Let’s be responsible for our personal security

Ghana’s tag as one of the safest places to live on earth is severely under threat as a result of the recent kidnapping of children and the mysterious murder of people.

The Daily Graphic is by no means suggesting that the police and other security agencies have gone to sleep, but the recent happenings suggest that a lot more needs to be done in order to ensure the security of citizens.

Apart from the state adequately equipping our security agencies with modern sophisticated gadgets to match the weapons used by criminal gangs and also beat them at their own game, the Daily Graphic believes that the time has come for every Ghanaian and foreigner domiciled in Ghana to take his or her security more seriously than used to be the case.

We live in a very uncertain world where people considered as family and friends are the ones who plan to hurt us for their own selfish gain.

Indeed, it is not out of place to state that we should not trust people fully, as was the case when the world was a more serene place to live.

If we find the actions of people we have associated with for years questionable, we should be bold to question their motives, and the other party must not feel offended if its intentions are doubted.

Parents now have the Herculean task to educate their children on how to ensure their personal safety in and out of the house and also how not to deal with strangers or even known people without asking the relevant questions and cross-checking if what those people are saying is true, especially when the children are being picked up from school.

In our part of the world, a probing child is considered disrespectful, but we believe that times have changed and inquisitive children must rather be applauded for their intelligence.

The still unsolved murder in February 2016 of the 51-year-old Member of Parliament for Abuakwa North, Mr Joseph Boakye Danquah-Adu, in his home and the mysterious murder just last weekend of the Marketing and Public Affairs Manager of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) in charge of the Tema Port, Josephine Asante, on returning home from a staff party, must guide us to pay particular attention to our surroundings and even to security in our homes.

We must be conscious of any strange happening around us any time and develop the habit of quickly reporting any suspicious characters in our vicinities to the police for prompt action.

We should be our own police and not only consciously ensure that our homes are secure around the clock but also that we have a back-up plan to reach out to either the police or someone we can trust when things get out of hand or have a secure escape route.

It is an age-old security practice for a lady especially not to board a taxi when it is full of only males or the occupants look suspicious. The Daily Graphic also suggests that we must always listen to our gut feelings or instinct and act cautiously at all times – they may be our salvation.

Let us all be watchful in our day-to-day movements and also ensure that we are friends with our neighbours, so that they will look out for us when we are in trouble or they suspect we need help.

Elsewhere, it is neighbours who call the attention of the police when they smell trouble and we believe it is time we introduced that practice in our communities to enable us to stay safe always.