The Peacetime In Ghana Collapsing?

By Abdul Karim Issifu

 “Globally, Ghana is noted for her democratic practice. The country has witnessed more than two decades of democratic political transitions from 1992 to 2016. Ghana continues to play a key role in peacekeeping missions in other war devastated countries. 

However, in recent times, a series of threats to democracy and security could ruin the enviable peacetime that Ghana is currently enjoying. There are testaments from elsewhere that shows unemployment, history of past wars, poverty and weak state was the causes of civil war onset in countries like Syria, Sierra Leone, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, DR Congo, Central Africa Republic and many more.
In the past five weeks or so, a significant number of protests and demonstrations, which first of all are organized by the citizenry against structural violence (unemployment, poverty, social suffering) perceived as poor governance, which later turns physical violence due to the limited number of police and military control and unprofessional retaliation (sign of a weak state) are evidence that Ghana could be ploughed into civil war.

Is it a fallacy to believe that Ghanaians are ‘fearos’--(timid)? Ghanaians have been warlike since time immemorial. They won their independence in March 6, 1957 through the tore and blood of their forefathers. And there is no ethnic group in Ghana that did not wage war for the space or territory in their current locations. This is why Ghana means a ‘warrior’.

Think about the Denkyira Obuasi saga, the KNUST effect, the Madina-Adenta story, police-military clashes, attacks on politico figures, and the number of ethnic, chieftaincy and religious conflicts across the country. Are the Ghanaian people capable of anything?

The high rate of unemployment, poverty, social suffering, and inadequate police and military personnel coupled with other weak state problems of political vigilantism uprising and the warlike nature of the Ghanaian gives a strong explanatory power to the argument above.

The Ghanaian government should first of all, invest in social services and security; increase the number of security personnel, and hold in-service and profession training for the personnel. Second, an enabling environment should be created by the government by cutting down nuisance taxes for the private sector to be able to employ more people. Finally, other state institutions should be strengthened and empowered with both logistics and human resources to function well”.

*Abdul Karim Issifu is West Africa Peace Ambassador Network (WAPAN) (Issifu.wapan@gmail.com)