The late Major Maxwell Adam Mahama
Social media is here to stay. But I tell you this is not a social media problem.
Before social media, there were ‘nincompoops’.
Before social media, there were guttersnipes.
Before social media, there abounded the amoral and immoral.
Social media only provided an unverified megaphone to everybody.
Bothe the sensible and senseless have access to this megaphone, fortunately and unfortunately.
One of my favourite Twi proverbs: “?keter? se nea ?too bo? b?? no no ho ny? n’ahi s? nea ogyinaa nky?n kaa s? ah, madamfo yi w’ani gyene!”. Translation: “the lizard is not as annoyed with the person who stoned it as with the one who praised the stoner’s good eyesight”.
So some crude, greedy, uninformed, witless, blood thirsty murderers lynched a military man. May God and the law deal mercilessly with them! And women – mother, sister, wife, daughter – stood by and happily took videos and pictures. They recorded this abomination, this horror with glee and shared it in cyberspace. And with manicured fingers, it was shared from phone to phone, computer to computer, tablet to tablet. Why?
Did we forget he was a mother’s son? A wife’s husband? A child’s father? A nation’s serviceman? Why Oh why? When his babies grow up and google daddy what images will confront them?
What was the motive for sharing those heart wrenching images? Why add such insult to an already painful injury?
I have been on a plane where a couple gave up their first-class seats for a soldier and his wife. That is how much appreciation some nations have for the people who sacrifice their lives to serve and to protect others. Well not in Ghana. We murder them the least chance we get and merrily spread the ‘cheer’. Despicable!
Somebody’s death or dead body is not entertainment, at least not for well-thinking human beings. Not everybody enjoys gore and morbidity, no matter how well meant they are. Decorum people. Show some decorum.
A man’s corpse is the last thing you should use to garner attention and/or ‘likes’. Whatever happened to our culture and values? Maybe we never really had much values and social media is only serving to make that apparent. Shameful.
It is not just the Major. I have seen pictures of decapitated children, videos of victims of the Trade fair gas explosion and many more on social media. What part of the human function prompts us to whip out phones to capture a person’s suffering instead of offering a helping hand, a sympathetic shoulder and a loving heart?
So to you, hasty fingers who sent the naked body of a young man whose dreams have been cut short, bow your head in shame.
Get help, you have one of the following:
Witchcraft – Not the kind they say flies at night. Yours flies in broad daylight on social media, delighting in bloodshed and pain.
Insanity – you are stark raving mad. The only difference is you have a phone/computer with internet connection
Get help, but before you do, delete the despicable images.
Before we can curb this menace, we need laws. Laws to protect Ghanaians on cyberspace.
Parliamentarians, do your job. You can keep paying school fees but please perform your duty.
Rest in Peace Soldier. May your soul find eternal peace.
