Neutering the Narco-Beasts: A Menace to Ghana’s Democratic Credentials and the Health of Nation’s Economy

I am bemused by the state of affairs in our nation’s war on narco-terrorism, and I don’t think that, any Ghanaian is amused, either, by the symbolic tokenisms in our criminal justice system. I am not into behaviour psychology. However, I think that, the indifference of the state to pre-empt with the naro-threat to our nation’s security, and international respectability, is creating an environment that supports the narco-industry.

If left unchecked, the resurging narco-establishment will undermine the legitimate authority of the state by creating parallel power-blocs. One can imagine the ensuing chaos, if the centrality of the State is challenged, and the monopoly of the government to use legitimate force to alter criminal behaviour becomes an ineffectual concept in name only

While my article is not to fault any single individual in the nation’s leadership, I think that, Ghanaians must redirect the government to review the repercussions of increased narco-peddling on the health of our nation’s economy, and the threats it poses to our physical security. In post-September 11 politics, the imminent danger we face, as a nation, does not come from Islamic Mujaheedins, but rather a home-grown criminal narco-underworld; a conscienceless sub-national actors with insatiable appetite for criminal wealth using unconventional modus.

The incarceration of Amoateng, the arrest of Appiah-Menka Jr, the conviction of Andrew Jonah and Nyaho-Tamakloe Jr, and the trial of Kwabena “Tagor" Amaning, and Alhaji Abbass raises serious questions about the moral compass of the Ghanaian leadership, and the(ir) commitment to weed out the burgeoning narco-industry. In a related topic, the recent arrest, trial and acquittal of the Akyempinhene of the Agogo Traditional Area, Nana Kwame Bonsu, is a testament to the extent to which the “White Poison of the Andes” has leached into the moral space of nation’s social elite, and custodians of the rule of law.

Sad as it sounds, the nation’s Police Service has become a courier-agency for escorting drugs both within, and across the geo-territorial borders of, Ghana. It was not a surprise to some of us when we heard that certain personnel within the nation’s Police Service were arrested, and interdicted, for aiding certain narco-lords to transport cocaine across our borders to the Ivory Coast. This trans-sovereign transgression by agents of the state, in my mind, is treasonous, and the laws must be applied without any compunction.

If the alleged transmission of threatening text messages, by the nation’s narco-emirs, to the Mr. Patrick Kwarteng Acheampong, is true, then, it confirms my long-held worry that Ghana is inching close to the status of a Narco-State. While I am not an advocate of violence in any way, I understand why the Inspector General of Police has become a target of the nation’s narco-entrepreneurs. During his sworn deposition at the Justice Wood’s Committee, it became public knowledge that, the Inspector General of Police was the bosom friend of Alhaji Issah Abbas for more than a quarter of a century.

If during their years of friendship, Mr. Kwarteng who was then a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), failed to establish the true vocation of his bosom friend, then suffice me to say that, Mr. Kwarteng do not have hat it takes to head the nation’s Police Service, and must be dismissed. What actionable intelligence did Mr. Kwarteng provide to the Justice Wood Committee to force the State to classify his testimony under the State Secret Act? What did he know a priori, yet failed to inform his superiors? A narco-sympathizer in league with an established narco-dealer is as dangerous as the dealer himself, and Alhaji Abbas is not an ordinary “street-chemist.” Is he?

There are many unanswered questions about the Kofi-Boakye’s role in Alhaji Abbas/Kwabena Amaning’s case. Through whom did Kofi Boakye come to know these notorious narcotic-kingpins? For how long did he know them? Why would a senior police officer invite narco-dealers to his official residence to wine and dine them? Was Kofi-Boakye ever involved in any unauthorized narco-operations in the past? If so, why was the Police Service silent on Kofi-Boakye’s past misconduct until recently? Why is Kofi-Boakye still on interdiction after the completion of police investigation? Why wouldn’t the state reinstate him if there isn’t incriminating evidence linking him to the narco-enterprise? Why should Kofi-Boakye be paid his monthly entitlements, and what is the moral justification behind his enjoyment of official privileges?

Despite the Judge Dotse’s effort to subpoena Ben Ndego, the Director of Operations/NACOB, to testify in the Alhaji Abbas’ and Kwabena Amaning’s case, the named witness, whose role in trapping Alhaji Abbas, and Kwabena Amaning is equally suspicious, is currently in London defying the order(s) of the court. What program is he enrolled in? And, is he coming back home to head an agency of the state, despite many unanswered questions about alleged involvement in the criminal narco-underworld? It is only in Ghanaian politics that we allow ferocious cats to become sentries to weak mice, all in the name of political convenience.

While some NPP loyalists would argue that increased arrests of narco-traffickers is an affirmation of the government’s commitment to eradicating narcotics from the nation, the rate of conviction vis-à-vis the rate of interdiction tells a different story. So far, Ghana has been successful in jailing the middlemen and women in the narco-business, while their financiers continue to expand their operations.

The misapplication of bail by the nation’s criminal system is an incentive for the nation’s narco-criminals. Many Ghanaian narco-dealers, including their Nigerian allies, have exploited the magnanimity of our laws, the ignorance of our judges, and the greed of certain law enforcement officials to escape the dragnet of the law; all for a buck. It is not my place to tell the Ghanaian government what to do to neuter these wealthy criminals. Afterall, everybody knows that, I am avid advocate of capital punishment, and the death of a convicted felon doesn’t bring tears to my eye(s).

The destabilization of the Republic will not come from the military, but from a disheveled armed gang financed from the proceeds of narco-goods. This is not a story conjured from Obenewaa’s horrid imagination. Instead, it is a citizen’s lamentation for her nation about an ill-omened doom. Let’s engage each other on this serious issue to change he course of justice. “Funtum wuo esane mbatatwene.”

Hope all is well. Good day and cheers.