The Vice President, Upper East Regional Minister, the Armed Forces Public Relations Director are all singing similar tunes about the abominable stripping of two teachers naked in Bawku recently.
The tunes are anything but heartwarming, civilised and acceptable apologies emanating as they are from high-notched personalities in the country. The feeble tones are, but, a reflection of what outcome to expect from any official investigation, if there is ever any, on the dastardly act.
They all appear to have rehearsed what to tell Ghanaians about the brutish and shameful action by some soldiers in a country which prides herself as an important contributor to the UN’s peacekeeping operations in countries where democracy and civility have both crashed.
For them, condemning soldiers should be measured, lest the uniformed personnel get incensed and decide to stay aloof even as the feuding factions engage each other in fatal clashes.
What signals are we transmitting to these officers and men? That when they are rebuked, they should react by refusing to do their work?
When that happens, a mutiny has set in, treasonable actions in both military law and otherwise.
No soldier worth his salt would imagine embarking on such an enterprise, the punishment for which is death. We should not forget that soldiers are subservient to civilian authority and not vice versa.
This is standard order in civilized societies, as civilian authorities must also, as a matter of necessity, make available to the troops all they need to discharge their duties professionally- logistics, remuneration et al.
Recent bad press for the military is the result of a gradual and deliberate militarization of the country through the engagement of soldiers in operations which are by and large civilian police in nature.
We are not disputing the fact that when conflicts and public disorder are beyond the civilian police, the military could be called in to offer support in the mould of an Internal Security Operation.
When this happens, the police should not be overshadowed as we are beginning to behold in the Bawku theatre.
The meaning of the signboard which greets you as you pass by the entrance to Burma Camp “Ghana Armed Forces Civilian Friendly” is fading, as evidenced by recent sordid developments.
The signboard was conceived during the previous regime when the task of changing the perception of the military was a priority. Not so today, as relics of the so-called revolution gradually creep back to our body-politic.
It did not do our image good when someone sent in a text message to one of BBC’s programmes, stating that Ghana is after all not an icon of democracy in Africa as the world was made to believe before the Bawku DR Congo-like conduct was publicized worldwide.
Vice President John Dramani Mahama would rather the issue is treated with kid’s glove, as he stated that even though condemnable, the aberration is an isolated one.
As a communications man, the Vice President sought to shield the military institution from public bashing in a manner which would make him appear good in the eyes of the defence machinery.
Smart guy! Unfortunately, he misfired because the reality is that no sooner had the Bawku incident been given pictorial credibility than a group of soldiers descend on poor Nalerigu girls to satisfy their insatiable libido.
Two nasty incidents within a spate of a month or so cannot be said to be isolated Mr. Vice President. Besides, what is bad is bad and should not be treated with finesse.
Nobody is condemning the entire military institution, which like other local institutions can boast of fine Ghanaian gentlemen and ladies ready to serve their motherland.
When any group of Ghanaians, their places of engagement notwithstanding, breach civility or the law, they should be condemned totally and where necessary sanctioned.
When officialdom seeks to present a different picture to the citizenry and go to the extent of even pouring cold water over the nonsense, we can only describe the effort as nauseating and indeed bullshit.
All we are saying is that there is an aberration which calls for action on the part of the authorities and swiftly. Ironically, there has not been any official statement about the Bawku incident apart from the Col. Nibo’s “we are sorry but…” kind of intervention. This is a sign that like others before it, we would be served the usual “we are investigating and would deal with whoever is found guilty” official statement.
Are we being told because government would not want to demoralize the soldiers in Bawku, the culprits behind the nude show should be shielded?
So whatever informed the decision by the ruling government to go after the suspected killers of Mobila?
Will that demoralize soldiers too? Did the regional minister say that the effect of stripping men naked in Bawku should be considered differently from when it takes place in Accra? This, for us, is nonsense and enough blunder to get the man resigning his position, had it been elsewhere? We shall return tomorrow.
