It is political payback time as NPP supporters brazenly seize gov’t offices, public latrines and toll booths.
It is amazing that the euphoria which greeted the NPP’s electoral victory in December hasn’t died out yet. Party supporters are still in a jubilant mood. I sure don’t begrudge them. If you have been locked out of the corridors of power for eight long years, and then suddenly there is this political rejuvenation, it can be cathartic, almost soothing.
However, one thing I am struggling to come to terms with is the rather inexplicable behavior of some supporters of the ruling party. Apparently emboldened, and indeed feeling intoxicated by their new found status as power brokers, the new political kids on the block, they march to government agencies where they forcefully chase out the occupants.
They then proceed to occupy these offices, while stubbornly refusing to vacate the premises despite prodding by the leadership of their party. This is pure lunacy.
The rationale advanced by these “occupiers” for their obscene and truly disturbing behavior is as ridiculous as it is far-fetched. It is payback time, they shamelessly claim, pointing to their opponents, NDC supporters’ similar behavior eight years ago. So what? How could that sort of boorish behavior be inspirational?
Despite the cavalier behavior of these supporters, to date, authorities have woefully failed to bring the knuckleheads to book. Instead, government has looked on haplessly as its supporters run roughshod over innocent Ghanaian workers.
Tamale has had its share of this despicable behavior. Offices of the Youth Employment Agency and the National Health Insurance Authority were on Friday stormed by the Kandahar boys, NPP enforcers. The poor workers at the agencies were chased out and the offices locked up. And nobody raised a finger against these bullies until the Tamale police stepped in to restore order.
It is deplorable that in the aftermath of what can best be described as the most successful and peaceful elections in the nation’s history, there are still elements among us who are bent on tarnishing the political gains we have made. They seem to be on a mission to claim what is not rightfully theirs.
Leave it to these detractors to give our democracy a bad eye. Indeed, what these NPP supporters are doing, is shameful, illegal and counterproductive. At the end of the day, the one entity that will bear the horrible tag for being indifferent and callous, and shoulder the responsibility for not acting authoritatively is the government.
Law enforcement authorities have to step up their efforts to curb this unruly behavior. Perpetrators should be arrested and charged with unlawful occupation of government buildings.
This is the only way to send a message to these marauders; government property should be out of bounds no matter which party is in power. Those properties belong to all of us, and not to a select group of Ghanaians who have political connections.
If no action is taken by authorities, the potential for it escalating into something more frightening is real. What if those government workers whose party affiliations are immaterial, decide to resist the bullying and take on the NPP tough guys? We sure don’t want to contemplate the consequences of such a confrontation.
