see significant engagement on his health-related posts. Sometimes, it seems as though only he and a handful of others interact with the content.
For a long time, I wondered why. The production quality is excellent. The information is credible. The effort is obvious.
Then one day, he shared photos from one of his graduation ceremonies. To my surprise, the post received nearly 900 reactions and hundreds of congratulatory comments.
That was when I realized something important: the doctor actually had a large audience. The problem was not a lack of followers. The question was why many of them paid little attention to his health content.
The answer, in my view, lies in understanding why people follow Agyekum Francis.
The Power of Language
The most important reason many people follow and admire Francis is his choice of language and his ability to communicate effectively with his audience.
His primary language of communication is Twi.
Let’s face fact, you may be the best; and even speak better English than the King of England, as a Ghanaian, it's still not your mother tongue.
As an ewe who grew up away from the boundaries of volta region, something lights up within whenever I chance on someone who speaks my native Tongu language-a type of ewe dialect.
Without doubt, Twi is the most spoken language across Ghana. So, if someone is able to communicate well in it, his reach will be very very wide.
Those of us who shy away from our native languages and refuse to teach kids, know that in few years’ time, some of the most valuable language speakers in Ghana and beyond won't be French, Spanish nor English speakers, but those who speak your own Ghanaian language fluently.
Francis has the ability to speak Twi fluently and effortlessly. That's a huge plus for him.
Lexical Ability
The second main point is his lexical ability. Francis is able to speak in a manner that his followers can I understand and relate to no matter their level of education.
The surgeon I mentioned earlier does not struggle because his medical information is inaccurate. On the contrary, he is highly knowledgeable and professionally accomplished.
However, expertise alone does not guarantee effective communication.
And to add up, typical doctors or health regulatory bodies in the country do not or cannot come after Agyekum Yeboah because what he says health wise is 99.9% accurate. Therefore, without immoral ground of jealousy and selfish interest, it’s difficult for anyone to attack his person.
In this era of numbers on social media, people are always ready to do anything including reputational damage to others just to trend for the numbers. Francis Agyekum should know this and never back down.
