Common Sense

The year is October 2017 and once again another disaster rocked the nation when a gas tanker exploded at one of the gas stations at Atomic Junction, a suburb of Accra. As tragic as the incident was, methinks it could have been prevented if people responsible had applied common sense and performed their respective duties with due diligence. Seven lives were lost with hundreds of people injured, some very critical and life threatening. As we express our condolences and sympathies to the bereaved and the injured, we have to start a serious common sense awareness in this country. Because it seems common sense has eluded us in this country. One will ask why I am ranting and wasting my time to write this? Let me give you my reasons.

Common sense should tell us that we have to rethink our safety standards. Institutions tasked with ensuring safety standards should not just issue directives, but follow up with action. It seems in Ghana, it is more talk, less action when it comes to the enforcement of laws.

Common sense should also tell us that, we should not wait for disasters to happen for people to lose their lives so that our leaders turn the disaster zones into tourist centers and wax lyrically expressing fake sympathies and condolences to the families of the bereaved and injured. I hate to see politicians visiting disaster zones behaving as if their visits would assuage the pains of those affected.

Common sense should tell us that, the government should resource our rescue agencies, and also train them properly for them to be ready to respond to any disaster that might occur. Those at the helm of affairs should also recruit the right people into these rescue agencies and not because of political affiliation to the party in power.

Common sense should tell us that most of the disasters that happen in Ghana are purely man-made and could be avoided if we adhere to rules and regulations governing the siting of fuel stations, gas stations, markets, recreational centers, schools etc etc.

Our journalists or media houses should also apply some common sense when reporting on disasters. They should not conclude when even the relevant investigative agencies have not yet started their investigations. They should also be decorous in their reportage of such issues and contact experts for clarifications concerning the disasters.

Common sense should also tell us that disaster zones are disaster zones and not tourist sites. Anytime crowds of people gather at disaster zones they prevent the rescue and investigative agencies from doing their work well.

Common sense should also tell us that we should not have sympathy for people who flout the laws and we should allow the laws of the land to deal with them to the letter to serve as a deterrent to others. Common sense should also be applied by the relevant authorities when granting permits for the siting of buildings. Due diligence and complete risk assessments should be done before permits are granted.

Our pavements in our towns and cities have been taken over by traders, everyone is trying to sell one thing or the other to eke out a living but the relevant authorities must apply the laws with precision and with no favour. Any time you walk around you should know that a disaster can happen anytime and the rippling effect can be very devastating. When lives are lost during disasters, the visits by politicians, government officials and those who could have prevented those disasters cannot bring the dead back to life.

Ghana is sitting on a time bomb and the earlier we changed our attitudes and applied common sense in our daily activities, there will be more gas/fuel station explosions, floods, fire outbreaks etc.