President John Dramani Mahama has said he is not bothered by insults directed at him, describing his skin” as “crocodile skin”.

Speaking about the regulation of TikTok and other new media platforms, Mr Mahama said he had no problem with people insulting him, but questioned whether some forms of online expression should be subject to regulation.

“As a leader, I don't mind being insulted,” he said.

“I've been insulted, I was vilified, I was voted out of office. So me, this skin is a crocodile skin,” he added drawing applause from the audience.

“So if you insult me, I don't mind, you insult me, I don't mind.”

Mr Mahama said he was focused on doing what he believed was right for Ghana and Africa despite the insults.

“And indeed I'm doing what I can for my country and my continent. I'm doing what I can for Ghana and Africa and I will do what is right,” he emphasised.

“Really, I don't mind the insults.”

Mahama calls for discussion on TikTok regulation

Mr Mahama said Ghana needed to have a broader discussion on how TikTok and other new media platforms should be regulated.

He said he had no objection to people showing their faces and taking responsibility for what they say, but expressed concern about people who hide their identities while making offensive comments.

“I don't mind if people show their face and own what they are saying, but there are some who are hiding and they just put something there and behind it they say the most vile things,” he said.

He called on the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) and the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) to bring stakeholders together to discuss the issue.

“Bring all the stakeholders together and hold a workshop or a forum and let's all collectively take a decision on what we want to do with the new media,” he said.

“Should the police get involved or they shouldn't get involved? How do we regulate it? You come out and tell us.”

Mr Mahama also cautioned against allowing arrests over online speech to go too far.

“Sometimes the police can go to the extreme and you never know, once you start arresting, you don't know where to stop,” he said.

He said Ghana needed to decide whether it wanted to regulate online expression or allow people to say whatever they wanted under the principle of free expression.

‘Dead goat syndrome’

Mr Mahama's comments about being unaffected by insults echo his “dead goat syndrome” remark during his first term as president.

In 2015, while addressing Ghanaians in Botswana, Mr Mahama said he had become immune to threats of strikes and demonstrations after facing numerous protests during his first two years in office.

“I have seen more demonstrations and strikes in my first two years. I don't think it can get worse,” he said.

“It is said that when you kill a goat and you frighten it with a knife, it doesn't fear the knife because it is dead already. I have a dead goat syndrome.”

Mr Mahama later explained that the comment was made in frustration over the mass labour unrest associated with fuel price increases and strikes.