Nana Akwasi Twumasi
The citizens of Ghana voted President Mills into power under the mantra of “change.” President Mills, like many of his disciples, wants the entire nation to be drunk on the apothegm, “Change is what Ghana needs and change is what we shall deliver,” but his actions seem to paint a different agenda altogether. President Mills, for instance, revels in his false sense of piety, and he claims he wishes to turn the entire country into a prayer camp — not to say I see anything wrong with that. However, such sententious attitude only dissimulates his lack of sincerity just as it serves to veil his ulterior motives. What has he accomplished in office thus far to give Ghanaians any reason to hold on to his promise of “change”? Among Mills’ greatest hits, include, chasing demons out of the Castle under the guise of organizing prayer camp at this edifice; under his leadership, inflation rate has soared past 20%; he promised not to go on witch-hunting (NPP officials), yet, one of the first things he did in office was to fire Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia from his position at the Bank of Ghana; he employed a “waakye seller” to his cabinet (well, if the founder of the NDC party was a high-school dropout who ruled our country for 20 years, then, I guess a “waakye seller” with good humanitarian skills is more than qualified for a cabinet position); his administration has borrowed money from major world financial institutions in excess of one and a half billion dollars; under his leadership, crime rate is at an all time high; under his leadership, our currency is falling in value faster than a stone under gravity; he has proposed to spend over one hundred fifty million dollars more on the executive branch of the government than his predecessor did even though the NDC often criticized ex-president Kufour for “wasteful spending.” Well, I am not surprised by any of these, are you? After all, that’s the NDC, which is well versed in criminality and voodoo fiscal policies. Up to this point, President Mills has reneged on most of his campaign promises with the exception of a few, most notably: “As president, I will consult Rawlings for advice 24/7.” If President Mills wants to rule our country by taking instructions from Rawlings every step of the way, and in so doing deny Ghanaians the “change” for which they voted, then he should get out of the way and let murderer Rawlings himself govern the country. After all, that killing machine, on his own volition, wouldn’t hesitate to use a radical approach, such as re-instating the death penalty by firing squad, to help eliminate armed robbers from Ghana. Armed robbery is a major problem that is hurting our image worldwide, and it has to be dealt with-- seriously!
The cries of victims of armed robbery—those maimed, taunted, emotionally scarred, and in some cases, killed—serve as the impetus for this article. As a young man in the 50’s and 60’s, my friends and I went to concerts and walked home late in the night—over a one-mile journey without worrying about armed robbers. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same today. According to some victims, it is even scary waking up at night and walking to a bathroom across a hallway because of fears of walking into an armed robber. Several articles have been written on the subject, which address the plight of ordinary citizens, but our politicians don’t seem to give a damn (see Boateng, Bright. Armed Robbery in Ghana: Mr. President, please say something. Ghanaweb, 11/11/2002) How unfortunate that we’ve become prisoners in our own homes. News of economic hardships in Ghana reaching those in the Diaspora is enough to turn one into an insomniac; and to add to this nuisance, starving Ghanaians sometimes go through horrific ordeals at the hands of these armed robbers. As recent as last month, four friends of mine had a first-hand experience of this menace, which I would like to share with you, my fellow Ghanaians. These were health professionals (two cardiologists, one behavioral neurologist/epileptologist, and one endocrinologist) who went to Ghana to conduct feasibility studies on building a state-of-the-art medical facility in Accra. Two of them owned residential properties in Accra—Lartebiokoshie and Achimota. The one that owned a property in Achimota embarked on this trip with his family, so he and his family stayed at Achimota, while the rest stayed at Lartebiokorshie. 16 days into their trip, they were informed of two parcels of land—one in Haatso, and the other in East Legon-- which were potential sites being evaluated for their medical facility. They had arranged to meet first at the site in East Legon and then proceed to Haatso. The three friends that stayed at Lartebiokorshie were at the designated meeting place at 10:15am per their arrangement. Their real estate agent spoke to them at length about the property while they waited impatiently for their friend (The one living at Achimota). They waited and became indignant after their repeated phone calls to their friend went unanswered. They decided to leave for their friend’s house after waiting for over 4 hours. They got to the friend’s house after 3 pm and the house had an ambience of tranquility—feeling almost lifeless. They got through the front gate and found the family dog, which was sporadically taken care of by their next door neighbor in their absence, laying on the portico, dead. They saw no blood on the dog and realized it had been poisoned. With their heart racing, one of them rushed to his car to get a spare key for the house, which he had been using to gain access to the house anytime he vacationed in Ghana. They finally got into the house and it was a total mess; it had been rummaged by thieves. The bedrooms and living areas were searched and there was no sign of any member of the family. These friends went outside and scoured the perimeter of the house but found nothing. It was nerve-wracking at this point, and the decision was made to go back and search the house again. As one of them got near the kitchen he was taken aback by a malodor emanating from deep within. The family of 3 had been huddled inside the pantry, gagged, with their hands tied behind their back. The stench that led the friends to the pantry turned out to be excreta from their friend’s wife who had to respond to nature’s call under these horrific conditions. How humiliating!
