Our democracy, our institutions: Born original and dying a copy?

At the opening of the police headquarters in Accra on June 9, 1962, Dr Kwame Nkrumah expressed admiration that the subservience to the colonial master mentality held by the police had radically changed to one with the slogan of ‘Serve Ghana Now’.

To him, the quality of people such as graduates joining the police augurs well for Ghana, as it is important for ‘our policemen to be well informed and be capable of balanced judgement”. 

In that speech, Dr Nkrumah noted: ‘A police Officer – indeed, every Policeman – is first and foremost a servant of the State and a friend of the people and his life is one of continuous service; faithful, unquestioning and loyal service. We have every right to expect therefore that all our Policemen will dedicate themselves to their work, will be courteous but firm in all their dealings with the public, and will give steady and unswerving loyalty to the State which is theirs to protect. The police must be vigilant at all times in the interest of national security’.

Security/Democracy 

Internal security is critical to every democracy and the police service is the foremost institution to guarantee this. That is why a professional and well-resourced police service is critical. It is within this context that one will not be wrong to argue that the public interest showed in the purported leaked audio involving an unnamed senior police officer and some high-profile politicians is in order. It is because, sometimes, something controversial may erupt, generate some crisis, and out of that, reforms are made; serendipity.

After a successful work at the Kumawu and Assin-North by-elections, I noted in one of my write-ups in the Daily Graphic that: ‘If the perception of interference in the work of the police is anything to go by, then the government needs commendation for ‘repenting’ after the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election. On the other hand, if the police worked in a manner akin to the Amalekite who reported the killing of Saul to King David to gain the favour of the king, then the police service deserves commendation for ‘repenting’ and giving their best in the latest by-elections’. 

Contextually, the first part of the quote above does not necessarily implicate the politicians in the leaked tape because every politician will gladly welcome support from any corner provided that support will inure to positive electoral fortunes. The second part of the quote is of interest because of obvious reasons. Like the biblical Amalekite, many people in public or civil service in Ghana are rational beings who are ready to do everything including attacking, maligning, telling lies, or using other ‘dirty’ means to seek favour from the appointing authority. In other words, our state institutions are political. This may not necessarily be because the front-line political parties or individuals have asked them to do it but merely because of their self-interest.

John Mason, whose work informed the title of this write-up, noted in his work dubbed: ‘You are born original, don’t die a copy,’ noted God created you for a specific, and unique purpose. He has called you not to imitate someone else, but to become all that He wants you to be.

State institutions 

The constitutional arrangement we have in Ghana is such that state institutions are expected to be neutral and loyal to the Republic. The police service in particular is supposed to be non-partisan in their day-to-day work. Does it not strike a chord that educated people who are successful in their chosen careers suddenly cheapen themselves to politicians, some of whom are less intelligent, less experienced, or know little about the real dangers of their actions and inactions? Should the politician be blamed entirely for this folly? The only reason we should blame the politician is that we lack men and women in politics who prioritise the state over their partisanship interests. Unlike King David who rebuked the Amalekite and warned that ‘tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph’, Ghanaian women are yet to conceive of the politician who will take this path. This is the real danger.

There have been calls for reforms on how heads of state institutions are appointed in an effort to address some of the ills bedevilling loyalty to the governing party and the state. While it is difficult to achieve this by the average politician, it may be possible if voices of conscience speak up.

As a first step, it will be in our interest to fully investigate the conduct of the police officers caught in the leaked tape. Plotting to overthrow an IGP may not be news as we know or might have read or heard about subordinates who used cunning means to get rid of their bosses and successfully replace them. However, that police officers could be heard in comments that are politically dangerous and may amount to an attempt to subvert the will of the people, should not be taken lightly. 

The political class should also be interested in this because sometimes, non-politicians do negative things and the blame is put on politicians. To build a progressive democratic society, we need men and women who will stay faithful to their profession and not become bootlickers and puppets.

The writer is a lecturer at the Department of Political Science Education, University of Education, Winneba