A gun in the hands of the untrained is a danger to all... Mansa Musa writes

The Kofi Adoma Nwanwani incident.

In my country Ghana, do we have rules governing the use of firearms in public domain. Has the police activated the investigation process.

_The most dangerous gunman is the one who's not trained in weapons handling_

There's more to this unfortunate incident than the filthy throwaway gossips, the vile pronouncements being spewed on social media.

Yes, common sense demands that we as humans in this civilised times would request to know the what happened, the where, the how and the why certain mishap had taken place or occurred. The same human sensibilities demands certain level of decorum in public discourse on even the simplest or the most trivial of matters of common interest. We will return to this later.

In the case of the unfortunate but avoidable incident that took place at the kingdom of Dormaa, during the 25th anniversary celebrations of Domaahene's enstoolment. The disturbing information we heard was that the lead anchor of a media delegation, who were there to cover the otherwise colourful display and demonstration of a popular culture and tradition in all its beauty of pump and purpose.

Unfortunately what happened at the durbah grounds to the lead anchor, Mr. Kofi Adomah, the accident/incident which have completely overshadowed and marred the purpose and beauty of that grand occasion. Mr. Kofi Adomah suffered injuries to the face caused by being shot at in close proximity by an untrained gun-wielding maniac. I, after seeing the incident in a clip which was posted on social media, am appalled to the highest degree indeed. This was something which shouldn't have happened. This was an accident or incident waiting to happen.

We now know that Mr. Kofi Adomah and radio/tv crew members were sent to Dormaa traditional area to provide media coverage of a rich cultural activity organised by the Dormaa people for Dormaahene, his subjects and for Ghanaians generally. The info is that the media crew arrived and started doing their thing as normal as may be. Then at a point, one of the organisers of the programme asked Mr. Adomah to take position at a particular spot, just behind a musketeer. Mr. Adomah obliged and what happened afterwards is what has got all us busy with rather mostly unprofessional and unpleasant commentaries on social media platforms.

What happened and How did it happen. Health & Safety protocols completely absent.

The story goes that Mr. Adomah got himself standing next to a musketeer, Kofi with camera in hand, and the musketeer wielding a rudimental-made gun in hand pointing somehow backwards and sidewise. Then unexpectedly out pops a sound of gunshot. A cursory look at the short video provided on social media reveals to the most average and the least knowledgeable person in Health & Safety protocols, the lack of safety precautions required in such situations in the use of firearms in public domain. Every knowledgeable person in the use of firearms will reaffirm the well-known adage which states that _the most dangerous gunman is the one who's not trained in the use of weapons._ and what's shown in the video clearly confirmed the danger posed by the untrained gun user.

A gun in the hands of the untrained is a danger to all, including himself

Indeed the first most cardinal of instructions in weapons training states that _someone or a person in the possession of the gun should never point the gun on or to or towards or in the direction of a friend in just_. This in simple language means that a person holding a gun should never point his or her gun towards, to, at, or in the direction of another person if that person is not an enemy(in a clear legally defined terms), not even in playful roles, whether the gun is loaded or not.

This rule is sacrosanct and must be adhered to and obeyed at all times. It is within this context one can clearly see a grievous violations that resulted in the unfortunate, undeserved, avoidable, illegal and criminal maiming of a person who was at a public space, carrying out mundane but important tasks. This unfortunate but avoidable incidents and others will continue unless we as a society begin to awaken ourselves and to arrive at modernity of times and to readjust to the correct acceptable ways of doing things. we have to select our priorities to reflect the necessary and necessities or essences in relation to types of governance, from central to local levels.

Prayers is good but only adherence to rule of law can save us

There are few choices to make here. The adherence and acceptability, the adaptability to the rule of law or the mob rule of lawlessness or stick with prayers. In parts of the world where strict adherence to rule of law is the name of the game, every aspect of their earthly living is controlled and dictated by nothing but the laws of the land. Prayers to the deity is a matter for the individual. For this reason every activity undertaken by the state or by group of people and by persons privately must come in conformity with the sovereign laws.

Anyone in possession of firearms should have the minimum health & Safety training

Every or any activity that will involve or will include the use of fire arms automatically falls under a setout rules and regulatory measures. So for instance, during occasions of nationals ceremonies, the rules governing use of firearms in the public domain must be observed, adhered to and obeyed strictly and at all times. In the United kingdom should any accident or incidents happen during the use of mortars to fire 21 gun salutes, should a soldier or civilian be injured or wounded or killed, it becomes the duty of the police to investigate. They do this, to as they say, _to learn lessons, never to be repeated._ In my country Ghana, has the state or anyone thought of any investigations, into this Kofi Adomah incident? Or as the case is, we are only interested in the never ending, the endless merry-go-round, happy-clappy carrousel of police hierarchy changes.

Rules governing use of firearms. Do we have them

Do we have rules governing the use of firearms in public domain? As stated, looking at the short video clip of that incident, one can see a clear misuse of firearm in public domain. Who in their correct functioning faculties would press the trigger to discharge bullets or pallets from a gun in public without due diligence and care in and around the vicinities. Who shoots either sidewise, sideways and or backwards in clear violations of rules which commands us to make sure the gun is not pointed to any living thing. The person who's careless use of a gun caused a near fatal injury to Kofi Adomah had no regard to any possible or imminent damage to persons, animals or to properties. When we talk of safety of citizens and the general state security, it isn't just about accolades and titles and obviously not just the handshakes and adulations.

Structures of state. Does it benefit society

The state must have structures and those structures must work to benefit society otherwise everything becomes meaningless. Not long ago, one of Ghana's most adored composers, a performer and a good singer died from alleged or apparent indiscretions of medical staff. I am referring to the late KODA who actually until his demise, made a public cry for help which never came. the state and society which prays a lot didn't care about his plight. He died, just like that. Today, those medical persons who committed that homicide are walking, breathing, drinking and eating and enjoying life. Nobody is being subjected to the demands of accountability and responsibility.

How civilised are we

We claim to belong to world civilisations but such recklessness, such carelessness and carefree attitudes does not reign in civilise places in this world. I will leave the question about reparation or compensations, insurance regimes and the rest to the lawyers, but when it comes to adherence to rule of law in reference to health and safety, we are far behind and a long way to go. No wonder our political class, the elites prefer to have their hospitals and even their prison cells in faraway law abiding and law respecting countries. I wish Mr. Kofi Adomah all the best and a speedy recovery but truth be told, Kofi, you and the rest of Ghanaians are living in a hopelessly bad country, crocked and disjointed, in all forms. Very sad but that's the truth, the bottom line. As it stands, the rest of humanity is living black Africa behind. What a bloody shame.