Soldiers too exposed to civilians bad for their image – Security Analyst

A security analyst, Mr Adib Saani, has raised questions about how military officers have been unrestricted in recent times.

He said that hitherto, military officers were restricted to their barracks and not seen in matters of interior security. This, he said, made the military earn respect in the eyes of the citizens.

Speaking on the Ghana Yensom morning show hosted by Odeyeeba Kofi Essuman on Accra 100.5 FM on Monday, March 20, 2023, he noted that since 2017, military officers have been engaged to do bodyguard activities when the police are the right institution mandated by law to do so.

“It is worrying to see military officers bodyguarding the Electoral Commissioner, Jean Mensa,” he noted adding that apart from the sitting president and his vice, all others are supposed to have police bodyguards.

"Now you have military men engaging in land guard activities and others in debt collection activities," he worryingly disclosed.

He said it is highly worrying how the military is being exposed to the public.

According to him, what transpired at Ashaiman with the military descending on innocent people over the death of one of their own was part of the worrying exposure of the military to the public.

Decrying the over-exposure of the military to the public, he cited the proverb that says “playing with a dog end in it licking your lips.”

He stressed how worrying it is for soldiers to be doing the interior work of the police in recent times.

The situation he noted is creating tension and animosity between the military and the public