MIGHT CAN NEVER BE RIGHT (MARCH 9)

THE Vice-President, Mr John Mahama, has sounded a note of caution to belligerent individuals and groups who wield or keep weapons in the northern part of the country.
The Vice-President’s stern warning comes at a time when some parts of northern Ghana have virtually become trouble spots as irate youth engage one another in violent conflicts.
Just a few days ago, precious lives were lost in such violent conflicts and there is presently a precarious situation up north, with the heat of the violent conflicts still simmering.
The conflict that has for so long a time plagued some parts of northern Ghana can be attributed to a host of factors, one of which is the proliferation of illicit weapons, some manufactured locally and in their very crude and brutish forms. While there have been efforts made in the past to tackle such conflicts when they emerged, there appears to be a critical concern with regard to the enforcement of basic violence prevention measures and requisite laws.
While many of these groups and individuals engaged in the conflicts up north are very conscious of the restrictions the law places on them, they have treated the law with utter disdain, and that is largely because its enforcement has not been effective.
In the past, persons arrested for such crimes ended up being freed because of their connections with influential persons in the country.
Sometimes security officers, disappointed by this trend, have vented their frustration and cautioned that such selfish exploitation and peddling of influence only serves to heighten insecurity in troubled spots.
The Vice-President emphatically stated that those found culpable, whether activists of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) or the New Patriotic Party (NPP), would face the full rigours of the law.
Indeed, this is a most welcome relief and the DAILY GRAPHIC fully endorses the position that the government has taken on the conflict situation in northern Ghana.
But need we caution that the issue does not stop at the issuance of such stern warning if the past is anything to go by?
In the past, similar warnings had been issued by people in political leadership positions but the impact had been rather abysmal.
It is refreshing to hear the Vice-President declare that “if we complain of people who fired gunshots and got away without arrests in the past, you should not fire shots and expect to get away with it because the rule of law is going to work”.
This is no doubt the challenge that the government must address in order to restore peace in the troubled spots up north.
It is important to stress that the law is instituted to encourage responsible behaviour by serving as a deterrent. Thus, in a situation where the people perceive the law as dead and law enforcement agencies as lame, then a jungle situation where the fittest survives is created.
Let us resolve now that we shall not allow the situation where might is perceived to be right, instead of a system where goodwill prevails over evil.
The DAILY GRAPHIC, therefore, challenges the Executive, the security agencies, the political parties, the Judiciary and the Legislature to be firm with any such breaches in order to restore calm to the conflict areas in the northern part of the country and ultimately sustain the peace and stability of the country.