The state mourning is over, what next?
A journalist asked me to explain the purpose of flying flags at half-mast. I said it was the same as wearing black or white at funerals. It was the outward expression of national grief. He asked whether that was all.
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I said it was to focus attention on the sad event; show those who have lost loved ones that we grieve with them; find out whether our actions contributed to the tragedy and how we can avoid similar situations in the future; examine the arrangements we have for dealing immediately with the event; and finally to alleviate the suffering and inconvenience of those affected.
I must confess I was taken aback by the question. It reminded me of my civil service days when I had to find reasons for the knee-jerk action of those in authority. I believe, however, that the three days of national mourning was not a mere stunt but a measure to help reflection and thoughtful action.
The nation has expressed its sympathy and individuals and organisations have gone to the assistance of those affected. But I hope we do not believe we have done enough by distributing tins of sardines and the like.
I am told the sardines are already being sold by some recipients.
I wonder whether our disaster management agencies had effective plans for managing such a situation. Are the plans of these agencies well-coordinated? I wanted to go to the Loom which is near the disaster place yesterday. It was closed. I asked the proprietor why she had closed shop.She said the place was flooded and security men had barred entry. She could not contact any high official and did not know which agency was responsible for the order to bar entry and the security officer appeared not to be any wiser.
It is likely that there was good reason for closing the shop.But this should be known to those around, especially the owner. From many accounts, the security, health and other agencies and organisations did a good job. But coordination of efforts and activities in such a situation should have been determined before a particular unfortunate event.
I have heard accounts of events leading to the fire at Nkrumah Circle. They differ and are variously embellished. Events leading to the fire should ,however, be known so that we could, where possible, avoid similar occurrences in the future. As a people, we do not like interrogating the past. We like bygones to be bygones, especially when they remind us of sad events. Authority is generally reluctant to probe into issues.It is a Ghanaian habit.
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I remember a patient dying at Korle bu many years ago when a doctor friend of mine was negligent. Another friend, Dr Djoleto, was in charge of Korle Bu. He formally indicted the young doctor. Instead of replying to the query, my friend reported the matter to his influential relations who approached the Head of State about the matter. Dr Djoleto was summoned to the Castle and asked why he was troubling the young doctor! “Would the query bring the dead back to life?” he was asked by the Head of State. A similar question is asked when one asks for investigation into unfortunate situations. But we should know what exactly happened if we are not to repeat past mistakes regularly. We should have a commission of enquiry go into the causes and management of the Nkrumah Circle fire disaster. Did winds carry the fire which started some distance away to the GOIL station as is believed by some? Was the petrol tank at the station properly sealed? Was the fire intense because water seeped into the petrol tank to force the light petrol to float to the surface? How far did choked drains and gutters contribute to the mayhem?
We should know the answers to these questions so that we put what is wrong right. Hearsay is not enough. We should have a committee of experts to investigate and come out with the facts. A Committee of Enquiry report will not bring the dead back to life. But it will certainly help us to avoid similar events in the future. Without knowing what really happened, our compatriots would have died in vain and flags at half-mast, a mere show without substance.