Shame! shame! shame!

It is quite amazing the events of last Thursday, during the by-election in the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency.
Much has been said by reputable people and institutions.

Now a common citizen speaks!

And even as I write, I virtually have my hands on my head in a posture of uttermost disgust.

Like a mother, greatly shamed by a child that she has poured her life, all her meagre investments and her strength to nurture into responsible adulthood, by giving him or her the best in life, only for him or her to betray that trust and become a vagabond!

Yes, that is what the government has become to us!

We reposed all our trust, confidence and our very lives in this government, when we invested or voted for it for us all to enjoy the ideals it promised to promote, only for us to be slapped in the face, with party 'hooligans' now as national security?

On Saturday, February 2, 2019, the Minister of National Security, Mr Bryan Acheampong, confirmed that the video that circulated of armed masked men shooting live rounds into sons and daughters of the land were national security personnel.

He went on to claim that they were in the vicinity on operation to get rid of "certain things undesirable" to the public.

Now, new footage of the mayhem visited on Ghanaians at La-Bawaleshie in the constituency tells of these security operatives swearing doom and mayhem on opposition thought and action, come the 2020 election.

Shame! Shame! Shame! On us all again!

My question is: are these operatives not trained to keep the security of the nation?

Could any operation they were engaged in not have been handled in a better way, without the raucous incident we saw at Ayawaso West Wuogon?

Well, the footage speaks for itself, with one of the heavily armed national security operatives slapping the Member of Parliament, Mr Sam George.

The way he struck the MP, almost even missing his step, showed great irritation.

But what was he irritated at?

Was he irritated that the MP dared challenge?

In fact, those who cannot tolerate dissent and their agents in government directing them are cowards and have something to hide.

They are not competent in their trade of governing, thus, they hide behind the intimidation of people.

Shame! Shame! Shame! It is also a shame that our former President, Mr John Mahama, in response, gloated over the fact that his party hooligans could also match any violence "boot for boot".

Instead of him to rise above the din of mediocrity and show himself as a true statesman, he also sunk and now has the National

Peace Council (NPC) at his heels for an apology.

Ghanaians are really sick and tired of all these.

It is as if we have no President who keeps a tight reign over his ministers.

It is as if we have no credible leaders for the change we all aspire to.

No credible leaders to liberate and manage the energies of all to grow the "property-owning democracy", except political bullies that send their people to cause mayhem.

Now, the ideals promised about the enjoyment of rights, freedoms and justice, foundational principles of the land to enrich life, property and the liberty of each and every citizen, are now merely on paper, in the governing party's 2016 manifesto!
It will never be realised, these ideals, so long as elements exist in the government who are intolerant of dissent.

Have they forgotten that democracy is all about dissent, the contestation of varied ideas, for the ones best articulated to hold sway?

No matter how unnerving a person may be in the arena of democracy, the leadership or the government has the facts, the information, the power and the resources to put up an ideological contest that gently 'disarms' that person for him or her to concede to the rightness of a matter.

Bearing down with the force of arms, blows and bullies is by a weak government!

Writer's e-mail: caroline.boateng@graphic.com.gh