A country losing its values

The consistency in the unprovoked attacks on supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) by their National Democratic Congress (NDC) counterparts appears to be getting out of hand.

The attackers have been emboldened by the marked selectiveness and apathy on the part of law enforcement agents: their commanders too scared of being punitively transferred to remote parts of the country. Cases reported are tagged political and therefore abandoned by the Police for convenience.

Electoral Officers are transferred upon the demand of NDC operatives in the regions when they exhibit strictness in the performance of their tasks: our democracy is headed for the precipice.

In Suhum, a couple of days ago, the crudest of attacks yet took place.

The political activists, obviously drawing their impunity from an obvious association with the Eastern Regional Minister, descended upon ladies whose only 'crime' was campaigning for Nana Akufo Addo.

So bad was the attack that one of the victims who needed to urinate was denied the chance to do so by the hoodlums. Her human dignity was abused by her attackers as she wet herself in the presence of the crooks.

We are saddened by the degenerating morality on the political landscape. More and more Ghanaians are becoming despondent; the image of the Ghana Police Service under its current crop of leadership listing rather worryingly.

The question can be posed as to whether it is not becoming dangerous to campaign for another political party besides the ruling NDC? Ghanaians are, day in and day out, cornered and their freedoms are under threat. They stand helpless as the Police fold their arms and look away when they come under attack as the ladies did in Suhum, their image completely battered.

The Inspector General of Police (IGP) is yet to convince Ghanaians that he is up to the task of managing internal security professionally in the country without showing his political colours. Little wonder when he assured the nation that he would be on top of his assignment many sneered in disbelief. We too did and we have been proven right so far.

He has not even issued a reassuring statement to calm the nerves of his compatriots against the backdrop of the Kukuom incident and now Suhum which involves NDC hoodlums chasing ladies as if they were on the trail of game in the bush.

As for the National Peace Council, they have subtly showed that they are unable to handle the unfolding state of lawlessness being perpetrated by hoodlums drawing their authority from the ruling party.

As if the foregone is not enough, Lukman Abubakar, student leader, at the time of composing this commentary is still being held by the Police: his detention at the whimp of top politicians from the ruling party even as his indisposed state is well known to his captors. He was denied bail when he did nothing to warrant the heavy-handedness.

An alleged 'order-from-above' is said to be what informed the police action: our country appears to be no longer ruled by law but by wicked persons inebriated by power. To be inebriated absolutely by power is dangerous to any population of civilized people.

Those behind the wanton abuse of power have soon become oblivious to the fact of everything under the sun being ephemeral and would therefore pass away someday.

Whither academic freedom in this country? The government is becoming intolerant and we close our eyes to the unfolding threat to the rule of law at our peril as a nation.

Lukman Abubakar has suffered injuries at the hands of the law enforcement agents working on the orders of politicians at the helm. A handcuffed student undergoing such treatment beats our imagination. Who inflicted the injuries on the poor student? Ghanaians would pose many questions even when the detainee is released eventually. Ghana is at the crossroads. The Kukuom and Suhum incident and now Lukman Abubakar with the Police complicit should not be glossed over.