“…So we had to beef up security. Our people were up to the task. So we had a peaceful election. Azorka Boys would not react unless they are provoked. If you are attacked and the police is not around won’t you defend yourself? We also had to bring in some men. When we go back to Accra, we would streamline the private security system. Those which are not licensed would be stopped.”
These were some of the words of Interior Minister Mark Woyongo – a mind-boggling recognition of thugs whose notoriety attracted national attention during the NDC’s ill-fated Koforidua congress in 2003.
We are lost for apt words in describing what kind of literate Mark Woyongo is if he would descend to the smelly level of showering subtle plaudits on a thug like Sofo Azorka who was also in action during another NDC congress at the University of Ghana, Legon, during which cow hide whips were used lavishly on party members who had divergent views about the choice of officers. Suffice it to regard him as a good-for-nothing minister who can ignite fire on the country with his combustible remarks.
Interior Minister Mark Woyongo’s recognition of the role of thugs in elections as represented by Sofo Azorka and his criminal gangs in Talensi is most irresponsible.
Listening to the interior minister – a man upon who is bestowed the task of internal security – we pity the IGP and his officers, given the man’s penchant for interfering in their work – something which can kill the spirit of dedicated law enforcement agents when they are for instance deployed to thug-infested theatres.
It is lamentable that for all the good work that the police sought to do in Talensi, they were prevented from doing so because the thugs, bussed in from Tamale, had a carte blanche to do as they pleased from Woyongo.
A cop who was held by the collar of his shirt by one of Azorka’s thugs was only released when a soldier corked his weapon.
A number of worrying deductions can be made from Woyongo’s remarks. The Azorka boys were brought in to maintain law and order as though the police were incapable of performing their statutory duties, he said clearly.
For all the unprovoked acts of indiscipline to top political leadership of the country on the other side of the divide by the Azorka thugs, Mark Woyongo had the unacceptable cause to shower plaudits on them. That he is inclined against the conduct of Azorka and not the word of gentlemen like Freddie Blay, Rashid Bawa, Sir John and others is unsurprising. It only tells us what quality of a person this man is.
Who armed the Azorka boys with firearms? Who fired shots in front of the NPP offices in Talensi? Who ordered the release of the suspects in the crazy actions in Talensi?
A gentleman loses all his respect if he shows a penchant for lying. Mark Woyongo is a bloody liar who does not deserve to hold public office, never.
Is he telling us that the Azorka hoodlums maintained law and order in Talensi? God save this country from a future calamity if this crop of persons is maintained at the helm.
Mark Woyongo’s message to political parties about the nature of security maintenance in 2016 is portentous. Allowing him to hold his portfolio is parlous and should not be allowed, especially in an election year.
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