Ghana has failed to protect the overseas population

…One of the signs of a failed state, as asserted by Boakye Djan? Flow of $8 billion remittance can only be assured by adequate protection

I salute you all in the name of what make us all Ghanaians—a binding heritage in our similarities than the difference.

Anyway, you may be wondering what pricked me again, as early as 1 am, to jump on my computer to put my thoughts together to share with you. Listening to JoyFM yesterday, I am very much intrigued to respond by writing this short piece to share with you.

The long and short of it all is that, 44 Ghanaians were killed in the Gambia in July 2005 by the security apparatus of that country. Enquiries into the killings revealed that the murderers were ordered by the President of that country, Yahya Jammeh.

The response from the Ghana government could be described as dawdling or sluggish. It took the media of that country and that of some selected few of their Ghanaian counterparts to set the debate on this issue.

Two years on, we are still running in circles according to the recent news by JoyFM especially with Jammeh’s recent outburst that: ‘Ecowas mediation team can go to hell’

My own experience of suffering a racial attack in the UK has taught me good lessons. Some of those bitter lessons suggest that our paid representatives abroad do not care about what happens to us in times of danger, so they fail to respond to our calls in times of distress. They are probably just to facilitate the visits of highly placed people in government, their cronies and family members.

But if remittance has become the mainstay of our economy, is it not just logical enough for us to take steps to protect our citizens abroad? Which is more expensive, to extend ballot boxes to 3 million Ghanaians abroad or to provide safety nets for them when they get caught up in the immigration debacles? Which is more prudent, to design code of ethics or conduct detailing what form of assistance Ghanaians abroad should expect from their missions abroad in times of serious distress or collecting the names of 3 million Ghanaians abroad, including a large number who may be living illegally? If remittance is important, then the lives of those who generate the remittance are as well important.

As a first step towards seriousness in handling this issue, I call on the Ghana Government to immediately suspend or abrogate all diplomatic ties with the Gambian government without further delay. Steps must also be taken to lodge a formal complaint at the Hague against Yahya Jammeh.

If the two most important institutions in our quest for sub-regional and regional integration—Ecowas and the AU which are both headed by our own men—have failed to demonstrate to us the feasibility of protection, safety and justice within the sub-region, what justification can they offer for spending millions of US dollars for a jamboree to entertain African head of states in the name of African Unity when such resources could be spent to create jobs for our youth to prevent them from traversing the borderless desert and getting on the oceans in rickety boats without compass? Lets question those who are aspiring to lead us on some of these important issues, for it is necessary they account for their stewardship before we continue to offer them bigger roles.

The lessons of Charles Taylor, Valentine Strasser, Foday Sankoh, Pinoche Augustos should serve as a lesson to Jammeh and his men that time runs fast and their own deeds will undo them sooner or later.

To you fellow Ghanians, please turn blind eyes to the name and the ethnic origin of the one who has turned out this piece and consider the piece on its merits. No hate mails, please face the issues raised.

Views expressed by the author(s) do not necessarily reflect those of GhanaHomePage.