The Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana People Service, COP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah, has said she guffawed when she heard some radio commentary suggesting Ghana is not ready for a female Inspector General of Police (IGP).

“I laughed when I recently heard that someone has said Ghana is not ready for a female IGP. I guffawed when I heard that because when we went to school, we all had the same training, so, why do some people think women cannot do what men can do? We’ve had two female Chief Justices, we’ve had a female speaker, we have ministers who are females, so, if you say we’re not ready for a female IGP, when are we going to be ready?

“I don’t see why anybody should say women are not ready for the IGP position. Women could even do better than men. Leadership is all about how you manage the people you work with. … Your ability to manage your human resource is what makes you a very good leader”, she told Atinka TV’s Abena Dufie Agyepong on Saturday, 11 May 2019.

“The appointing authority will take so many things into consideration. It’s not about your gender. I’m more than prepared to be Ghana’s next IGP”, she stressed.

The Chartered Accountant added: “For someone to become and IGP, it’s not about what people think, it’s about what the president, in consultation with the council of state will see in the person to deem him or her fit for the position. So whatever people say is their opinion. I didn’t start as an officer, I started as a constable, I worked as a constable, sergeant, at the inspectorate, become an ASP and climbed the ladder to get to where I am now. It means I can move forward.

“If God says today I’ll be the IGP, I will not work alone, I’ll work with people. So, if God has made me capable of becoming the Director-General of the CID, from October 17 till now – prior to that I was the deputy DG, I’ve been able to do a lot, so, if I’m promoted, it means it is the will of God, and if it is the will of God, that is what will happen”, she said.

COP Addo-Danquah said she is “more than prepared” to be Ghana’s first-ever female IGP, adding that she will “never turn down” such an offer, if ever it was made to her by the appointing authority.

“I’ll never turn down an IGP appointment, never”, she told Abena Dufie Agyepong, adding: “If the appointing authority feels I am competent for the position, I don’t see why I will turn it down and suggest that it be given to somebody else”.

“What has the person got that I lack?” she queried.

According to her, she has risen through the rungs at the Ghana Police Service over the decades and ready to assume the reins of the police hierarchy. “It’s all about your ability”, she said.