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Are we really safe, Mr. Kan Dapaah?

Kan Dappah Minister of National Security, Kan Dappah

Wed, 11 Nov 2020 Source: Kwabena Aboagye-Gyan

I am neither a disparager nor a detractor of Kan Dappah, but a patriotic Ghanaian who does not mention people’s name in dispatches easily.

Thus, I cannot sycophantically congratulate him for claiming that crime rate in the country is plummeting as we get closer to the December elections (See “Election 2020: Crime rate going down – Kan Dapaah”, ghanaweb.com).

Such a tawdry gimmickry must not be entertained but be condemned and discarded with the astonishing rapidity and supersonic alacrity that it deserves.

For starters, I am not sure being in charge of the security of a country like ours can be said to be a monumental achievement. It is surprising that after enigmatically and execrably exhibiting crass immorality as to allow a juvenile of a side chick to operate on him as if he were a puppet on a string in a video which went viral, he still maintained his position, making one wonder whether or not Ghana will ever be free from the appointment of people whose character and reputation are questionable.

After all, what kind of a morally-upright 67-year old man will act in such a repugnant manner in a video, being controlled by juvenile side chick, when his people are being tormented by armed robbers, pick-pockets and rapists on a daily basis?

That is what those fervidly, but rather impetuously, supporting whatever the officials of the government do ought to be thinking about and not merely throwing their weight behind whoever His Excellency President NADAA offers a position.

Instead of putting the requisite policies in place to stem the tide of criminal activities in the country, he prefers to indulge in amorous affairs with ladies young enough to be his grandchildren, who would make him act in an unpardonably uncouth manner.

And how does this describe us as a country purportedly poised towards being touted as the country with the best political fabric in Africa?

A man who could not secure himself against the antics of a young side chick, being in charge of the whole security of a country? How can he tell us crime rate is decreasing when MPs and ordinary citizens are being tormented and killed on a daily basis? If it is true that crime rate is plummeting, why have MPs now been given (police) bodyguards?

What does he want to see before he realises the precarious nature of our situation? Our lives should not be sacrificed on the altar of political expediency: our lives should not be taken for granted in one’s bid to score cheap political points. Could we be more serious than behaving like a bunch of moral and intellectual bambinos?

Unfortunately, and rather shockingly, I am yet to hear any government official express concern about such a morally and politically impolitic move.

Surely, a man of his calibre who ventures in an extra-marital affair cannot be touted as an ideal person for the job, no wonder he thinks crime is reducing in the country, when in actual sense it is increasing.

In essence, the detestable examples set by the Minster are apt to both obnoxiously and heretically promote womanising among our politicians, on the one hand, and menacingly reduce the quality of life among the people, on the other hand.

The fact that our MPs are now offered protection is a clear indication that all is not well; inconsistent with the Minister’s claims that we are gradually “defeating” crime in the country.

It is pathetic that such pathological narcissism and political subterfuge, unequivocally inimical to our wellbeing, still permeate our political landscape. Let us be honest with ourselves and trumpet profusely the precarious nature of our situation, and the incontrovertible need for all and sundry to be careful.

Columnist: Kwabena Aboagye-Gyan