END THE POLITICS OF ENVY AND CELEBRATE THE LIFE OF THE NATION’S UNSUNG HERO

The article by Kofi Sarfo Antwi and Jale Dominic headed Castle Police Boss in BNI Cells in the SUN carried on this site on 20th and 24th April is full of factual inaccuracies, innuendo and blatant fabrication, that must not go unchallenged on your home page in the interest of fairness and objectivity.

To begin with the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Nana Bediako, the Chief Security officer for the former President J.A. Kuffour has never been a prisoner at any BNI Cell as reported. Surely, records of inmates of these cells are available at the offices of the Cell operators which can set the records straight, so if anyone doubts that they can confirm with them. I will strongly urge the Sun writers to turn their investigation in that direction and establish the truth themselves instead of relying on a few disgruntled men the force, whose only motivation is to throw the dirt on their successful colleagues.

The provocative figure of 29billion cedis supposed to be gratuity for Security Officers protecting the President during Kuffour tenure of office is laughable. Either the source of this figure is incapable of counting beans or they believe they have monopoly over logic and can therefore throw dust in the eye of everyone. The remuneration of the Occupant of the highest office in Ghana does not come close to the quoted figure so it is illogical for a President to dish out cash of that magnitude to his protectors as a tip! I wonder if Kofi Antwi and Jale Dominic ever questioned the disgruntled officers about the source of authority for their claims. Did these writers demand proof of the allegation or merely hopped along because it suited their purpose to bring down a distinguish officer, whose glittering career span international and national level?

For the record, the ACP Nana Bediako was a great ambassador for Ghana when he answered the call from the United Nations to serve in Bosnia during it’s troubled times and was richly rewarded for putting his life in harm’s way for the good of other Human beings. He, again, put his life on the line to protect the nation’s greatest asset, the President, for a good eight years and received commendation from the ex-President Kuffour at the end of his reign. The ACP made tough life and death split-second decisions to safeguard the ex-President during that period and was never far from the side of Kuffour in nearly every event involving the Occupant of the highest office in Ghana. As Commander of the Osu Castle Security Officers he determined the risk associated with every Presidential event. He was, naturally, better placed to conduct risk-reward analysis for his foot `soldiers’. The smaller the risk, the smaller the reward; Hence a foot `soldier’ whose aggrieved because he doesn’t believe he has been handsomely rewarded is on a hiding for nothing. It is not a valid excuse to cast aspersion over the character of a senior officer, who has risen through the ranks with over 30years Police service under his belt.

As a close associate of Nana Bediako, I can confirm that he is not afraid to take tough decision to uphold the integrity of the Police force that he commands; and that sometimes means rubbing the nose of his subordinates who step out of line. Hence it is easy to see where these malicious lies are emanating from. However, I challenge those hiding behind Newspapers to produce any evidence of the ACP swindling his colleagues of their entitlement in Court and stop the media trial. For goodness sake, the ACP is not the Police `PAYMASTER’! His job under President Kuffour was largely intelligent gathering, risk assessment and minimising risk to the LIFE of the ex-President. The fact that the ex-President is safe and sound after eight gruelling years in office is a testimony of the professionalism of the ACP Nana Bediako and must be held in high esteem by Ghanaians who truly love the Nation. We shouldn’t begrudge him of the perks and entitlement of his career, which is synonymous with danger. Most importantly, the scribblers seeking sensational stories should add a touch of responsibility to their work by validating the fact and figures in their tall tales; and stop the astronomical figures they quote since they serve no purpose but to make the blood boil.

Kwaku Asamoah