LAW AND ORDER MUST PREVAIL (MARCH 31, 2010)

SIGNALS from some parts of the country portend a threat to law and order. It appears that a section of the people, especially the youth, plans to stampede the government into acquiescing to its whims and caprices.
For some time now a section of the youth of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has expressed its dissatisfaction with the activities of officials of the government in ways that defy the norms of any law-abiding society.
The NDC youth are alleged to have closed down installations and offices and demanded the removal of government appointees for some perceived inaction or malfeasance. The latest case of the youth overstepping their bounds is the threat on the life of the Yendi Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Mahama Walvis — an action that must be condemned in no uncertain terms.
In other instances, students of some second-cycle institutions have vandalised school property, resulting in the closure of those schools.
At the Cocoa Affairs Court in Accra recently, some youth of the NDC and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) clashed at the trial of Nana Darkwah Baafi who is alleged to have published falsehood with intent to cause alarm.
The Daily Graphic does not question the right of Ghanaians to demand accountability from public office holders. Indeed, our inability to hold our leaders accountable for their actions has led to bad governance practices in the country.
When we vote for our President and our parliamentarians, we do so on the premise that they have demonstrated the ability to manage our resources for the common good and if we notice any deviation from this contract they have signed with the people, we have the right to draw the attention of our leaders to the failed promises. But we should do so with decorum and with respect for our President.
It may be true that on the campaign trail, then candidate Mills did make many pledges. But no one, in all sincerity, can blame the non-fulfilment of some of them on want of trying. The challenges are, indeed, legion and the solutions require that every Ghanaian continues to sacrifice for the common good.
The present path of trying to hold our President and the government hostage to compel it to work according to the dictates of the youth may spell doom for the country. These acts of lawlessness may deviate from the planned programme of the government to deliver on its ‘better Ghana’ agenda.
The Daily Graphic encourages our youth, who are our future leaders, to continue to play an active role in the governance of this country because the foundation that is laid today will determine the direction of the country.
However, any attempt to take to self-help or the state of nature will lead to anarchy and confusion and make the country ungovernable.
We should take a cue from the challenges confronting some of our neighbouring countries which allowed emotions and indiscipline to get the better of them, instead of keeping to laid down procedures for addressing their grievances.
The Daily Graphic, therefore, encourages all those who are aggrieved by the actions and inaction of government functionaries or institutions to use the regulations in the country to seek justice. Anything short of that can prove disastrous.