How safe are Ghanaians? - The case of J. B. Danquah's murder

Ghanaians woke up last week to the shocking news of the brutal killing of the Member of Parliament for Abuakwa North, Joseph Boakye Danquah Adu.

The country was thrown into a state of shock and disbelieve that an incumbent Member of Parliament could be killed in cold blood in his own residence in Shiashi in Accra.

Mr Danquah Adu joins a long list of Ghanaians who have been killed under mysterious circumstances in recent times.

Some of the people who have been murdered recently include Nana Kwaku Dwoma Ankoana, chief of Seikwa in the Tain District of the Brong Ahafo Region, who was shot; Rosemond Nyampong, a 32-year-old Stanbic Bank worker, who was killed at Baatsonaa in Accra; Nii Ayittey Noryatse, chief of Joma, near Ablekuma in the Greater Accra Region; and Fennec Okyere, manager of musician Kwaw Kesse, who was shot on the Spintex Road; and Francis Thomas Anderson, a 29-year-old Graphic Designer at E-volution International, who was killed at Kwashieman in Accra.

The others are 26-year-old vulcaniser Rashid Mustapha, whose body was found at the Aboabo Forest in Tamale; and 29-year-old network engineer Nazira Alhassan, who was shot several times in Tamale by an unidentified assailant at his residence.

The above-mentioned killings and many others have heightened the general sense of insecurity in the country following the rising spate of such killings in recent times.

Views expressed by Ghanaians on various radio and television programmes during phone-in segments paint a picture of a nation gripped with fear.

Many of the callers were of the view that if a Member of Parliament could be killed in cold blood, then the ordinary Ghanaian is not safe.

The ordinary Ghanaian taxpayer is not secured. Count the number of armed robberies, street attacks, kidnapping, etc that the taxpayer goes through.

Correlations between insecurity and underdevelopment are much stronger than correlations between peace and development.

Studies show that insecurity would exert negative influence on Gross Domestic Products of a country.

For example, studies show that the northern Nigeria economy has been negatively affected by the activities of the Boko Haram sect.

Without security, there can be no sustained economic development.

For once, Ghanaians do not feel safe in their own country. The general atmosphere is that of gloom and unhappiness.

The fear and shadow of violent and reckless attack hangs over everyone.

In solving these seemingly mounting issues, the government should sound a wake-up call to all security agencies in the country to close up whatever holes that have been opened as path for criminals to operate.

It is the responsibility of the security agencies to provide defence for the country and safety of citizens.

The inability of the security agencies to track down people involved in what looks like serial killings, armed robberies, and other crimes is a signal that our internal defence is vulnerable.

With elections in November, the time to act is now.