Opinions of Monday, 12 March 2018

Columnist: Dr. Michael J.K. Bokor

Incompetence on display: Even with their own personal security?

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Folks, I have repeatedly said that Akufo-Addo and his loud-mouthed government functionaries are their worst enemies, which reduces to absurdity the rash decision/action to evict traders from the Nima neighbourhood of Akufo-Addo's residence on the basis of "personal security".

The fact is that Akufo-Addo and his team lack "security consciousness" and how to do things so they don't end up disastrously.

I have maintained several times in my comments on security issues that it will be far easier to overthrow an NPP administration than it would be for an NDC one. Why so? Because an NPP administration lacks the acumen to ensure security at all levels. The NDC is so security-focused as to remove any speck of doubt about its skills. Don't ask for further explanation. Look into history!!

The sordid picture for the Danquah-Busia camp began after all it did for the overthrow of security-conscious Nkrumah. How the Busia administration bought into baseless rumours to establish a military detail at the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation in late 1971 to protect it only for the one they put in charge and trusted (Col. I.K. Acheampong) to turn round and overthrow that very government remains the most ridiculous mis-step.

Bring in Kufuor, who overly concentrated attention on Rawlings at all levels, accusing him of planning a coup against his administration (He said so at Offinso but couldn't substantiate it, even when Rawlings took him to task).
(Gen. Emmanuel Erskine had earlier advised Kufuor to work well with Rawlings because of Rawlings' experience in security matters (given the fact that he had succeeded twice in overthrowing governments before being installed in power in the Fourth Republic.

Gen. Erskine was taken to the cleaners instead).
Kufuor did a lot to create needless panic, surrounding himself with cowards who were either dismissed from the security services or retired unsung. The Budu Koomsons, Capt. Kodas and many more were part of the collection.

Many attempts were made to intimidate Rawlings. For example, stationing armed personnel in the building close to the Rawlings Ridge residence that Rawlings loudly complained about; dealing with mercenaries to assassinate Rawlings that Rawlings complained about; using armed people to confront Rawlings at the Kpone barrier, which Rawlings complained about; and many more. Rawlings survived all that nonsense, not because of anything else but because of the very structures that he had put in place for security management.
No one wanted to disrupt the democratic process and Kufuor stayed on till his tenure ended.

Bring in Akufo-Addo and you will see a lot of miscalculations that are turning out to be serious security problems for themselves and the country, generally.
Akufo-Addo's desperate use of vigilantism through the creation of all kinds of "security apparatuses" is no secret. The mess being caused by the hoodlums needs no further comment.

Turn everything round to see that under Akufo-Addo, there is much room for public concern about national and personal security, not necessarily because of the spate of armed robbery, but also because the legitimate security apparatuses have been so brow-beaten as to not know how to act. Under Akufo-Addo, anything goes!!

Now, here is something to poke them in the eye: https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Fake-army-officer-busted-among-Bawumia-s-security-detail-633324).

How inconceivable? It couldn't have happened under an NDC administration when those constituting the Personal Security Detail knew what was what and how to work professionally and efficiently by closing ranks against infiltration.
For this impostor to go the way he did only tells me how porous the security network around Bawumia and others is.

What would have happened had this impostor had any training to know how to behave so as not to expose himself as we are being told? He could have blended in seamlessly and gone a long way to cause more anxiety if he intended to.

Some disturbing questions: Should we blame him? 2. What could be his motivation, anyway? How did he manage to infiltrate, though? Did the members of the Vice president's security detail not know each other to be able to spot an outsider (no matter how well that impostor portrays himself)?

5. If it is true that the impostor is a student at the University of Ghana, Legon, why would he go out of his way to endanger his future this way? Or is he already contemplating becoming part of the Association of Unemployed Graduates? (And what has the Akufo-Addo government put in place to solve the problem of graduate unemployment)?

Folks, Team Akufo-Addo is busily raising dust-storms all over the landscape yet doing nothing proper to ensure security for themselves and others. Let them be warned that no matter how clean they may think they are, their acts of commission or omission have diverse effects on people who may boil over and do whatever the devil assigns them.

Thank goodness that this infiltrator didn't do anything disastrous. I know how he will be perceived by those mischievous NPP buffs who are quick to see anything negative occurring to them as an NDC orchestration. I won't be surprised if this impostor is characterized as an NDC agent and the political mischief heightened, thereby. If it were so, it would be a grievous miscalculation.

What about if the impostor emerges as an NPP member? What would be his motivation?

In any case, I hope that his brother (now on peace-keeping mission abroad) won't be targeted for any punitive action. But in a system under self-righteous characters bent on tempting Fate, anything goes. The fault is within, Team Akufo-Addo!!!

I shall return…