‘I want to use the platform of this message to make a sincere, personal appeal to the leaders of the two main political parties in our country, NPP and NDC, to come together as soon as possible, preferably next week, to agree on appropriate measures to bring an end to this worrying and unacceptable phenomenon of vigilantism in our body politics. If voluntary disbandment by the parties is not feasible, then I will initiate legislation in the matter’ said President Akufo Addo.
Even the political cynics in the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) should not have doubts about the sincerity in President Akufo-Addo’s resolve to eliminate vigilantism from our body politics. It is a commitment shared by all well-meaning Ghanaians.
One of the highlights of his State Of The Nation Address (SONA) yesterday was his invitation to the leadership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to join their New Patriotic Party (NPP) counterparts in adopting measures to stem vigilantism.
As a nation, we have had enough of the hooliganism by a section of the youth in our body-politics. So bad has it become that vigilantes see political campaign seasons as time to sell their brawns as they did during the Ayawaso West Wuogon constituency bye-elections recently. There would be no vigilantism if there are no patrons for the hoodlums and these patrons are the politicians.
The time to halt the nonsense is now and the President has set the tone and we encourage all to join in what should be a crusade.
The subject rightly found space in his State Of The Nation Address (SONA) because it borders on national security. When the bedrock of democracy, elections, is troubled and even threatened by the negative activities of hoodlums, the President as Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces must take action.
Being a subject that involves the major players in local politics, the President acted rightly when he stretched a hand to the opposition to join him in talking about how to stem the dangerous trend of vigilantism. He wants it next week and why not?
The President has not acted the ostrich as others would have done. He has accepted the fact that vigilantism exists and as something fueled by politicians of various persuasions, their commitment to ending it matters here. That is a sincere way of tackling the challenge. Without such acceptance as a leader, his sincerity would have been in doubt.
It behooves all stakeholders to take interest in stemming vigilantism because of its debilitating effect on democracy. Let the two main parties, jaw-jaw on the subject so that as we inch towards 2020, players in the vigilante industry are rendered jobless.
No leader has ever put the subject of election violence on the front burner as being done now. A Commission Of Enquiry probing the recent bye-election violence and now an invitation to the opposition to discuss how to stem it, demands plaudits and reciprocity from all stakeholders.
The various interventions alluded to in the President’s SONA as in the enhancement of vocational and career training would provide the necessary impetus for job creation. This way the quarries for vigilantes would dry up and Ghana would be the winner.