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Opinions of Friday, 1 October 2010

Columnist: Concerned Citizen

Stop the war mongering MP from Bimbila

I was very surprised and upset to read on the Ghanaweb two days ago the disheartening utterances made by the war mongering MP for Bimbila warning about the possibility of war just because a man of konkomba extraction has been arrested by the police for breaking the law. Let us stop this war mongering MP and educate him about the rule of law and his role as an MP.
Ghana is a country of laws and not a lawless country like Somalia and we expect that if any person breaks the law, the police must deal with that individual. No one in Ghana is above the law and no one must be allowed to go free after committing a crime simply because his people are threatening war. In fact those who are threatening the war themselves must be arrested for causing panic and threatening national security. And the MP should be questioned and sanctioned for being an alarmist and stirring ethnic tensions on the basis of an individual act of lawlessness.
When I read that news article on the Ghanaweb I thought that the radio station that gave him the air time to stir panic should have shut him down. As a radio station, the management has responsibility towards Ghanaians to operate ethically. They need to know better and not allow people like that unfit MP to air such ill-informed opinions of what should happen about an issue which is purely a law enforcement problem. I also think that the police should take action against this MP who does not understand the rule of law. If his Konkomba electorate is telling him that they will start a war, it is his duty to tell them that the threat of war is wrong and that they could be charged for threatening national security. But how can blind man lead the blind? I feel sorry for the Bimbila constituency and people because they have an unfit MP.
Those of us who lost family members and friends in the last war (which was started by a section of people who just want to see blood) know what it means to have a war. The pain never goes away. In fact there is so much pain that we never want to see any war again. So when you find out that there is man called an MP who has been sitting in the law-making house of the Republic of Ghana called the Parliament, and yet does not even know the basic tenets of the law, you feel very sorry for the people of Bimbila. The sad thing also is that this MP was voted into power by people who think he is qualified to be an MP, but who cannot see that this man is completely un fit to be an MP. Sometimes Democracy can be costly for some people and in this case the people of Bimbila are so unfortunate that their choice is costly. He is bringing them only disaster and not peace and development.
I am urging the Government to take action against this war mongering MP from Bimbila who is pushing for war and insecurity because it helps him to hold onto his political position. Furthermore, effort should be directed immediately at the MP’s Konkomba electorate who has threatened war because they think that is how they can free a man who has broken the law of Ghana. If they have gotten away with such threats in the past, something needs to be done to deter them from even thinking about such actions in the future.
Let us remember that Ghana is a lawful country and not Somalia. Any person who threatens the peace of this country must be dealt with according to the law. There should be no exception.

By A Concerned Citizen of Northern Region.