‘Decency, discipline, decorum! Coming with hammer, not gavel’
Before going to my article for the week, which was written before the El-Wak Stadium tragedy on Wednesday, November 12, 2025, I wish to express my condolences to the families of the six potential recruits who died in a stampede at a recruitment exercise.
I also wish the injured a speedy recovery.
On Tuesday morning, November 11, 2025, the 80th Remembrance Day Parade (11/11), which was held in Accra and attended by the President, the British High Commissioner, Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, the CDS, Chairman of the Veterans Association of Ghana (VAG) and other dignitaries, did not make headline news on any of the TV channels I watched during the 7 pm News that night.
Remembrance Day signifies the official end of World War I at 11:00 hours (11 am), on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, when the guns went silent. Also called Armistice Day, it is celebrated annually in the British Commonwealth.
Perhaps, news on the Tuesday, 11/11 parade got drowned by two developments which made headline news that day.
They were, firstly, the vetting of the new Chief Justice, and secondly, the report of the August 6, 2025, helicopter crash near Obuasi, in the Ashanti Region.
Vetting
To say the least, events at the vetting were distasteful, resulting in an apology to the Judiciary by the Speaker the following day. He strongly admonished his colleagues to behave with “decency, discipline and decorum” and not discourtesy!
He added that he would soon “come with a hammer and not a gavel!”
Sadly, some MPs have reduced the dignity of Parliament to an enclosure where respect/responsible behaviour has been thrown out of the window.
Ghanaians will recall the night of January 30, 2025, when Parliament was converted into a boxing ring/matadorial arena.
The two-week suspension of the four lawmakers who destroyed taxpayer-funded property, such as furniture and communication equipment, seems to have had no effect! For some of them, the use of intemperate language and total disrespect for age appears to be their right.
Decency, discipline, decorum
In my recent article titled O Respect, where art thou gone, I stated as follows in reference to decency, discipline and decorum. *****
Many apolitical retired Ghanaians, whose knowledge, exposure, and experience could contribute to national development, are reluctant to appear on radio/TV programmes simply because of what a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Emeritus Professor Ernest Aryeetey, has just suffered after his interview on Citi FM on October 19, 2025.
Talking on a broad range of topics with host Bernard Avle, from Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah to today, what caught the attention of the politician was the Professor’s statement that Rawlings ruled with anger, a statement Rawlings made himself.
To the politician, the septuagenarian professor, an adult in 1979 who saw what happened, had no right to an opinion contrary to what he, the MP, a toddler in 1979, saw.
His unkind words went beyond the professor to include his colleagues in academia, who he accused of having dedicated themselves to dimming the “sunlight” of Rawlings.
“O respect! Where art thou gone?” Shakespeare would have said!
Is it not a contradiction that while he dispensed disrespect and discourtesy so easily to the Emeritus Professor, the MP demanded respect for his benefactor?
Aircrash
The August 6, 2025, air crash of a Z-9 Ghana Air Force helicopter at Obuasi, which killed all eight on board, shook the nation.
Surprisingly, there were all sorts of outlandish speculations and theories, including apportioning blame by some Ghanaians, some of whom probably have never flown in a helicopter.
Indeed, when I saw/heard an MP say on TV that the helicopter exploded mid-air, all I heard myself say was “O my God! How insensitive!”
I watched on TV the PowerPoint presentation by retired Airline Captain/Aircrash Accident-Investigator Paul Forjoe and his team of Aircraft-Accident-Investigators, including fighter-pilot Air Commodore (Brig Gen) Akrong.
At the end of the report, journalists were given the opportunity to ask questions.
Subsequently, a gentleman representing the families of the bereaved stated that they were satisfied with the report. Having listened to the presentation, which took the investigators to the crash site and to China, where the Z-9 was manufactured, as well as having support by Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) representatives from the USA, he accepted the accident as “an act of God!”
An act of God refers to a natural event that is beyond human control, such as an earthquake or a flood.” (Wikipedia)
I was, therefore, surprised at the comments on the radio the following morning suggesting unhappiness about the presentation.
Much as “two-weeks-intense-reading” about aircraft/helicopter accidents may equip a layman with some knowledge, as was claimed, it does not allow the right to run roughshod over experienced civilian/military pilots/aviation experts whose flying experience alone may probably match the ages of the well-meaning contributors.
Certainly, becoming an aircraft accident investigator, even for an experienced pilot, takes more than two weeks of intensive reading. In any case, this was only a slide presentation, and not the full report.
Again, after admitting that he had not read the report, another person with no association with aviation repetitively questioned the statement by the accident investigators that a sudden downdraft brought the helicopter down. He then went on to rubbish the report he had not read.
This contrasted sharply with a TV interview on November 12, 2025, of US-based Ghanaian Aviation Expert/Investigator Prof. Kwasi Adjekum, who gave a balanced account/education after his admission that until he read the full report, he was constrained in making major judgments, based only on the presentation.
Discussion
Again, quoting from “O respect! where art thou gone?” I stated:
“I submit again that all future Ministers/MPs/High-office-holders do a three-month military training before assuming office.
Among others, they will be taught “Word-choice and Tone.”
Drill will exorcise arrogance! It is not for nothing that the Scandinavian countries, where military training is compulsory, have such disciplined/non-arrogant politicians, who use decorous language.”
Meanwhile, “galamsey” continues to ravage us, with the Sekyere-Hemang Treatment Plant on the verge of closure, like the Kwanyaku Waterhead.
A joint Military-Police operation in Hwidiem, Dadwen, and others, where NAtional Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) personnel were attacked by galamseyers, has resulted in close to a thousand persons being arraigned before the court!
Belatedly, we wish all our Veterans and 11/11 parades well!
Sadly, on Wednesday, November 12, 2025, during a Ghana Armed Forces recruitment at the El Wak Stadium, six young ladies died in a stampede.
May their souls rest in peace, and condolences to the bereaved families. Speedy recovery to the injured!
Leadership, lead by example/integrity! Fellow Ghanaians, wake up!
The writer is a former CEO, African Peace Support Trainers Association Nairobi, Kenya; Council Chairman, Family Health University,
Teshie, Accra
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