By: Ubaida Awudu
The 2022 WHAT DO YOU KNOW Championship, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Accra-Teshie Nungua, has been climaxed after three rounds of grueling questions thrown at the contestants. At the end of the contest at held at Broadcasting House in Accra, Paul Afari Mintah, emerged winner with thirteen points. His close contender, Jude Ahorlu had twelve points, while the second-runner up, Abdul Latif Ibrahim had three points. Haruna Mohammed earned just a point to come in at fourth place.
GBC’s quiz programme, ‘What Do You Know’ has been one of the longest running TV shows on Ghana Television, and has earned the accolade as one of the oldest contents on radio and television. The winner of the 2022 contest, received a cash prize of six-thousand cedis, a brand-new laptop from the Accra-Teshie Nungua Rotary Club and souvenirs from TECNO which included a sports cup, a diary, a water purifier, and a Bluetooth speaker. The second to fourth placed contestants took home cash prizes of four thousand cedis, three thousand cedis and two thousand-five hundred cedis, in addition to some souvenirs from TECNO.
The icon of the programme, Dan Afari Yeboah, the Quiz master, whose persona brings excitement to this all-interesting quiz programme, is one of the long serving quiz masters of the show, having been spotted by producers of the programme in 1986. In a remark, he indicated that a major challenge in producing the show has to do with sponsorship, adding, that once sponsors come on board, a new phase of the programme will be awakened.
Winner of the 2022 WHAT DO YOU KNOW championship, Paul Afari Mintah from BOA Amponsem Junior High School in Dunkwa-on-Offin, said he joined the What Do You Know contest in 1994. He has been to the finals ten times, and won three times. He first won in 2002, then in 2008, with his third win being the 2022 championship, climaxed on Sunday, September 3rd. Mr. Afari Mintah, said the contest is unpredictable, and urged people interested in participating in the What Do You Know contest, to be all-round and have a broad spectrum of knowledge.
The first runner up, Jude Ahorlu, a resident of Kakasunaka Number One, adjacent Michel Camp Barracks, said being part of the contest since 2017 hasn’t been an easy task, but he is excited to have been part of the finalists this year. He called on all to not only focus on learning to win the contest, but put their experience in writing Producer of the show, Francis Xavier Mensah, said the What Do You Know Quiz Competition has survived five decades without sponsorship from external bodies, and this has technically affected production and the brand as well.
He said the What Do You Know programme, has shaped the lives of many Ghanaians into becoming Parliamentarians, Lawyers, Medical Doctors and many other professions. Mr. Mensah, intimated, that the programme lacks financial support and research materials to set questions. He appealed to stakeholders and benevolent institutions to sponsor the Quiz Competition, since it seeks to promote literacy.