Election year, the moment we agree to be irresponsible
There is one thing that always occurs to me as a writer. And it is how little we learn from the past; and the acceptance of the fact that the more things change; the more they remain the same – if not worse.
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As someone remarked, we like to live in history so much that we spend little time learning from history. My plaint has to do with the mêlée that took place in the front premises of the opposition leader.
There must be something about an election year which makes supporters of political parties feel as though they have the right to engage in whatever activity they wish to undertake without any repercussion. This must be a cause of concern to anyone.
The week started out with news of gunshots, bottle breaking and stone throwing at the residence of the opposition leader – Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo Addo.
It all happened when supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) decided to use the road in front of the Nima Residence of the opposition leader. They were on a health walk.
It was unclear what exactly sparked the fight. But what is clear is that the security details of the opposition leader asked the NDC supporters to move away. There were exchanges. A fight erupted.
As we know very well from our political history violence begets violence. And it is all part of the irresponsible conduct by political parties that pops up in election years.
Considering our history as a nation, there is no way anyone can make a convincing argument to the effect that the presence of NDC supporters in front of the house of the opposition leader will not generate any form of apprehension – if not animosity.
The NDC marchers must have known that either they were at risk of being hurt by supporters of the opposition or they stood the chance of generating some form of fear in the supporters of the opposition party.
What was to be gained by marching in front of the house of the opposition leader? Absolutely nothing. I have heard Ade Coker, the Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the NDC stand by his party men. And I have heard NPP party men support the action of their supporters.
And trust me, unless and until the security personnel put their feet on the ground and aim to be fair and professional, we have not seen the last of these.
Some of the electoral violences that we have seen in the past and we will continue to see around us are simply products of plain provocation.
Ade Coker in an interview on Citi fm stated that the road in front of Nana Addo’s house is a public space and there was nothing that prevented the NDC supporters from using that road.
This kind of argument is in principle correct. There are no qualms with that. After all, a road is a public asset and cannot be appropriated for the use of just one person.
That notwithstanding, when that same argument is dropped within the Ghanaian political context, it is nothing but a poor argument; and I am sure in his heart of heart, he made that argument simply out of convenience.
Take the University of Ghana as an example. I am sure lots of people know the historical friction between the residents of the Commonwealth Hall and those in Mensah Sarbah. Rarely do the residents in any of these halls undertake any form of procession anywhere close to each other.
And the few times that the residents of these halls have marched anywhere close to each other, there were jeers, hurling of insults, throwing of water and in some extreme cases, physical assault.
Of course we understand that the road in front of Mensah Sarbah does not belong to the residents of the hall. And we understand that anybody can use that particular road as and when they please. But we must be alive to the nuances and divisions that exist. And we must be aware of the conflict triggers in a particular area.
Humans, by our very make up, are territorial. We like to have our defended areas where we feel safe and secure. And we would defend this territorial space in the face of actual aggression or the threat of it.
I condemn the acts of violence. I condemn the firing of warning shots from whichever side of the political divide. But more importantly, I think the NDC supporters should not under any circumstances have used that particular route.
The use of that the route was clearly provocative, especially when they could have used another route. It was irresponsible.
