Ambassador Daniel Osei
Former Ghana’s Consul General to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, Ambassador Daniel Osei, is calling on Ghanaians to rally behind President Akufo-Addo and support his government’s directives aimed at halting the spread of coronavirus.
In his latest article, the envoy widely known for sharply criticizing former President John Mahama, says
by all measures, President Akufo-Addo has decisively committed to mitigating the Coronavirus pandemic and must be commended and empowered for his strong, decisive, and effective leadership.
“However, governments attempts to fight the pandemic and fend off the spreading of the virus, will be meaningless if the nation does not rally around the singular goal of keeping the citizens safe by heeding the good directives given by the president and his team,” he said.
The stopping of incoming flights, closing our borders, closing of schools, proactive quarantines and testing, stopping large gatherings of people, he said, are all strong steps to keep the nation safe as the world continues to collect data and learn more about the virus and best ways to keep it under control and ultimately eliminate it.
These measures, he noted, will only be effective if the citizens commit to heeding the call of government, and more importantly, remain steadfast in being each other’s keeper. While no demographic group is spared or immune, we must understand the explicit information from global data on infections and death, which clearly shows a strong vulnerability by the elderly, and individuals with underlying health issues including diabetes.
“These individuals form a large percentage of our population. Worse still, many of our elderly are in deprived and rural areas, which compound their vulnerability.
“Thus, strict adherence to government’s directives on hand washing, sanitizing, cleanliness, social distancing, and proactively engaging the necessary personal and communal sacrifices, will go a long way to help keep our country and citizens safe as this too shall pass,” according to him.
The evidence thus far, he said, shows clearly that nations including South Korea and China who took strong early decisions for a complete shutdown, effectively contained the spread of the virus, and flattened the curve of new infections and deaths.
Evidently, this vital information has informed the president’s strong and very important directives for targeted lockdowns in hot spots in the nation, he added.
“He’s leading well on this fight and the nation must rally and unite behind his leadership and support him in this fight. The nation must support the president and the government meaningfully to make the right decision, and succeed in stopping new infections and save lives.”
The biggest difference between Ghana and those nations which engaged partial or complete lockdowns with successful outcomes; is resources, he said.
The Ambassador added that also, the nature of our economy, with most participants in the informal sector, makes it extremely difficult to know and assist individuals based on formal data.
“Therefore, a complete or partial lockdown demands an all hands on deck approach by citizens, and corporate Ghana to execute for success.
“We must forge practical ways to feed the needy as most of our day laborers, street vendors and many others depend on their daily wages to eat. We must keep in mind such a lockdown may not last beyond 4 weeks. It’s a critical step in the fight against the Corona pandemic.
“We must observe with grave concern the outcomes of delayed lockdowns in Europe and appreciate a temporary lockdown as directed by the president, is the difference between a successful containment of the virus in the short term for a return to normal, or a prolonged period of painful and agonizing stories of death and disease with no end in sight as is happening in many European countries. We must listen and support the Presidents good leadership,” he stated.
By Melvin Tarlue