It’s been almost a year, since I created this blog. Not a single post here. So why did I create this blog? The answer does not come to mind so easily. Somehow, I wanted to talk about myself. Talk about my daily life. More like a daily diary. I wanted to blog about interesting things I see each day. I wanted to make it a fun blog. Entertaining, catchy, funny, you name it. But then I never found the time. I never got the buzz to make it how I wanted it to be.
You may have to forgive me for this, because things are about to get heated up in here. A plethora of issues on my mind since creating this blog, some have died out, others are still burning, others are coming up as current issues. Blah... blah... blah... let me not bore you with all the jazz. I’ll tell you what’s on my mind... that reminds me of facebook. Personally, I think they ought to change that dumb question anyway: "What's on your mind?" But that’s not my business. It’s for Big Mark to decide.
Yeah, now to my blogging topic. Who heard about the news of a young lady who was brutally molested at the University of Ghana campus for allegedly stealing a cell phone and/or a laptop computer? Well, if you didn’t, then you’re probably not living in Ghana. Sorry.
I’ve seen the unedited video, and I’ll be very charitable with my words. It’s... yyyuck!!! Terrible. Simply appalling. To think those are University students who inflicted such abuse on a young lady? Phew!! We have a long way to go.
Yet, some segment of the public keep talking about the “good guy bad guy” stuff. Was the lady indeed a thief? Really? I mean seriously? People can be that shallow? To me, as to whether she was caught red handed with the stolen gadgets at 3a.m. as alleged is of no consequence. We’re not talking about how bad it is to molest an innocent person. We’re talking about how inhumane it is, to molest a defenceless human being. I just read a news article on ghanaweb and it was such a shock!! Not the article per se, but the comments. Jeez!!
So who’s to be blamed? That’s what we - me kyer3 s3 Ghana fo - like to do, right? Something happens, we quickly find one person or an agency to blame, then we keep quiet about it. You wanna know the ugly truth? We’re all to be blamed. I quite remember a news item on TV a couple of weeks back. Some women advocates met to “deliberate” over this issue. And what of all these big time women groups who held big meetings and talked big on TV about how heinous a crime the UG students have committed? Where were they? Why didn’t they visit her? I won’t be surprised if none of them has ever met this young lady (Amina). If they did, then why this news that she’s become suicidal due to the associated disgrace of the video? Yet, they take advantage to advance their careers by appearing on TV and radio taking big about how deeply “concerned” they are about the situation. To say the truth, all some of them want is some publicity. Something to get them some UN appointment somewhere and a couple of citations to swell their pride. That’s all. If they really cared, then I ask again: why was the molested young lady suicidal? huh? Why didn’t any of them offer psychological support or pay her bills so she could see a clinical psychologist for help?
I can see someone nodding his head to this. I’m not done yet. No, far from that. Now, to those in academia. The social scientists especially and to some extent, public health professionals – well, here, I’ll be culpable. I am yet to see any extensive research work in Ghana about why the public choose to lynch suspected thieves, what goes into the decision process, what would attract a passer- by to get involved in this act, how they completely lose their conscience when this act is going on, and a whole lot. None, whatsoever. Nil. No research in this area. Rather, we quickly blame the police, saying the public has lost confidence in the police.
And oh, yes. Just in case you didn’t know, I’m a technocrat. (KNUST alumni) Call me a snitch, whatever, but a similar incident took place at KNUST, somewhere in 2004/2005, when I must have been in either first or second year. I saw it myself. A young man was beaten up mercilessly with blood oozing from his face at Indece Hall on an allegation of theft. He was later whisked away by campus security. What was made of him later, I never heard of it.
Where am I going with all this? I’m looking at the bigger picture here. Mob justice is a social cancer. Our society is sick, my friend. And as Ghanaians, we’re all part of that society. Let us not be too quick to blame others for our problems. Human rights advocates, academia and the rest of us must do our little part. As you talk with people in your daily routine, when you notice someone is sick in the head- I mean someone who thinks mob justice is justified, take it as an opportunity to do some little public education. We kicked polio out of Ghana – we still immunise though since it’s still found within some of our neighbouring countries. As I was saying, we managed to kick polio out of GH, lets endeavour to help kick mob justice out.
Enjoy your Easter break.
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