Just for the records, our democratic structure does not seem to care two straws about the so-called “ordinary Ghanaian” (an expression which in itself should leave us with some sense of discomfort).
Not a single day passes by without the intelligence of the Ghanaian being insulted by persons in and out of government. And a time will come when the scales would fall off the eyes of many and they would begin to question the political structure which they have supported for centuries.
Look at things this way: Does it not surprise you that you leave your business, children and other commitments that you have and go and form a queue under the guise of exercising your civic right to vote; and the end product is a president and a number of Members of Parliament (MPs). The election of these two serves as basis for the filling of thousands of positions in the public sector.
After the elections, you are required to tilt your car at a particular angle to make way for the man or woman you voted for. The excuse is that such a person is more important than you are and, therefore, you should make way for them.
How about building bigger and better roads so nobody would have to be stuck in traffic in the first place?
There is a current debate as to whether MPs need security. The answer should be, and is, “of course!” Members of Parliament require security. So does everyone here in this country. This call comes on the back of the murder of an MP, JB Danquah. It is certainly a very sad and disturbing event.
But even more sad and disturbing is the thought by some MPs that the solution to the problem is by having their own security guards. Naturally, that should make everyone happy. But I think they missed the point.
They should be calling the security chiefs and intelligence persons and grilling them over what they are doing to ensure the safety and security of the Ghanaian.
They should be placing the spotlight on the police administration and whether they have what it takes to fight the complexities associated with modern criminal techniques.
It seems they forget that they are in a representative capacity. Like Martin Luther King Jnr said, insecurity anywhere is insecurity everywhere.
Insecurity is a shared experience. It is something that runs through the veins of everyone who has had their house broken into by robbers; or those who have lost relatives as a result of armed robbery or police brutalities.
It doesn’t end there. Instead of spreading the call wide enough, they are simply asking for themselves - and they got the Minister of the Interior designate to assure them of such protection.
The man walking under the streetlight also deserves police protection from the very perils the MPs are seeking to protect themselves from.
The 11-year-old boy on his way to school with a bag firmly clinched to his back also requires police protection. Everyone in this country needs protection - even dogs and cats need protection.
Parliament does not live for itself. It is not an end in itself. It’s supposed to be a sounding board for most of the challenges that confront Haruna and Esi in their respective communities.
I hear and understand people making an economic argument regarding the protection of Members of Parliament. They say the cost of electing a Member of Parliament is higher than the cost involved in selecting and appointing a minister of state.
To this end, it is in the interest of the state to ensure that MPs are well taken care of.
Of course, losing a Member of Parliament is a very expensive venture. The cost involved in running a by-election, for instance, could as well be used for the creation of opportunities and settlement of an obligation.
There is no problem about that, but in the week where there’ve been unrests between some members of the Muslim community and those in the Christian community over the extent of a land boundary.
Also there’ve been lots of ink and energy spilled over the security challenges regarding the tenancy and status of Fulani herdsmen in Agogo.
In the same week the spread of meningitis is having a toll on the sense of security of persons in the affected areas; following weeks where two innocent Ghanaians were shot under the flimsy pretext that they were armed robbers; the last thing we need is a Parliament that speaks for itself. It should be seen and heard speaking for all.
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