Increasing Uprisings; Ghana Beware!

Just in 2011—which has not yet crossed its midpoint, any observant being which shares the uniqueness of the human phenomenon will attest, in no uncertain terms to the fact that political uprisings holds a lot to the prosperity of a country. Is it justifiable enough for one to be of the assertion that the end of the world is near? Certainly yes.

Tunisia rose against their leader few months ago forcing him through the exit though with people loosing their lives, not long enough, Egypt followed also showing their leader the exit of their presidency though with similar—if not worse consequences. With Yemen experiencing similar strands of the canker, no one knows what becomes of the fate of these countries in the future. Additionally, it is unfortunate to find countries like Ivory Coast and Libya being brought gradually to their needs as a result of the struggle between public interest and parochial interest of their leaders. One does not need glass eyes to see the human and other resources lost in selfish and unpatriotic attempts by political leaders to hold on power. Are we not deviating from the primary motive (service) of leadership? Should we force to serve the people even when they do not want our service? Are we honestly struggling for power to serve? Is it not high time leaders especially African leaders came to the realization that power drunkenness is not the solution to the protracted poverty and hunger of this ironically rich continent but rather a cause?

One lesson Ghana should have learned from these uprisings is that these disturbances erupted from just a section of the lamenting countries and gradually spread over the entire country as affected people come in to support the course because they deemed it justifiable. This therefore shows that it takes but a section—beginning with just a person of the country to tear the country apart. This shows how important each one of us is as an individual in bringing peace in to this country as well as hostilities. It is therefore very unfortunate to realize people at the nation’s respectful political and administrative levels of endeavor make ill statements and boorish public remarks on highly regarded platforms of national interest and powerful political wings of the country, as well as uncouth actions of public offices, knowing very well what this portends for the country’s democracy, peace and development. It is not far from right for one to say these conflict-precipitating remarks and undertakings of these public outfits undoubtedly have the highest potency of dragging this nation in to confusion.

A very good example being the recent bad-mannered and discourteous treatment meted out to demonstrating teachers by the police personnel at the Ghana National Association of Teachers’ office in the former’s demand for their rightful pay. The question left behind is if these teachers were doctors would this treatment be meted out to them? Unequivocally no! It is therefore unthinkable that departments such as the Ghana Police Service who should be the ambassadors of the country’s peace and friends of the vulnerable can turn to be wreckers of this peace and unnecessarily hostile to those they are supposedly protecting.

We should not forget that should this country be dragged in to any form of anarchy then it will erupt from a political spark or a public office for ethnic conflicts in the country have assume a state that one will be right to say it has the likelihood to die off completely with time. This is my humble appeal to our ever-humble and down to earth president, the office holders and political leaders that much is needed from us as leaders in sustaining the peaceful environment that the good people of this country are enjoying. After all leadership is God’s own special way of taking care of us. For both providence and posterity will never forgive us as leaders if we plunge this ‘young striving innocent’ country in to conflict after having learnt enough from other countries and even our country’s past to prevent it in out poise to satisfy our parochial interest. Let us therefore be admonished that we are able to pursue our personal interests because there is a national peaceful environment and any disturbance of this environment will not give us the least of rooms to pursue such interests for national conflicts affect all— as high as the president and the lowest of people in the country if any.

Watch out for the youth’s role in national peace building.

The author, Solomon Anzagra is in the Department of planning. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology – Kumasi, Ghana

[email: sanzagra@yahoo.com]