Ghanaian Times: Peace, Peace, Peace!!!

In the name of the Almighty God, We the people of Ghana, in the exercise of our natural and inalienable rights to establish a framework of government, which shall secure for ourselves and posterity the blessings of liberty, equality of opportunity and prosperity; In a spirit of friendship and peace with all peoples of the world; and in solemn declaration and affirmation of our commitment to freedom, justice, and accountability; the principles that all powers of government spring from the sovereign will of the people; the principle of Universal Adult Suffrage;

The Rule of Law; The protection and preservation of Fundamental Human Rights and Freedom, Unity and Stability for our Nation; Do hereby adopt, enact, and give to ourselves this Constitution.

We have decided to begin our editorial comment with the opening statement of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, which represents the spirit and soul of our country.

The fundamental principle underlining our constitution is peace because the Constitution spells out rules and regulations to govern our lives so that we live in peace with one another under the umbrella of one people, one nation with a common destiny.

Without these rules and regulations, there will be no peace. And so, we are required to abide by these rules and regulations to maintain law and order for the state of Ghana to continue to flourish.

We have adopted the concept of democracy under which we periodically hold elections to choose our leaders – the president and members of Parliament – to steer the affairs of our country.

Indeed, elections are supposed to be moments of joy as they offer the opportunity for us to hold our leaders accountable for the four years that we have entrusted the destiny of the country into their hands.

Regrettably, elections come with anxiety and fear of the country going up in flames, a situation that makes every stakeholder to preach peace.

Of course, in the marketplace of ideas, there are bound to be disagreements and conflicts.

There are benefits in conflicts. They open our eyes to new ideas, offer the opportunity to ventilate our needs, teach us to listen and to learn the patterns of behaviour, and significantly lead to solutions to problems.

What we must continuously guard against is violent conflict!

We have over the years demonstrated our commitment to free, fair, and credible elections, and in doing so, we have held together in steadfast a rather volatile sub-region.

Suffice it to add that we are touted as a beacon of democracy and the international community is watching us once more. We cannot afford to fail!

It is in the light of this that we commend the security agencies and the National Commission for Civic Education for embarking on a peace march yesterday dubbed ‘Tafiya Lafiya’, to educate the public about the need to exercise their franchise and assuring the people of a peaceful environment.

Article 41 section(i) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana states that it shall be the duty of every citizen: “to co-operate with lawful agencies in the maintenance of law and order.”

Others have expressed the view that the huge presence of the security agencies is meant to put fear in members of the public.

It is our humble opinion that the Tafiya Lafiya has been conducted with all good intentions to tell the public that their security is assured for peaceful, credible, and fair polls.

We urge the electorate to come out in their numbers to demonstrate once more our capability and to choose our leaders in a very orderly and peaceful manner.