The Tongue Can Be Dangerous

Words are dangerous and offensive language can be diabolical to the peace that we have enjoyed for some time. Ghana is not a peaceful country as many perceive, there is so much hatred among some of the tribes and even more so between the disadvantaged in society (particularly the poor or disposed) compared with the few apparently well-offs in our midst! It takes leadership to address this perilous development in our society because a house that is divided will not stand. The status of events in reference to public utterances is so treacherous that it will take one incident to plunge this nation into a holocaust. This volatile situation is becoming serious because of the actions and inactions of the Executive President; his utterances are not encouraging and the ‘animal farm’ concept adopted by the police in dealing with incidents involving the biometric registration are not the best and must be reassessed and realigned to ensure peace in Ghana. Peace is not free and we need to work hard to ensure it.

Based on current developments, I am not surprised to hear that the Archbishop of Action Church, Rt Rev Duncan Williams, appealed to his congregation over the weekend to pray and fast for Ghana throughout the week as a result the negative indicators in the spirit realm. I would similarly appeal to all churches and all Ghanaians to join this intersection programme for peace in our country. I will also engage the clergy in the country to interact with the leadership on the trend of events in the country because when the rain falls, it does not fall in one man’s house.

My heart is troubled and I am sickened by the weird developments in our dear country Ghana today. Power must be controlled and managed to ensure peace especially when it comes to governance which makes the declaration by the President that ‘he is not a policeman’, a very unfortunate statement not from the First Lady but the First Man of our land! It is disheartening because if the President does not know or have even forgotten that he had been sworn into his Presidency as the Commander-in- Chief of Ghana with the simplest and basic responsibility of ensuring peace and order, then we are in deep trouble (or as other less civil-minded monitors of Governance will term: deep rotten shit!. ) Mr. President, what is happening in Ghana today is about the ‘Law of Effect’ which literally means that if behaviour of a group of people is not checked, then others will do worse. There are historical precedents of dangerous remarks made by public figures which are not the best; your own officials and members of your party are the worse culprits and you have done nothing on any occasion to rebuke any of them; people are on record to have linked biometric voting to civil war, others calling for a jihad, others debarring other tribes from registering; people steal chips?? others are saying Ghana will burn to ashes, etc, etc. Are these acts that you condone or what? Did you hear your reps making such derogatory statements on air? Have you observed how provocative some of your Deputies Secretaries have become? Any man of sober conscience, consumed with love and objectivity for our nation will tell you that GHANA WANTS YOU TO SHOW LEADERSHIP now or never.

The impasse of Hon. Kennedy Agyapong’s case is the beginning of terrible events in the offering which requires effective leadership and serious management of our nation if we desire to kill the venom. Although, I personally despise the statement made by the honourable, I wish to be truthful that if we do not attempt to do the right things in ensuring fundamental fairness, the peace that we love so much might elude us. The double-standards approach and “animal farm” concept which have become prevalent in our governance today will not stand because the tolerance level of some of us is rapidly getting out of control and must be tamed. We need to realign our tactics and take a U-TURN to avoid danger! Do we honestly understand the treason charge or we are just trying to slap the honourable with a case that will allow the Government to keep him in check without a bail whilst the unacceptable behavior of some of those in our midst continue unchecked as we gather speed en-route to the precipice of an abyss, that can spell our doomsday as a nation? The revolution which devoured a lot of cadres had a philosophy, fairness before the law and I believe, many sacrificed their lives for natural justice and not selective justice. We should remember that what is good for the goose is also good for the gander which gives room for our society to measure us by our own standards. Mr. President, the quality of mercy is not strange, it blessed him that gives and him that take, let the honourable take a walk with caution and address the nation on the rules of engagement henceforth because there is no pious person in the political arena on the issue under reference. How do you charge somebody with the most serious crime in the nation when you have failed to rebuke your own on similar pronouncements? Is his mouth a gun (Hon. Adamafio) or is he involved in a coup plot? This is a bad precedent and will not help our emerging democracy unless we want to create a ‘police state’ under Asomdweehene???. If the yardstick for treason is what has been demonstrated then many people have already earned it including the former head of state.

Our nation is on a perilous journey characterized with hate, hurt and the need for political equalization; danger is looming as political fanatics and warlords hire macho men and land guards to assist them accomplish their goals. Our society seem to have lost confidence in the Police Force (in spite of the expectation that their UN experience in war-torn countries - other than the foreign exchange per-diems they received on those missions - had taught them a thing or two on how to set their own house(s) in order!) The current situation is very dangerous and devouring; our image in international circles is tainted and nobody knows the future as we operate like sheep without a shepherd. We need to pray to the Lord for guidance because without cool heads and reasoning, the show of machismo and vindictiveness will plunge this nation into a holocaust. GOD SAVE MOTHER GHANA.

KWABOADU KWABENA, OHIO, USA.