By Prof. Kwesi Yankah
The Ghana Constitution is so nice, it could give you all protection needed to exercise free speech, but also allow you the right to land yourself in the hands of Dampare. Call it anti-Galamsey demonstrations that seek to tell the truth with bad intentions.
I was part of several street protests towards 1992, being a cool backdoor protestor often in canvas shoes, ready to flee just in case. Sometimes I was in the third row far behind Nana Addo from Nkrumah Circle to UTC, sweating it out. I was also part of anti-Acheampong protests in the turbulent Legon days: Kilometre 101 where student protestors advancing
towards Tetteh Quarshie Circle (now interchange) were stopped by soldiers. At the time of the encounter, students themselves were tired singing and walking on empty stomachs; and the most cruel thing we did was to help ourselves to a passing busload of bread from Aliceda Bakery. Not our fault.
I also witnessed the naming of Legon streets after student martyrs who fell in the name of freedom. Agyei Barima was gunned down by the police in the late 1970s during an anti-military demo in Accra; he was considered a martyr by the university, and the athletic oval was fittingly named after him. Thereafter Mekki Abass, an innocent Sudanese student was caught in the cross fire of police-student exchanges. Legon rose to the occasion and later named the crime scene after Mekki Abass. In all those demos, I was ever present but in running shoes.
Plus several other demos. But unlike the recent anti-Galamsey protest, I never saw one where access to a hospital was blocked by angry protestors advancing a national cause. And neither did I experience one similar to a rare scene last week: a leading protestor removing the ignition key of a waiting security truck, and bolting away in full view of camera! The problem with the Dampare police is, they believe so much in constitutional freedoms they could even serve protestors with tea and snacks, and immediately thereafter brandish a handcuff.
The flurry of social media videos since then have been informative; and listen to nerve wracking dialogues between protestors and drivers whose access to the hospital road had been blocked with boulders.
No car should cross this 37 Hospital Street… no car is moving here… We will let you suffer if you don’t want to join us for this demo… Next time if you see people protesting you should join them…
Why block access to the only road to the Hospital, denying people access to health care…?
Another scene. The words of frustrated passer-by, who has been compelled to make a u turn:
‘What sense does it make? What problem does this solve? People are dying, and see this…’
But hear this harrowing response from a protestor:
‘With the several people populating Ghana today, what’s wrong if some people die?’
‘If it were your mother or child dying, would you say this……’
‘Yes, People should be left to die because they did not join the demo…You should be taught a
lesson if you don’t want to join the demo against Galamsey…’
And on and on it went: fighting a great national cause by blocking access to health care….
For the Anti-Galamsey protestors, let them not distort clean messages by dignified civil society groups that have submitted memos that seek to restore the sanity of our natural environment; let them not frustrate the efforts of traditional leaders like the great Chief of Jema in Aowin, who put community interest above his own, turning down huge material enticements from greedy Galamsey merchants. That chief now languishes on a sick bed, waiting for Providence to save his life, and would sob hearing the new turn the anti-Galamsey struggle has taken.
Our young group of activists should not disappoint the several civil society groups including Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences who have presented research based memos to Government painting a grim picture of environmental horrors illicit mining has inflicted on Ghana. Democracy Hub should not drown such voices.
Having said all this, let me add my voice to the plea for mercy for suspects arrested and remanded, in the name of the noble objective they announced. Indeed, in their search for a clean environment they have ended up fouling the air and raising eyebrows about the real agenda.
In such critical times, it is simply not message at stake, but the demeanour of the messenger.
You don’t seek the hand of your fiancée by twerking your waist in front of your father-in-law.
My Lord please caution the youthful offenders, and tell them the entire episode is a good lesson in how not to fight Galamsey.
May they go and sin here no more!
kyankah@ashesi.edu.g
