Peace before, during and after elections remains a cliché that pops up every election year. This is to amplify the quest for a peaceful environment for other activities to progress positively during an electioneering year. However, what baffles the mind has to do with those on whom the call is made. Ghanaians are well aware of the relevance of peace to a nation and pride ourselves of enjoying a stable democracy. Once more, Ghanaians are not oblivious of the occurrences in other neighbouring countries where election related violence has wreaked havoc on nations, so why the call for peace?
The call that has become a quadrennial chorus is sickening to deaf. Personalities who press the bottom for the play of this chorus should be able to identify the activities that create violence, and the flag of confusion that is hoisted by trouble makers, which has to be taking down.
The media remains ever powerful in our daily lives. The ink profession has the ability to set the agenda. It serves as a medium through which businesses, developers as well as politicians employ to reach the masses with their messages. This medium has been abused over the period with impunity by mainly politicians, their associates and some brute talking Ghanaians who get paid when they use the media to paralyse our serene environment.
The religious communities also patronize the media. Most Pastors, Reverend Ministers and Prophets lay bare their spiritual predictions through both print and electronic media. This is also known as prophecy. Who has taken the courage to frown on these dispositions by these Spiritual Leaders? It tends to stock speculations, which has the tendency to push some political aspirants, be it Presidential or Member of Parliament (MP) to unruly step on toes without reservation all in the process of the realization of these prophecies. These acts go a long way to fuel tension in the country. Yet these spiritual predictions are allowed to fly in the face of glaring tension in every election year. Why can't the National Peace Council (NPC) stop these so called predictions?
Again, some Politicians who appear on various media platforms in their quest to score cheap political points will bury all courtesies to employ foul language to achieve their aim. Yet media houses keep on offering these Politicians their platform to perpetuate activities that place the peace of the country on the altar of sacrifice. If the security of the country is relegated to the back drop in all effort to achieve our parochial targets, then doom awaits us all. Who checks on these politicians and their associates? And why sacrifice your nation's peace on the altar of parochial expediency? If there are no restrains on the regular users of the media then we are bound to face the ripples of brute language.
The refusal of the authority with the wherewithal to deal decisively with blatant violators of noble communication principles is placing all of us in an uncompromising position. However, Clergy men, Muslim authorities and Opinion Leaders keep calling for peace without any effort to apprehend those who pour verbal acid via the media will amount to long rhetoric's that is short on detail, an aim without any means to achieve and known destination without route.
Truth be told, the National Communications Authority (NCA) has not dealt with the public treasure, the spectrum fairly. Electronic media has witness the sale of broadcasting channels to business men and women as well as to Politicians. This has placed ammunition in the hands of these owners to threaten the peace of the nation. Before, during and after every election these owners find a platform to vent their explosive venom of words which affects the peace of the country. Yet Opinion Leaders have turned blind eye to this behaviour. Known Politicians owning media houses in Ghana are doing the country and her peace no good. There cannot be any clean bill of health of the country's peace, when a peace audit is conducted.
Nonetheless, the call for peace is in the right direction and appropriate. However, the perpetrators of violence before, during and after elections in Ghana are not faceless sharks. The thugs and their pay masters are visible to the peace callers; however, no one is prepared to take the bull by the horn. These peace bleachers are our kits and kins hence, why do we call out to them as if they are miles away beyond this planet? These individuals have become the rotten tooth in the mouth of the country preventing her from chewing properly. Why not ask our relations to desist from engaging in peace threatening acts?
Peace is needed in every facet of human development; therefore, we should not wait till election year to call on citizens to act peacefully. It is said that "Everyone has red saliva in the mouth, but they end up throwing the white" The call for people to co-exist peacefully should be an everyday invocation. Equally, the callers of peace must be bold enough to confront the perpetrators of electoral violence. The National Peace Council (NPC) has the odious task of appealing to the various political parties to do well to restrain their followers from endangering the serenity in the country. These Politicians should also be implored upon to bridle their tongues.
The Security Services – Ghana Police
The main focus of punishment is not primarily to inflict pain on offenders. Punishment, otherwise known as correction, is there to pacify the offended, do away with retribution or nemesis, serve as means of deterrence and to correct offenders. Hence, the Security apparatus should be up and doing to ensure that electoral offenders are put before the law courts to deter many citizens who have the ambition to perpetuate same. Failure of society to punish wrong will amount to confirmation of negatives and might possibly lead to a spike in crime.
The National Peace Council should stand side-by-side of the Security Services to insulate them from political arm twisting, intimidation and muscle flexing that emanate from Political quarters. This will enable the Security Services especially the Ghana Police Service to apprehend and put before the law courts any violator of the public peace. The inability of coalitions and pressure bodies to support the activities of the Ghana Police Service has often led them down. Politicians interfere with the activities of the Security Services, which often hamper the apprehension of defaulters of the law. They must be implored to stop because; we do not want the bitter taste in the mouths of our sub-regional neighbours in ours.
The Electoral Commission (EC)
The Electoral Commission (EC) should be innovative in the registration of potential voters. There is no need for the Commission to wait till an election year before they scramble to conduct limited registration exercise with it associated tension. Each month a citizen turns eighteen (18), why can't that fellow walk to any of the EC offices across the country to get hocked on to the voters register? Otherwise what has the Electoral Commission been doing after every election? Registering all year will ease the pressure on the Commission and also disarm Politicians and their hired thugs from distracting the electorate at the registration centers.
Ghana needs peace to develop, hence, we have to put lasting measures in place to deal with this quadrennial problem of heighten tension during registration. We cannot afford to implement ad hoc strategies that will give us short term results, which might lead to paltry outcomes.
Patrick Twumasi
(0209045931)
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