The world is at war. Ghana is at war. The war against coronavirus, the invisible enemy, that doesn’t adhere to the rules of engagement of war.
The aged are not spared, the young women and even the weak. We are at war with an enemy that we don’t know. An enemy that we don’t need bombs, guns and knives to subjugate.
In this war, the military established to fight wars are asked to stay at home, a war that the police can’t fight with brutal force. A war that can only be fought against by civilian nurses, doctors, laboratory personnel and paramedics.
They are now the gallant and brave soldiers of this invisible warfare. They fight day and night to identify and defeat the enemy called COVID-19.
The gallant soldiers of the health sector health wield simple arsenal ? PPE and patriotism. I envy them. I pity them. I love them.
Who would have realised that even the art of war would change from the sound of rattling gunfire and the deafening sound of bombs dropping from fighter jets from the enemy zigzagging across our skies? Over the years, we concentrated in equipping and retooling the military and police while paying less or little attention to the new soldiers of the new warfare: nurses and doctors.
The nurses and doctors must be seen as soldiers and we must factor them into our defence mechanism. If we ignore this, it will be at our own detriment. In a war such as this, the basic weapons to defeat the enemy are to observe personal hygiene by washing our hands with soap under running water, maintain social distance and avoid public gathering.
This might be a war that requires s to change the paradigm in financing our security and defence.
In this war, the soldiers become less important in the vanguard and frontline as they are only reduced to whip holding men and women who are even afraid of personal contact.
The real generals of this war are our doctors, nurses and laboratory personnel. They are the real HEROES OF THE WAR. These HEROES deserve a badge of honour each when the battle is over, and I believe we shall defeat it as early as possible.
By Osman Lahorima Iddrisu Banpuori