Dr. George Akuffo Dampare
The position of Chief Constable or in our case the Inspector General of Police (IGP) has never been so contentious it would seem when Dr. George Akuffo Dampare locked his interest on the position.
Others eyed the position, but in the end, the choice of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces was for the man who today is no longer at the helm of the foremost internal security management agency.
Ghana was last Thursday evening greeted with the news of the exit of the IGP, and his position bestowed upon the Deputy Inspector General of Police Christian Tetteh Yohuno, whose appointment to the position generated questions, perhaps we hardly have Deputy IGP’s in our security architecture.
Even before the President pulled out Dr. Dampare, social media pranks had been rife for close to a month about President John Mahama changing the internal security chief he inherited from the erstwhile administration.
These turned out to be the usual fake news social media activists are used to flying, sometimes with the plodding of some interested persons to test the waters.
Each time one of the fake news made it to social media, it provoked discussion about whether or not that day would arrive when the real pulling-out would take place.
Eventually though the real correspondence asking IGP Dampare to leave made it to the public space, the authenticity of which was not in doubt, the coat of arms of genuineness bedecking it.
For those of us watchful of the media space or the general ambience of the country, the exit of Dr. George Akuffo Dampare from the helm of internal security management marks a closure to another chapter of policing in the country.
Policing has been in the news since the commencement of the political campaign season to date when a new government is still trying to find its feet at the throttles of state management.
When the former IGP decides to chronicle his chequered tenure, full of twists and turns, he would not face a dearth of materials to fill the pages.
The exit of Dr. George Akuffo Dampare reminded some of us about the Latin adage -tempora mutantur – to wit, Time Changes.
Only change is static and so wherever mortals find themselves, especially as leaders, they should remember that the quality of their stewardship is critical. In the end, when the pendulum of change dangles from one position to the other, those impacted by our                       performance would give their verdict.
When news about the change broke, the noticeable excitement among the personnel of the Police spanning the Other Ranks, Inspectorate and Senior Officers classes spilled to the public space.
Mr. Christian Tetteh Yohuno is taking over the command of the Ghana Police Service at a time when morale of personnel has witnessed an all-time low.
As the new Chief Constable with some four decades experience in policing, we can advise not teach him how to ensure a reversal of the status quo in terms of morale.
Policing or law enforcement constitutes a cornerstone of democracy, and so much would be expected from the man at the helm as we march on as a nation.
Let him focus on his job, marry the Ghana First mantra and keep away the gossipers who would troop to his residence with all manner of stories.
We wish the new Chief Constable as he adjusts himself on the new seat Godspeed.