A GNA Feature by Rosemary Wayo
Tamale, Oct. 03, GNA- A disconcerting pattern has emerged in Ghana raising alarms and igniting important discussions among citizens, legislators, and security professionals alike, a surge in violence that challenges the basis of the country’s civilisation.
Incidents
Gunshots were fired at the Tamale District Court in the Northern Region on August 28, 2023, resulting in property damage and injuries to people including a police officer.
The chaos is said to have resulted from an attack by residents, who besieged the court over a case that involved a recalcitrant drug dealer, with claims that the perpetrator could be shielded by the police.
Similarly, the Lamashegu Divisional Command of the Ghana Police Service in Tamale was attacked by some residents on Sunday, February 12, 2023.
On Friday, June 02, 2023, a police station at Daboya in the North Gonja District of the Savannah Region was attacked by enraged youth, who demanded the release of an alleged culprit.
The Asawase Police Station in the Asokore Mampong Municipality of the Ashanti Region was also attacked by angry youth following the death of their colleague, which took the station off the grid as its electricity meter was damaged.
Emerging violence trends
These occurrences, which led to commotions in various areas, are a handful of recurring attacks on police stations, public institutions, and security officers within this year alone.
These intermittent incidents have thrown a spotlight on a comprehensive trend emerging in regions across the country that have the potential to create national tension.
Offices such as the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo), and financial institutions among others have suffered attacks from irate residents in parts of the country.
Reports had it that state security officers have been attacked this year across the country including Bawku and Hamile in the Upper West and East Regions leaving one officer dead.
In the turn of events, a country that has been touted for peace and linked with conflict only in the ethnic, tribal, chieftaincy and land dispute senses, has been bedevilled by attacks on police stations, service-providing institutions and security personnel.
The disturbing trend of residents resorting to violence to address grievances and suspected injustices is subtly threatening Ghana’s peace.
The high rate of lawlessness witnessed during sporting activities involving Senior High Schools (SHSs) as well as sports clubs is another conflict potential trend worth uncovering.
The recent developments, different from the traditional occurrences that endangered lives and property in the past, have exposed a deep-rooted conflict potential that has been bubbling beneath the surface, threatening to disrupt national peace.
Addressing grievances with violent means threatens the peace of society and makes room for extremism, yet it is becoming the resort of individuals and groups, especially the youth in the country.
Many human actions challenge the foundations of civility and order, and so unveiling the “conflict potential” as the situations unfold, it becomes apparent that violent trends that have the potential of degenerating into major or extreme conflicts are not limited to attacks on police stations and offices.
There is also the trend of SHS students resorting to violence to attack school authorities, and destroying school properties to express dissatisfaction.
This, coupled with residential students’ inability to coexist peacefully with one another, is emerging as a potent source of conflict, if not curtailed.
Among these schools are Koforidua Secondary Technical School, St Benedict SHS, St John’s SHS, Sirigu Integrated SHS, Bolga Technical Institute, Krobea Asante Technical and Vocational School and Islamic Senior High School.
Why should they be seen as conflict potentials?
Drawing lessons from civil wars in countries like the Democratic Republic (DR) of Congo, Sudan, and Rwanda among others, it is prudent to consider that a vague situation could deteriorate into a major conflict and further escalate.
Indiscipline acts of citizens and the tendency to accommodate violence can lead to a cycle of retaliation and counterattacks, further destabilising communities and the nation’s extension.
Domestic attacks that are often symptomatic of deeper societal grievances and tensions can be fueled by political, ethnic, or tribal forces that could result in major conflicts.
Ghana, being bordered by countries that are undergoing conflict crises, cannot take chances, considering the spillover of immigrants from the Sahel regions.
Experts say violent extremists are known for taking advantage of already existing violence, to strike, hence the need to urgently control these violence drifts to minimise the chances of extremism.
It is, therefore, crucial to consider the long-term implications of the violent trends including their conflict potentials that can destabilise regions, create refugee crises, or have global repercussions.
Effects of conflicts
According to the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), the economic cost of violence in the 10 most conflict-affected countries is 41 per cent of their Gross Domestic Product, on average.
The Institute’s 2023 Global Peace Index indicates that the average level of global peacefulness deteriorated by 0.42%, being the 13th deterioration in peacefulness in the last fifteen years.
Internal conflict was identified as part of the indicators contributing to the largest year-on-year deteriorations.
Conflicts disrupt peace, human rights, economic activities, and the essence of existence, and in the worst cases displace people.
Data provided by IEP states that “The global economic impact of violence was $17.5 trillion in 2022, equivalent to 12.9% of global GDP, or $2,200 per person.”
Deputy Superintendent of Immigration (DSI), Mr Robert Ubindam, Head of Operations and Intelligence at the Ghana Immigration Service, Paga Border, who is a resource person on violent extremism issues, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, said the emerging trend of youth taking up arms and going after uniformed personnel and security installations was a deviation from the traditional form of violence the country was exposed to, adding, it was a worry to the management of the state security.
He attributed the emerging trends to lack of information, and political and traditional interference in the duties of security services stating that the latter emboldened others to engage in violent activities.
He said “We must act and act timeously to put a stop to these before they escalate. Stakeholders must come together with a concerted effort to ensure conflicts are resolved amicably. Conflicts are inevitable but we must appreciate that peaceful resolution is the way to go.”
Way forward
The almost identical reasons associated with the incidents cited indicate citizens’ dissatisfaction with service provision and justice systems, which is a call for improvement in diverse institutions that fall prey to attacks such that the citizenry could regain confidence and trust verdicts.
SHS authorities must take pragmatic steps, first to sensitise students on the essence of peaceful co-existence and the potency of trivial issues escalating to become a threat to the nation and sanction deviant students accordingly.
The family, as well as religious and traditional authorities, should take up the responsibility of orienting the youth on the need to resort to peaceful resolutions.
Citizens must allow the security agencies to carry out their duties irrespective of who is involved as a way of prioritising peace.
GNA