Fixing The Anomalies in Ghana: Must Someone Always Die Before Leaders Do The Needful?

I write as a concerned citizen to express my candid opinion on how things are done in this country.

There are a lot of nuisances going on in this country, but it seems our leaders don't see it until an innocent soul is lost or sacrificed. Are we safe?

The death of an innocent police officer which occurred on 14th June 2021 at Adedenpo, a suburb of James Town in Accra following a robbery attack has left many people with thought-provoking questions. But the most outstanding question is must people die in this country before we do the right thing? This is annoying, to say the least.

One key quality of a good leader is being pragmatic and having foresight- the ability to apprehend complex situation ahead of time. The authorities are working on their blindsides, therefore unable to apprehend potential dangers ahead of time. Pressing problems that require urgent action today is the direct result of a lack of anticipation in the past, and often draw resources away from more important tasks.

Bullion van attacks have been witnessed in this country, yet no pragmatic steps have been put in place.

citinewsroom.com reported in February 2021 that five suspects were arrested for attacking a bullion van belonging to the Delta Security Company, which was transporting cash amounting to GHC 500,000 from the Ghana Commercial Bank, Dunkwa Branch to New Edubiase Branch. In the attack, a police Constable by the name of General Lance Corporal Baba Martin was killed in the process.

If the security personnel's are no longer secured, then no one can think of being in a peaceful and safe country. In our daily endeavours, we miss death narrowly.

The most annoying thing is that the leaders of the country and institutions become conscious whenever a tragedy befalls the country. After the sad incident happened, a press statement released from police headquarters, Accra instructed bankers to provide fortified armoured vehicles for carting currencies by the close of June 2021 as earlier agreed between them and the police service, lest the police withdraw its officers for escort duties.

Until the agreed date is up, the situation remains the same.

A real decision is measured by the fact that you have taken a new action. If there is no action, you haven't truly decided(Tony Robbins).

Had it not been the death of the police officer, this wouldn't have been in the public domain. Should days be given to fix a problem that is killing people? This should not just be talked over and vamoose into thin air like the way similar issues became the topic of discussion and later disappeared.

The system has made criminals more wicked. Criminals have adopted new tactics and institutions have to reinvent and reorient themselves to meet the fast-paced strategies adopted by armed robbers and other bad nuts in society. Short powerful guns should be used aside from the normal AK47. How can one shoot from a bullion van with long Ak47? By the time you position the gun, several shots would have reached you. One or two police officers in a bullion van cannot fight 6 armed robbers.

Ghana for a very long time has been a reactive continent rather than being proactive one. We have to sit up as a country and think ahead. The political football game is sending us to our early graves.

Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results, not attributes. —Peter Drucker.

May the soul of the fine-looking police officer, Constable Emmanuel Osei rest in peace.

May God bless our homeland Ghana and make it great and strong.

Prince Ayerakwa

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