Stemming The Acid Menace

The need to regulate the sale of the various categories of acids has never been so exigent. The statistics are not readily available but the number of persons who have been permanently incapacitated through acid attacks is worrying.

Thirty-year-old Henrietta Amoah has lost her vision after an acid attack by her fiancé a few weeks before their wedding. She is on admission at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital; her face no longer the beautiful one that it was.

The trauma on experiencing visual impairment at this age is something which can only be imagined. Her parents and siblings will painfully come to terms with the reality. As for the fact it was a fiancé who caused it, they can never understand why their daughter and sister should suffer such unnecessary and permanent tribulation.

A few years ago, a New Patriotic Party (NPP) activist in the Techiman North constituency in the Brong-Ahafo Region, Peter Mensah, suffered an acid attack from NDC elements. He suffered his fate because his vociferousness on the local radio was a source of worry to the rival party. Confessions have been made but nobody is doing time in jail for causing the harm and pain.

He was seriously disfigured and had to be flown to Germany for a plastic surgery to restore his looks - feat made possible through voluntary contribution of philanthropists and the party. Although he has returned, he certainly would not recover fully his lost features.

Adams Mahama is still being mourned, the latest victim of acid attack.

Dangerous substances which mishandling can be fatal or which can be used to cause serious bodily harm and even death should be controlled.

The ease with which such substances can be acquired and used to achieve the foregone objectives demands that legislation be passed to ensure that those who acquire them can be tracked when it becomes necessary.

It would also be necessary to deny certain categories of persons the possession of such substances.

Citizens must be protected from crazy persons who, unable to control their anger, will do anything to destroy the lives of those they are peeved with.

The pain and the eventual incapacitation or even death which victims of acid attacks suffer is indescribable.

The possession of these corrosives, and if you like lethal substances, should be made tough as it is with firearms.

Now that there are persons being held who allegedly perpetrated deadly or harmful actions on their fellow human beings, we have an opportunity to exact deterring actions.

The proclivity to turn to acid attack in place of firearms is becoming frighteningly commonplace. If nothing is done by way of legislation and now, it will get to a time when the appetite to resort to the acids would get out of hand.

Concentrated sulphuric, hydrochloric and nitrite acids are dangerous corrosive substances which should not be in the hands of lunatics, devious persons or those who are unable to control their anger.

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