The man’s wife and 19 year-old son were found dehydrated and lethargic. The man himself was not so lucky; he was aphasic and spatially disoriented (he thanked God for being alive though). He also had a contusion on his right temple, because one of the armed robbers slammed his head into a wall when he told them he did not stash money in his house. They never bothered to get the police involved, because the police, as most victims recount, are normally useless under these conditions. This incident in question occurred early in the morning (around 3 am, based on victims’ account), when 4 men stormed into the house, brandishing machetes and sickles. As of this article’s completion, my friends have made the conscientious decision to liquidate all their assets in Ghana and stay in the United States permanently. They left the country two weeks early because of this incident. (PS: the names, addresses and certain identifiers pertaining to this incident were deliberately left out to protect the victims’ identity). In conjunction with this armed robbery menace, I received an email from a Ghanaian dentist (living in Canada) who vacationed with his family in Ghana in December. According to him, they were robbed at gunpoint in the wee hours of the night. He went on this trip with his Canadian son-in-law, whose laptop, which housed his medical research work, was stolen in this robbery incident. This was an opportune time for this elderly Ghanaian to showcase our country to his son-in-law, a Canadian medical student. What impression will this young foreign medical student have of Ghana? If you asked me, not only would he not want to vacation in our country next time, but he may advise others against it. Why do some Ghanaians with lucrative jobs overseas, including my friends discussed above, think it wise to undertake such a business venture in the country of their birth (Ghana)? Well, our politicians and some concerned Ghanaians who want to see our country advance, have persistently called on Ghanaians living abroad to come back and help develop the country. Fortunately, there are many selfless Ghanaians who heed this call and give up their lucrative jobs and relocate to our country, only to be forced out by corruptive activities, such as armed robbery, drug-trafficking etc. What examples are we setting for the younger generations living overseas who also have dreams of relocating to Ghana one day to help develop our country? I have spoken to a few Ghanaians who came to the United States recently, and they have said, in unequivocal terms, that they will “never go back to Ghana, because our country is on a path to become worse than Mexico in drug trafficking and armed robbery.” Ghana has now become a major conduit for trafficking illegal drugs to Europe. Is our government willing to turn in those in their ranks who participate in such illegal activities? As disheartening as it may be, I don’t think I would be telling the truth if I answered in the affirmative. What are our officials doing to ensure the safety of the citizenry? What are our officials doing to ensure that our lands and businesses are mostly acquired by our citizens and not criminals from foreign countries? Sadly, our politicians will do nothing about this problem as long as they are bribed to look the other way. To tell you the truth, some of our politicians would agree to relocate Satan from hell to our country if the price was right.
Frankly, this menace doesn’t appear to affect our politicians in the least. Ex-president Kufour and his then ministers had the military to protect them. Even as citizens, they have the financial means to acquire their own security personnel. Likewise, President Mills and his ministers have all the protection that money can buy; I haven’t heard anything concrete from them about how they plan to deal with this menace. The NPP and the NDC are giving the masses the impression that they are permutations of what’s wrong with Ghana politics. (Could the CPP party be our last hope?). Succinctly put, our politicians have no sense of urgency in relation to the armed robbery menace, because their families and whatever belongs to them are well protected. What about ordinary Ghanaians—our uncles, grandparents, brothers, sisters, aunts—who don’t have the financial wherewithal to acquire their own security personnel? Sadly, they are at the mercy of these criminals. How did we as a nation get to this point? Most Ghanaians point the finger at homegrown criminals as well as foreigners who have invaded our country—specifically, Liberians and Nigerians. Liberians were brought into our country because of a civil war in their country. This war has been over for a long time and one is left to wonder why we still have them in our country. Some of these Liberians have been involved in prostitution and other criminal activities in Ghana. Do we have any reason to wonder why the incidence of AIDS/HIV has surpassed malaria and stroke as the leading causes of death in our country? (HIV/AIDS overtakes malaria and stroke ..., Ghanaweb, 18 March 2009). I am not a xenophobe but I believe it’s about time we have a policy in place to enforce the mandate to return Liberians to their homeland.
