The Member of Parliament for Gomoa Central, Kwame Asare Obeng, popularly known as A Plus, has defended his approach to leadership.

He argued that intelligence, innovation and vision are far more important than fluency in the English language.

Speaking on JoyNews’ AM Show on Wednesday, December 17, the lawmaker responded to public criticism about his command of English, insisting that such concerns are misplaced and distract from more substantive issues of development.

A Plus said he was unconcerned by remarks targeting his language skills, stressing that his focus remains on ideas and tangible outcomes rather than eloquence.

“I don’t care, it makes me happy. Your MP has spoken all the good English in the world and I’m telling you that 21,000 acres is equal to five million square metres and I can tokenise it and build a whole new city,” he said.

According to him, leadership should be judged by competence and vision, not by the ability to speak polished English.

“You can go and speak English; that is your problem. As for me, what I know is that my IQ is on a certain level. When I look at people, I feel like I’m a different person. I have a vision to build a whole new city and you are talking about speaking English,” he added.

The Gomoa Central MP explained that his ambition includes leveraging large tracts of land for development, which he believes can be transformed into a modern city through innovative approaches such as tokenisation.

To reinforce his argument, A Plus drew on historical examples to illustrate that major civilisations achieved remarkable feats through intelligence and strategic thinking rather than linguistic expertise.

“When Pharaoh asked his people to build a pyramid, he didn’t ask for English professors,” he said.

“When they decided to build tunnels under the earth and put trains under the earth in England, they didn’t call English professors. When they decided to build the Great Wall of China, they didn’t call English professors. They called smart people, people who have a certain level of IQ.”

He argued that throughout history, transformative projects have been driven by individuals with creativity, technical knowledge and problem-solving skills, not by those selected solely for their command of language.

A Plus maintained that Ghana’s development agenda should prioritise practical intelligence, innovation and vision, urging the public to assess leaders based on their ideas and ability to deliver results rather than their eloquence.