Opinions of Saturday, 26 September 2015

Columnist: Daily Guide

Political madness

Prince Derrick Adjei is in the news once more for the wrong reasons. This time it is about a political indiscretion, the far-reaching implications of which can only be imagined.

Obsession with winning the hearts of party supporters at the forthcoming primaries of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) does not mean forgetting to put on one’s thinking cap. Otherwise why would the young man post his posters on the walls of a public security outfit such as a police station at Dansoman and does not find anything unseemly about such a goof?

Such a desecration of the walls of the police station has strangely not attracted any query from the police. Perhaps they dread incurring the wrath of some politicians somewhere on the corridors of power.

Under the circumstance, we shudder to think what would happen should other political parties follow suit and post their posters on the walls of the Divisional Headquarters of the law enforcement agency. What a nasty scene that would be! We do not think that it would be in our national interest to turn our law enforcement stations into billboards for politicians, no matter which side of the political divide they belong.

Such blatant disrespect for the police which has led to this lad doing what he did calls for the condemnation of all, regardless of their political affiliations.

When politicians start posting their campaign posters on the walls of the police headquarters, such persons would have taken a cue from the Dansoman nonsense.

It is heartbreaking that the Divisional Commander is unable to gather the courage to order the removal of the posters on the walls of the division, even if he is unable to summon the said Derrick Adjei to his office.

The Inspector General of Police must intervene in this matter before it escalates and robs the police the courage to stamp their authority where this is necessary.

Law enforcement installations, just like other public places, are not billboards and under no circumstances should they be treated as such by megalomaniacs who erroneously think that they can do as they please because their party is in power.

It beats our imagination that a normal adult educated as it is the case, can abuse the transient power his party is wielding now to desecrate a public place such as a police station by posting his posters.

If some policemen are part of the voting NDC supporters and it is these cops that Derrick is directing his message to, we are yet to be informed. Until we get such information, it is our take that the politician is ordered to remove the posters and to find alternative places to display them.

We are dreaming of a time when law enforcement agents would be intrepid enough to enforce the law, regardless of who the defaulters are.