Nigerians are among the worst perpetrators of crime in the world. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, dead or alive. They have ruined their reputation to the extent that some of them living in the United States try to hide their identities when dealing with others. Their so-called 419 schemes have led some to commit suicide because they lost all their life-savings, and led others to commit homicide, including a preacher’s wife (see story at http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,265605,00.html). If these corrupt Nigerians have ruined their reputation world-wide, why should we allow them into our country under the guise of establishing businesses in our country? (Of course, not every Nigerian who has emigrated to Ghana is a criminal). According to a recent publication, the influx of Nigerians to our country doubled after the elections (Nigerians Flee To Ghana. Ghanaweb, February 15, 2009). One may rightfully ask, “why this sudden increase?” Could it be because some of them with criminal motives think they would feel at home under the new administration? Or could it be because they believe president Mills is too soft to crackdown on their illegal activities? Or could it be that they are invading our country because of recent laws in Nigeria which mete out immediate, expedient, and severe punishment to those caught in this scam? Well, the answer is “all of the above.” The unvarnished truth is that if our government does not crackdown on corrupt politicians and if the influx of foreign criminals to our country is not expunged, then in the near future, Ghana will become “inhabitable” to Ghanaians, especially to those living abroad. President Mills should exhibit a modicum of concern in relation to this menace by, first of all, prosecuting both present and former corrupt politicians, starting with JJ Rawlings, the founding father of GARI (Ghana Armed Robbery Incorporated). He can also take a cue from Botswana-- an African country, which is known to repatriate anybody who enters their country illegally-- and expel these foreign criminals. (See: http://www.amren.com/mtnews/archives/2008/12/5000_deported_f.php). This is a radical problem that needs a radical solution. In stead of our current president becoming proactive in fighting these hardened criminals, he is preoccupied with using our limited resources to purchase luxury cars for his staff members and former NDC ministers, and paying off Newspapers to cover-up his incompetence ((Mills' Boys Drive Posh Cars, Ghanaweb, March 27, 2009). The status quo isn’t helping hardworking and poor Ghanaians who need their peace of mind in these times of dire economic hardships. We need a leader who means business, and wouldn’t hesitate to kill these armed robbers. Forgive me for being pessimistic, but I don’t see that kind of tough leadership quality in President Mills, who would even listen to Rawlings’ advice before that of Jesus. Could the serial killer and truculent ex-president (Rawlings) fit the job description better, in this case? Well, I don’t think President Mills has the guts to issue harsh penalties for all those caught in armed robbery and drug-trafficking activities in Ghana. Some people may disagree with me at this point because of a recent publication on Ghanaweb, which told the story of how one governmental agency deported seven foreigners (GIS deports seven foreigners from the country, March 27, 2009). I am not in the least impressed by this simply because this act was limited in scope in that it relied on the public to “turn in” people with “suspicious character.” What is the meaning of “suspicious character,” if I may ask? Does it mean a foreigner who resides in our country legally but selling illegal drugs OR a foreigner who is in our country illegally but peddling food items to fend for his/her starving family in his/her country of origin? What do our politicians plan to do about Ghanaians who are engaged in illegal activities in our country? Do we have incentives for Ghanaians that will give one a reason to turn in relatives or friends who are engaged in illegal activities, such as drug-trafficking? In light of this problem, which seems to be getting worse with each day, do we have the zeal to amend our laws pertaining to such activities in Ghana?
Personally, I think we should institute harsh punishments for anyone caught in such activities, whether Ghanaian or foreigner. One viable option—and perhaps, my favorite-- is to re-instate the death penalty by firing squad as a means to deter other wannabe thieves from criminal activities that are undermining the very foundation of our country. (I endorse the use of “firing squad” as an avenue to eliminate hardened criminals from our society because these criminals rob and kill their innocent and defenseless victims if they have to. I DO NOT endorse this mode of punishment as a way to intimidate or kill off political opponents). We vote our politicians into office to help restore the image, security, and prosperity for which our founding fathers shed their blood. Ghanaians voted Mills into power, thinking he might be better than ex-president Kufour. Obviously, he is turning out to be worse than the ex-president whom he often criticized. Ghanaians need to get more bang for their buck, and if all that Mills can do as a president is to fulfill all of Rawlings’ mandates, then we might as well be ruled by that murderer himself. This proposition shouldn’t seem far-fetched; because, after all, doesn’t Mills consult Rawlings for advice 24/7?
The author can be reached via nanaakwasitwumasi@googlemail.com