Creating An Institution Of Laws

Ghana is the only country on this planet where absolute freedom can be exercised without respect to the law enforcement agencies. In fact, anybody at a given period can constitute him or herself into a power block and invariably dictate the course of events without regard to the established institutions. Our nation and many of its people in the context of our politics, epitomize a complex web of contradictions, greed, selfishness and disrespect for our laws. It is not surprising that the cadre core of the NDC, a political organization can attempt to remove certain leaders representing the seat of government at the Regional and District levels at any time convenient to their whims and caprices. What a country of hooligans and lawlessness? Is President Atta Mills going to sit on the fence and wait for the day these group of ‘gangsters’ marches to the Castle to remove him? This is an act of barbarism, a primary behavior characteristic of Bushmen and Hottentots of medieval times. These activities are toxic and an affront to the intelligence and maturity of the Ghanaian populace who are now powerless under the current circumstances.

I do not speak for any political party but Ghana and support ideas that gears towards the liberation of our nation. This is a special country that abounds a lot of talent, both material and human, yet we behave as if we cannot think. Everything that permeates through our daily life is senseless debasing our capabilities and ingenuity. We are the best material when we work in other countries but cannot function well in our own environment where everything is reduced to the madness of politics. Presently in Ghana, it is not what one can do but what name one has and the party he or she belongs. What a shame! Everything looks so ridiculous and unreasonable which leaves one to question our capabilities which should not be in disrepute, all things being equal. Until the day that our leadership begins to reason and put premium on quality other than tribal sentiments and unnecessary political connotations, we will continue to be hewers of wood and drawers of water. Most of our leaders are just loud; they have to learn to walk their talk for what Ghana needs today are not armchair leaders but doers.

American, the land of opportunities functions because it is an institution of laws and order. It works because it is a society that respects authority, human dignity and the rule of law which explains its growth and dynamism. When President Obama came to Ghana, he emphasized on the need to strengthen our institutions, to make them effective and functional in order to deal with the dictates of our society. He knew and understood the contradictions in our society, our way of life which neither respect nor place any premium on orderliness, good policies and effective planning. In Ghana, we have many legally established institutions to ensure societal growth but non functions very well in relation to their mandate because of greed, selfishness and other latent social defects of our society.

It is time for Ghanaians and our leadership to understand that the behavior by certain people labeling themselves as NDC activists or foot soldiers to remove certain District Chief Executives and Regional Secretaries amounts to treason under our laws. It is an act of subversion which can be argued out legally and should be treated as such. It is a coup de tat in a different format bearing the same meaning and effects and should not be taken lightly. In fact, it is the same as Ghanaians in military uniforms attempting to remove government from power.

The District Chief Executives and Regional Secretaries represent the seat of government. They are appointed by the President to represent him at those levels and any attempt in any form to remove any of his appointees constitutes an act of subversion. In other words, it is an attempt to destabilize the seat of government and should be treated as treason. If you happen to slap anybody on the street, it is treated as an assault. However, if you slap an Ambassador, it is treated as an international incident because he or she is a walking country and any attempt on him or her is an act of aggression against the country in question. In the same vein, the District chief Executives and Regional Secretaries are representatives of the President and any attempt on their lives is a stab at the presidency and should be dealt with seriously. If anybody or group of people have an issue of any kind, there are ways to deal with them in a civil way.

Ghana is a civiliz

ed institution and not a jungle; we are governed by laws and institutions which must be respected. If anybody has any kind of issue with any governmental machinery, there are different ways to resolve such problems depending on the nature of the case. If you are sick, you go to the hospital; if you have problems with the kind of services accorded you, you talk to the supervisor. If you are assaulted, you go to the police to seek redress; if you feel being cheated,you invoke the court system to address your pain; If the government of the day is not performing to your satisfaction, you use your voting power to get them out or join other political forces to ensure their exit from office. No individual or any group has the right under the constitution to arrogate power to himself or it, unless otherwise mandated by the same constitution. The NDC activities or foot soldiers are neither the PARLIAMENT, THE JUDICIARY NOR THE EXECUTIVE; they are like any other political group which is expected to function under the CODE that established it. Our nation has gone through a lot of turbulent political and economic processes to get to where we are presently. Our elders fought our colonial masters with their bare hands; our freedom fighters used their wits, ingenuity backed by their fortitude to create our nation Ghana; many people sacrificed their lives for accountability and probity during the revolution that undoubted initiated participatory democracy. These are facts of our historical development which entailed a lot of sacrifices, and we cannot go back on our history with these senseless and backward behavior.

