Should we beg for forgiveness when we break the law?
In every society, laws are made to ensure the sanctity and sanity of social life. Wherever there are no laws, there is complete chaos, as people do what they like and go scot-free.
Advertisement
The Ghanaian society is no exception and there are several criminal and civil laws in the statute books which are meant to bring recalcitrant citizens in line. Those who flout the laws are made to face its full rigours and the law is no respecter of persons.
In fact the laws are the reason we have established the Ghana Judicial Service, the Ghana Prisons Service and the Ghana Police Service, to not only keep the peace, but also uphold the laws and reform people who fall foul of the law.
While it is not our prayer that people should be arrested, hauled before the law courts and incarcerated, it is our view that the institutions involved in those actions have been set up by our Constitution for our own good, so that we do not end up living in a jungle or lawless society.
Even with those institutions, we still witness some acts that disturb the peace and the sanctity of our society. It therefore, behoves all of us to let the institutions work, in order to continually ensure an orderly society.
Last week one person died after some Muslim youth clashed with traditional authorities at Tafo in the Ashanti Region over a parcel of land. The clashes resulted in the vandalisation of properties.
However, the about 48 of the perpetrators of the violence who were arrested by the security agencies have been released unconditionally following a peace deal brokered with the Ashanti Regional Security Council, which involved a plea to have all the arrested suspects released.
Further, last Friday, the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Usman Nuhu Sharubutu, and the National Peace Council (NPC) met separately with the Tafohene, Nana Agyin Frimpong, at his palace, where the Muslim cleric apologised to the traditional authorities for the action of the youth and pleaded that the issue be settled amicably.
We laud all the parties that contributed to the peace process at Tafo and we are not asking those affected by the clash and violence to bear a grudge against the youth, but the laws of the land must be made to take their course.
Much as the Quran states that if anyone forgives someone of a wrong it inures to the forgiver’s benefit, we are of the view that forgiveness of such wanton destruction, which claimed a life, is not what the Holy Book is referring to.
How would forgiving the youth involved in the destruction of the properties and violence bring back the dead to life or restore the destroyed properties? The Daily Graphic fears that by letting the flouters of the country’s laws off the hook, we would be systematically making the laws ineffective and setting a serious precedent.
We would be encouraging rowdy youth to visit mayhem on people and destroy properties whenever they are peeved or have a disagreement because they know they will not be punished if they just ask for forgiveness.
We have a lot of respect and reverence for our leaders, be they temporal or spiritual, but we ask that they rein in their rampaging youth and convey to them in no uncertain terms that anyone who flouts the laws of the land would have to face the music.
Let us be cautious in the way we handle issues concerning violence and destruction of property, especially this election year, else we may be sowing seeds whose fruits we would not be pleased to harvest.