Are Ghanaians Not Entitled To State Protection From Fraudsters?

I will not attempt to go too deep into what the duties of a government are supposed to be because I do not know. In fact I am a layman with very little or no knowledge at all about what governments are supposed to do or what not to do. Within the confines of this limited knowledge however, I do know that in matters that go beyond my own personal control but affect the society in which we all live, I can count on my government, through its various agencies, to offer me some protection. Regrettably, however, this is not what appears to be happening in Ghana.

On a normal day you may be tempted to question whether there is any claim one is not permitted to make publicly especially if it is made in the form of, or under the guise of, religion or advertisement. Especially on radio and television but not excluding public disturbance on our streets, market and public areas and sometimes on public transport, the Ghanaian citizen is being bombarded with all sorts of bizarre claims under the guise of advertisement. Apart from outright lies and bogus claims perhaps what's even more disturbing is the vulgar and indecent language being fed our youth through various forms of adverts. Systematically, through radio and TV, people's minds are being poisoned, for example, into believing that whichever means one takes to make money is acceptable and that every word or statement is appropriate at all times. Yet nobody is doing anything about it.

Is There a Difference Between 'Sakawa' And 'Sikaduro'?

Some time ago the word 'sikaduro' (which may be literally translated as 'juju' money) was only mentioned in the rumour mill. In fact the issue was so sensitive that attributing someone's source of wealth to it was considered an insult. But what do we see on our TV stations nowadays? Full-faced men and women making bold claims of their ability to make people rich overnight and displaying for the cameras what is supposed to be cash conjured from the spirit world. So let someone tell me: wouldn't it be an infringement of any laws of the country for anyone to make a public claim that he/she can produce counterfeit money? Or if on the other hand, such claims turn out to be bogus would it not amount to deceiving the public by false pretences? Again, would it be an offence or not for a 'Sakawa' or '419' practitioner to appear on TV to display his expertise and by so doing recruit people to the practice? Simply put, what is the difference between counterfeit cash and 'sikaduro' cash? At the very least both of them can be classified as 'dirty money'. So why should anyone be allowed to sit on TV to make claims of their ability to produce 'dirty money' for people, and ironically in exchange for clean money? Just how lawless can a country be in the name of 'freedom' of whatever?

Modern Day Slavery?
A news item currently doing the rounds is the reported case of some 2,000 Ghanaian nationals, mostly women, being stranded in the Gulf Region and now calling for government assistance to bring them back home. Of course these compatriots of ours are only victims of aggressive adverts on our airwaves of mouth-watering employment opportunities 'abroad'. Some of these adverts include offers for interested Ghanaians to study and work abroad with supposed 'two-year working visas' for virtually every country under the sun. But then, how do you blame the ignorant victims? They just don't know that most of these so-called recruitment agencies are only out there to dupe them. And of course it's not as if there's no one out there in the relevant state institutions who knows. So why isn't anything being done to protect our nationals from the hands of fraudsters?

Indonesia and Ethiopia Have Taken The Lead
With specific reference to the plight of Ghanaian women in the Gulf region we are being told that the increased demand for their services in recent times is an indirect result of Ethiopia and Indonesia banning their citizens from going to work as virtual slaves in those countries. Yes, I think that's an example of measures responsible governments can take to protect their citizens. But what are we in Ghana doing to protect our own from being sold into slavery? For God's sake don't let anyone come out with any argument about freedom of anything unless of course we think it's right for us to sit down and fold our arms for a slave ship to berth at Tema and Takoradi Ports to cart our citizens away into slavery abroad before we start debating whether we should 'rescue' them or not?

While I don't intend to wade into the controversy of whether or not the government should organise a 'rescue mission' for our ladies reportedly stranded in the Gulf I wish to draw the attention of the government, through the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, to take appropriate measures to protect the Ghanaian public from the several vulgar, indecent and X-rated pronouncements being broadcast as adverts on our airwaves daily. They should also ensure that the activities of persons and organisations harassing people, especially the youth, by radio announcements, posters and banners with bogus and fraudulent offers of non-existing job and educational opportunities in foreign countries are curtailed. At the same time the National Council for Civic Education (NCCE) should also be seen to be educating the Ghanaian public to be wary of bogus adverts. This is the only way to ensure that Ghanaians are not sold into modern day slavery in foreign countries.

Kwame Twumasi-Fofie
[email protected]
Sunyani