WHO ARE WE TO BLAME?

Author:Adjetey Emmanuel

Ghana Institute of Journalism

00233247265478

I will not be astonished if a group of commercial sex workers emerge with an association in Ghana one of these days. I will also not be surprised to see young girls of school going age breaking into prostitution. And besides, I will not be dumbfounded if I see gobs of human rights advocates intoning to the defense of the rights of the above mentioned groups. Our country, Ghana in recent times has been keyed out as one of the most prostitution rating countries in Africa and beyond. Is this the Ghana our ancestors left for us? No I don’t think so. Then, where from this social canker? Prostitution-Which has been defined in some literature's as: 1.offering sexual intercourse for money and, 2.Woman exchanging her dignity for money. I believe these definitions are obvious to attest to the social canker in question. Who are we to blame for this unholy act defacing the good name our of dear nation? I again believe that these commercial sex workers are coming from “homes”. And also have the authorities of this nation legalized this hellish act? No caring mother would allow her innocent female child to go into such questioning act all in the name of money. If she does I leave that to our creator above. Some always say that they go into this illicit “business” because the cost of living has been very high for them to bear. So the only solution to this hardship is to delve into prostitution to make an ends meet. Our elders normally say that when a fish is about to rot it starts from it head. This is very true since the older generations have vehemently “embraced” the prostitution “business” wholeheartedly. People can attest to fact that though the cost of living is high but I strongly believe that these commercial sex workers have lost their moral sense of values. They have really thrown their prides to the dogs and I wonder what pride they are left with. Besides, our younger generations who are really the hope and the future for this good country have also follow suit  to the older generation all in the name of trying to make an ends meet. Why would young girls of today sneak from school to indulge into prostitution? Supposing they sneak away from their various schools. Then, what are the roles of the school authorities? And what are the duties of the school house masters? It is very pity and irritating to hear or to see young girls from SHS and JHS showcasing themselves to men for money. Prostitution now has a been a business not transacted behind closed doors like before but now it’s a business transacted in the broad day light for interested customers to patronize. It’s funny and pity to see them rushing for their customers. One can unquestionably say that prostitution is more or less legalized in our country, Ghana, if it is not why these people especially young girls in school would sneak to town to engage in this diabolic deed. These innocent girls don’t only deliver their services to the corrupt older Ghanaian men but also to some expatriates who are not only in Ghana to run their businesses but who are also here to “enjoy” what they have heard about the commercial sex workers. Who have ever thought of the fatal sickness or diseases these expatriates carry along to our country? I leave the fate of our precious country, Ghana into the hands of the Almighty God in the heavens.

The Writer is a Student-Journalist at the Ghana Institute of Journalism.

Writer’s email:adjeteyemmanuel@gmail.com

GHANA NEEDS PEACE TO REIGN

 Author:Adjetey Emmanuel

Ghana Institute of Journalism

00233247265478

Ghana has for some time now been characterized by the infamous deeds of the two majors political parties in the country: the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC), which is the ruling party.

This is obvious and anything concerning the development of the nation has been politicised, with one political group accusing each other. One can attest to this by turning on his/her radio or television. If hate speeches create wealth, some of our politicians’ doorstep would have been carpeted with diamonds.

It is worth mentioning that in the sub region, Ghana is recognised as one of the most peaceful and serene countries. The investor-confidence reposed in the country and the huge quantum of loans Ghana has been securing are clear indications of our good name.

However, if care is not taken, the peace we enjoy today after attaining our democratic status will become an illusion. This is true because the opposition NPP almost always sees nothing good about the NDC’s administration. On the other side of the coin, the vice versa is as true as the black and white elements of the Good Book. I wonder where they learned this blame game.

The repulsive tribal and ethnocentric verbal punches that these parties keep throwing heavily like Azumah’s blow at each other can plunge the country into chaos and anarchy.

Also, these parties’ so-called “macho men” who throw their weights about in threatening and brutalizing innocent Ghanaians including women, are reminded that they not invincible and would face similar fate one day. Ghanaians shouldn’t forget about some African countries like Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Liberia, to mention but a few, who have tasted various kinds of “dishes” of war.

Liberia’s ex-President Charles Taylor who has been sentenced to 50 years in jail by a UN-backed war crimes court. Omar Hassan al-Bashir, Sudan’s president, is the first national leader prosecuted by the International Criminal Court (ICC). The people of Ghana, especially the youth, must have in their memory to allow peace to prevail.

The security agencies in the country, especially the police, must be totally professional and unbiased in doing their part of ensuring that peace reign in Ghana. To be precise, the police must be neutral in discharging their duties to ensure justice in the run-up to the December 2012 elections. They must subject all Ghanaians to the same standard of justice and national protection.

The president of Ghana, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama , and other political leaders assuring Ghanaians to free and fair elections is a step in the right direction.

