A video showing an encounter between some Zongo youth and soldiers in the Western North town of Bibiani at an Ashanti Gold concession was scary and thought-provoking.
What could have gotten over the young men to risk being shot as they ignored caution with underpinning exuberance? Â Were they under the influence of opioid substances? Whatever was the underlying factor the young men exhibited unnecessary and stupid bravado which deserves condemnation by all and sundry.
The encounter, information has it, was triggered by the youth’s refusal to drop some stuff simply called black which they picked from the within the premises of the gold mining company.
The youth obviously not ready to oblige the order called the bluff of the armed soldiers by enacting mock charges on the armed soldiers some of them doing so with cutlasses, menacingly.
It was an hair-raising spectacle as the soldiers occasionally corked their weapons to scare away the hoodlums which they were considering their conduct on the premises of a gold-mining company.
We must congratulate the soldiers for exhibiting maximum restraint in the face of excessive provocation from an unruly youth gang.
Although one person is said to be seriously injured and others sustaining various degrees of wounds too, the situation could have been worse than what was recorded.
Although calm has been restored, we cannot rule out an attempt by the stupid youth from overrunning the premises of the gold company.
Some of the youth, before leaving the premises, threatened to beat the soldiers when they meet them in Bibiani town. When they make good their threat there is no doubt that the soldiers won’t be sitting ducks, the consequence which could be bloody.
We do not know what the black stuff constitutes but can conclude however that it has a certain level of value which is why the youth risked their lives so recklessly to pick them.
We ask all well-meaning Ghanaians to join us in condemning the conduct of the youth which of course was anything but appropriate and acceptable.
It is unfortunate that in this day and age, we are facing a dearth of voices which can restrain unruly youth from embarking upon daredevil adventures. This notwithstanding, elders, opinion leaders, church and mosque leaders including traditional leaders, should embark upon a crusade to restore the fading indiscipline in society especially among the youth.
If cutlasses were wielded in the manner in which was showed in the appalling video, it can only be imagined what would happen if the youth are brainwashed to do the bidding of bad politicians during an election.
Those behind the act of indiscipline and criminality should be smoked out and prosecuted after investigations.