At a time when security personnel are working under perilous circumstances, honouring those who risk their lives to save others in danger must be celebrated.
We have followed with dedication the story of the two police officers whose lives were saved by a lone immigration officer to ensure that others tread on that path of valour.
We also sought by our keeping the story on the spotlight to have the officer recognised with an appropriate honour. Ignoring the feat he exhibited would have been tantamount to not caring a hoot about service to humanity by the state as represented by the management of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS). Overlooking such feats are not only demoralising but they do not encourage others to follow in that path.
Comptroller-General of Immigration Kwame Asuah-Takyi has done what is expected of all departmental heads, especially the regimented ones.
Last week he and the management of the Ghana Immigration Service honoured the lone immigration officer, Assistant Immigration Control Officer II AICO Nurideen Abdul Ganiew Takra with a promotion to AICO I.
With the Inspector General of Police represented by the Director General of the Motor Transport and Traffic Directorate of the Ghana Police, Commissioner of Police Francis Ebenezer Doku and some security service heads in attendance, sufficient honour was done the lone immigration officer.
We join the officer in celebrating the feat and to pat ourselves on the back for following the subject to its logical end which is a recognition for now AICO I Nurideen Abdul Ganiew Takra and by extension the GIS and its management, especially the Comptroller-General.
When personnel of such security agencies know and trust their bosses to be ready to recognise their feats of excellence, they would go the extra mile to work for God and country, and that is what we expect of them.
We can assure the rest of our compatriots in uniform that while appreciating the challenging circumstances of their work, we do not expect anything below total dedication to the cause of Ghana. In the same vein, the authorities should do all they can to provide personnel with the necessary logistics to give of their best.
High morale is a sine qua non for security personnel. Recognition of their work is an important ingredient for high morale. Losing sight of this by the state can be costly, and we do not want to be in that situation.
When budgets are presented especially for agencies whose personnel are first responders to security challenges such as posed by militants in neighbouring countries like Burkina Faso, stinginess should not be an option.