I entreat all Ghanaians, especially the youth, to desist from any action that would retard the progress of our dear nation.

Also, Ghanaians must know that if as result of the actions or inactions of some group of people the democratic process gets derailed, we, being the grass on which the elephants trod, will be more miserable than ever.

One Mairead Corrigan Macquire, a Northern Irish Peace Activist, said: “If you want to reap the harvest of peace and justice, we will have to sow the seeds of non-violence now and in the future.”

I strongly believe that the Umbrella and Elephant will uphold the good name  of this country rather than throw it to the dogs.

The Writer is a Student-Journalist at the Ghana Institute of Journalism.

Writer’s email:adjeteyemmanuel@gmail.com

THE STRUGGLING DEMOCRATIC COUNTRY

Author:Adjetey Emmanuel
Ghana Institute of Journalism
00233247265478

It is astounding how people still perceive our country to be the well known democratic country in the West Africa Sub-Region. Our country, Ghana is claiming to be democratic, meaning free and equal representation of people and equal right of every person to participate in a system of government often by the majority of the people. Democracy has been defined in two-ways in some literatures as; 1. Democratic nation: a nation with a government that has been freely and equally elected by its citizens.2. Democratic system of government: a system of government based on the principle of majority in decision-making. It is obvious and you don’t have to be a researcher before you can know that in Ghana today, the concept of democracy is being reduced to two-things;1. Freedom of expression-much of which is very poor in substance but rich in propaganda, intentional disinformation and distortion of facts, so long as it serves certain predetermined ends. 2. Periodic elections-a period during which partisan structures are given a new lease of life and ethnocentric sentiments are highly hyped up and exploited for the purpose of winning political power. The self-image and reputation of our dear nation, Ghana is reducing gradually due to the on and off conflicts among ethnic groups, religious sects, and even some of our own political leaders. These are clear things that the country has been facing in recent times. The intemperate languages, provocative statements from political leaders and their followers and incitement against one group. These are not acts to be condoned by the people of Ghana especially the youth. Because these are things that can plunge the country into absolute chaos and upheaval. Moreover, the democratic status of the country has been “stained” with blame game. This is true, because day-after-day if you tune to your radio or television you can unquestionably attest to the fact. Apparently, we see from the major political parties in the country: the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) accusing each other for maladministration. If much care is not taken the peace we enjoy today after attaining our democratic status will become an illusion. I wonder which schools teach this blame game. However, the repulsive tribal and ethnocentric verbal punches that these parties and their members keep throwing heavily like Mike Tyson’s blow at each other is obscuring the democracy we are practising here Ghana and can plunge the nation into Sturm und Drang.Some couple of months ago, some people are in great shock and they inquire to know if whether Ghana is still a democratic country. This is because, why should religious sects engage in a fight which is highly inimical to good governance. One can easily recall to the recent conflict among the Moslems and some natives of Hohoe in the Volta Region. No country specifically a democratic country in this world can achieve its optimum development in the midst of a conflict. Also, our politicians must stop practising any aspect of the democracy that is confrontational and unfriendly to good governance, such as the politically motivated “Pull-Him-Down” party politics (PHD), which is widely used in developed countries like America and Britain by parties to undermine their political opponents, though they do so under “strict cover” in those advance countries. Such practise can easily leave our country with nothing than a state of violent disturbance and disorder thus if care is not taken. No country can achieve the highest form of democracy without her practising the rule of law. The rule of law basically, it’s a state of order in which events conform to the law of the nation. Hence, nations without the rule of law, such nations are like books perusing in the extreme darkness. The rule of law is one of the ethical codes of democracy. And apparently enough, this code of ethics are not strictly practise here in Ghana. However, most of the electorates perpetrate the laws of the land or do things which are not in conformity with the laws of the country and they are left to go scot free. Is this what we term as democracy? Besides, democracy, “liberalism”, “civil liberty”, “human right” etc. have not been pushed too far to be able to support the very pillars and foundation of civilization that they purport to create and which has taken humankind several thousand of years to build. If these very pillars are well supported by our political leaders, I strongly believe our democracy would go back to its natural state. Adding to the civilization problem is also the issue of recognition of the right to information. Recognising the right to information and implementing effective access to information is a simple but extremely useful first step towards attainment of good governance. Therefore, any democratic country enhancing the right to information to its citizens is more or less devoid of political violence since the electorates are given the mandate to air their grievances. The Aristocratic Frenchman, Alexis de Tocqueville said: “The health of a democratic society may be measured by the quality of functions performed by private citizens”. Ghana is a very small democratic country in the world hence let us uphold the good name of our dear nation. Peace! Is what we all need.  LONG LIVE GHANA!!!

The Writer is a Student-Journalist at the Ghana Institute of Journalism. Writer’s email:adjeteyemmanuel@gmail.com