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| Prospective recruits in Wa, Upper West |
Whenever
I see or hear the name ‘Ghana’ appearing in the name of an institution, it
reminds me of a true story of a senior at the then Sunyani Secondary School [SUSEC].
This
senior in question we were told was a class prefect. For the purpose of this
piece, I will name him Jimmy. Most often when class was in session, after 12pm meant
that he had closed from school. Surprised? Don’t be surprised yet.
Jimmy,
the class prefect, marked his [class’] register at the dormitory. “Bismark
Apati … by now he is not in class,” Jimmy would say of some notable students and
marked them absent. For him, being in class in the morning and vanishing from
class after 12pm meant you will be marked absent. Some of our seniors who
confessed also skipping class, at times, to relax at the dormitory painted a
clear picture of Jimmy’s wonders.
When
school had closed and he [Jimmy] asked his classmates to authenticate his
‘present and absent’ list for the day, he was always right.
Jimmy’s
prediction is not anything different from the one who predicts how poorly an
institution with ‘Ghana’ attached to its name could perform at a particular
given time. I must say there is nothing wrong with ‘Ghana’ but there is
something wrong in the thinking of some people who work for Ghana-institutions.
Here, it is only a handful of such institutions that will not yield to such
predictions. The Ghana Police Service, for that matter, has often fallen flat
to this test.
Somewhere
in 2016 when I got to the Police Training School at Tesano in the Greater Accra
region, a number of young men and women had lined up. They were being vetted
and the exercise took place across the country. He who passed the officers’
test of measurement of height and documents-check among others would be
admitted as recruits into the various police training schools.
I
was there as a reporter and I observed with rapt attention. At the grounds, I
spoke with three people who were lobbying to be given some grace period to go
bring one or two of their documents which they had left home. Among these
documents these people had left home were birth certificates. By the officers’
strict orders insisting the would-be recruits presented every single requested document,
I praised the vetting process. The Ghana Police is getting things done right
this time. There will be no issues.
Months
after the 2016/2017 recruitment exercise, the Ghana Police Service issues a
memo instructing that recruits who fell short of proper documentation be
dismissed from the training schools. Indeed, this order has led to a number of
the police recruits being dismissed. I hear about 3, 000 of them.
Following
this, many Ghanaians have expressed worry over the training these dismissed
recruits have gained. The fear is that the aggrieved within this dismissed
fellows could turn to ‘use’ their acquired skills against the society. This, the
Director of Public Affairs of the Ghana Police Service Superintendent Cephas
Arthur has told the media there is no need to worry.
“The dismissed trainees have not gotten to the level of handling guns and other weapons which could motivate them to take guns.”
“The
dismissed trainees have not gotten to the level of handling guns and other
weapons which could motivate them to take guns,” writes 3news.com adding that the training they have received will “be
beneficial to the society because they have gone through certain form of police
training.”
The
police’s further argue that every Ghanaian should have had a sort of military
training so, again, there is no big deal about these dismissed recruits.
I
would not want to go into the debate over the possible threats the dismissed
recruits could pose to society. Some practicing security officers misbehave and
they get dismissed. They also pose a threat to our society. Better put, it all
boils down to the police being on their toes to have an eagle eye on those
dismissed.
My
worry, however, has to do with the Ghana Police Service's inability to tell who
had a complete set of academic qualifications during the recruitment exercise. Also,
how come one person presented no certificate but was recruited?
The
other time, it was a recruitment scam. Today the story is different but not
encouraging either. Our police service has been serving the nation
relentlessly. However, they widely open their gate for needless criticisms that
go a long way to erode the public’s confidence reposed in them.
When
the New Patriotic Party was announced winner of the 2016 election by the
Electoral Commission, the police slacked in arresting the hoodlums of the party
for attacking innocent persons. Many say that is how it has been most often as
when the National Democratic Congress assumed office in 2008, the story was the
same.
When
you sit in a trotro [public transport] and the police stops your bus all you
hear the entire passengers onboard say is ‘give it to him and let’s go.’
Whereas some men and women within the Service are working very hard to redeem
the image of their profession, many officers out there make predicting the
police an easy task.
When
you stand right in front of the Ghana Police Headquarters, in Accra, you can
predict motor riders will jump red light and the police will look on and indeed
this happens every blessed day. I am surprised what the security cameras
mounted at the entrance of their edifice capture.
Instances
of predicting the police, like Jimmy did in mark his class’ register, are
countless. You may add your own. What we must earnestly drum home is for the
Inspector General of Police, David Asante Apeatu to work with his eyes widely
open. He should be bold to bring to book whoever tarnishes the image of the
Ghana Police Service.
Mr.
IGP, I know you were not at post as of the recruitment exercise but was it the
plan that the police will admit people with BECE, NVTI, NABTEX and City and
Guilds certificates and be asked to go home later on?
The writer is a broadcast journalist
with 3FM 92.7. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do
not necessarily reflect 3FM’s editorial policy.
Email:
nehusthan4@yahoo.com
Twitter:
@Aniwaba
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