What role or relevance emanates from a political group or wing apart from helping the party of her choice win an election? Please, let us function like reasonable people who understand the rule of law. Nobody or group of people can remove a government appointee nor personnel of a government established institution. HE WHO APPOINTS OR ESTABLISHES HAS THE SOLE PEROGATIVE TO EITHER REMOVE OR DISBAND. Who am I to organize some friends, well-wishes or any group of people or any organized group to march to the Regional Administration and attempt to remove the Regional Secretary because I or the group do not agree with him on an issue? This madness should stop because Ghana is not a country of lunatics but educated and conscious people. The revolution with all it excesses was a process to ultimately ensure fundamental fairness and orderliness in our social, economic and economic arena. If society believes that NDC is PNDC extension, that is fine with me, but what people should remember is that the behavior of the so called “foot soldiers” replicates the uncontrolled excesses that circumvented the good intentions of the revolution. President Mills and his advisors can chose to sit quietly unconcern until the day these so called soldiers will march on him and his cabinet at the castle.

Ghana, our dear nation cannot be developed by any external organization and it takes conscious people to lead this nation to fruition. We cannot develop as a nation if we are not discipline and law abiding since the contrarily is likely to undermine our development. If you travel to Malaysia, China and Japan, you will learn that it takes a disciplined society to achieve results in life. In fact, the ways we behave, litter, urinate and defecate around constitute an insult to our God given intelligence. We act as if we are not governed by laws in this country. Anybody does anything at anytime without fear of the existing laws in any; we are the law because there is no retribution for any act detrimental to our existence. Are we going to continuing living like this? Civility is not only about living in plush houses and riding in nice cars but more importantly about our way of life and how we relate to other people. Where are the policies on sanitation in Ghana? Do we know them and who enforces them if any? What have happened to many expensive research works lying peacefully in achieves of our institutions? Where are our rest areas? This issue is another serious topic to be discussed later.

Since relocating to Ghana, I have been wondering where to locate emergency telephone numbers in case I need to activate one for certain reason without much success. The telephone address book which used to harbor such information no longer exists. We have no easy access to the police and other essential services in terms of information which does not augur well for our growth. What prevents us from creating a small column in the daily news papers to publish this information? Information is critical.

Our nation’s politics and socio-economic life is characterized with greed and dishonesty. Integrity is not rewarded and sincerity has no meaning but ridiculed as some of our leaders loot with impunity only to be covered by committees of inquiry. I am not referring to only politicians but all manners of people in leadership positions. Ie Chief Directors. Our laws do not function because of unnecessary interferences from the powers that be. The Police Institution has not be independent to follow the laws; and attempt to go after certain cases would result in one’s transfer to the remotes part of the country (Siberia). Our governmental machinery is seriously infested with corruption and mismanagement. How can a whole ministry with a budget of GC 450 million managed to spend GC1.7 billion on hampers which cannot even be accounted for? Did they conjure money from heaven? As to be expected, somebody has to be sacrificed on the altar of TRUTH to raise the flames of corruption and greed. Parliamentary discussions on audits reports are just horrible and culprits move about freely as if it is Christmas. Is this the nation June 4th sought to create? I do not think so.

Great people with deep conscience and fortitude have sacrificed their lives to create this nation of ours and we owe our sons, daughters and posterity an honesty duty of good services. Presently in Ghana, a lot of issues are just senseless and our leadership knows the hard facts. How can the government explain with real words the justification behind the seizure of ‘ Atta Mortuary Man’s” movie at a time when it had been checked and cleared by the Ghana Cinematography Exhibition Board ? This is just ridiculous and unacceptable. Our behavior clearly undermines Dr Nkrumah’s belief that we are capable of managing ourselves. Capabilities and manpower, yes we have them in abounds, but we are not functional because we chose to sideline capable and tested people because of our perceived notion of their political inclinations and tribal originations. This is a shame and I am not surprise at the state of our nation’s development which is indicative of our inadequacies despite our resources.

In America (USA), life is vibrant and the system works because it has respect and rewards for talents and hard work. It is an institution of laws and respects the rule of law. However, in Ghana, honesty is a taboo which is neither rewarded nor acknowledged. Greed is the life wire of most people, the blood that allows them to function. In the end, most of us are blind to the truth and our loyalty to our political parties have dented our thought process and clogged our sense of reasoning. If people in leadership cannot be honest to the truth and shepherd us to fruition, then we will all wallow and perish as blind people. Our current path is too ragged, rough and directionless characterized unfortunately with nepotism to the highest level and tribalism. These characteristics are not competing elements of growth but destruction and doom. However, to have hope is to have life and with determination, discipline, good judgment and God‘s guidance, we can succeed.

ERIC K. EDUSEI VA