When the authority of the state is challenged as it occurred recently in Hwidiem all must be concerned.
A state of anarchy or return to the state of nature is not what we want for our country…residents of failed states have tales of the woes they are suffering to tell those who live in relative orderliness.
When the security agencies seek to exert their authority following the humiliation they suffered recently in Hwidiem they must remember that their actions must be within the confines of the law.
Ghana is ruled by law and not by human instincts.
There have been mass arrests of persons in Hwidiem in a manner which leaves us wondering why things should be done as though we are under a military junta.
We would like to emphasise it…nobody should clap their hands when unruly youth challenge the authority of the state as it occurred in Hwidiem.
It is also not acceptable when under the rule of law mass arrests as we witnessed recently occurred more so when a screening exercise to minnow the good from the bad is delayed. Our officers are symbols of the state and deserve respect when they are carrying out their legitimate duties. Threatening or attacking them is open confrontation with the state and should not be encouraged by all means.
There are better ways of dealing with such security challenges and the Police should be leading such charges. Ghana long departed the days of junta justice which led to unexplained disappearances and even deaths remaining a dark spot on our contemporary history.
People in authority and their ways of dealing with issues is what emboldened the youth to challenge the authority of the state. The fallout from making outrageous assurances such as letting out incarcerated illegal miners and giving the green light to people to do galamsey when the political pendulum swings to the other side can only trigger such lawlessness.
Painfully the unruly persons who perpetuated the act of lawlessness have been let out of the barn as it were by those in authority. Some being illegal migrants could be out of our jurisdiction or perhaps taking cover only to emerge again.
Illegal mining today is akin to drug trafficking…firearms et al. It is criminality which has gone mafia and would therefore require a new approach underpinned whatever by the rule of law
Unless a state of emergency is declared which gives the security agencies unusual powers to deal with the canker any arbitrariness as in the case of mass arrests most of them innocent persons should be abhorred.
The unearthing of firearms at illegal mining sites calls for a fresh approach to the fight against the canker. With the arrival of employment of undocumented migrants and most of them setting their sights on illegal mining sites the security implications of the development poses a national security threat to the nation.
For now the screening of the suspects should be expedited so those with clean hands get their freedoms restored.
