Roughly two decades ago, I used to write a column in the Ghanaian Times called “Smoke Signals.” The articles I wrote were meant to draw attention to areas of our body politic that needed urgent attention but seemed agonisingly neglected. One of the topics I dealt with is: “Bureaucratic Obesity” which discussed the drain an over-sized government exerts on the national coffers and how that stifles development.

That was way back in President J. A. Kufuor’s era. Unfortunately, time has proved that the “disease” has not been cured and may even threaten to degenerate into a cancer. May I say that like father, like son? If the government is recalcitrant and refuses to budge when advised, how can we expect the masses to conform to norms?

I wrote also a piece titled: “Where is the Tankaase?” That term is the corrupted or vernacularised form of “Town Council.” In that piece, I recalled how the “Tankaase” went from house to house in full khaki work gear, helmet, and all, to inspect the state of cleanliness in the drains, the compound and general surroundings. Those who deserved violation tickets were summarily served with their notices of conviction. In those days, the very sight of a “Tankaase”sent shivers down your spine.

One of them, Mr. Kariyefa, a Liberian immigrant at the time living as a tenant in my grandfather’s house at E 150/3, Anachin Street, Cape Coast, had a motor bike. His mere appearance was so intimidating that any time he rode past an area, even on his personal rounds, people who could not be sure of his approval in case he ventured into their houses, began scampering in all directions to put things in order as if he was coming for inspection.

And when he closed from work and was returning home, the children around my grandfather’s house who had played truant would sob uncontrollably if their parents told them they would be handed over to Mr. Kariyefa for discipline. Looking back, I feel ashamed that I was afraid of him even though he was a tenant in my grandfather’s house. I think all the children thought that he had the licence to arrest anybody, old or young, at his pleasure. What delights me, though, is the discipline that permeated every fibre of the Ghanaian society at that time of our development. Now that we claim we have become more civilised, we are literally engulfed in filth. Where is the “Tankaase?” Where is the discipline of yesteryears?

Without controversy, we have made some strides but a whole lot more needs to be done. That constrains me to resume writing. This time, my column is: On the Radar. A radar is a very important instrument useful in a variety of ways. Even though the concept had been developed earlier in the 19^th century through various experiments by different scientists, it was not until 1940 that the American Navy coined the name RADAR as a short form for the acronym: Radio Detection And Ranging.

As you may be aware, it is a system for detecting the presence, direction, distance, and speed of aircraft, ships, and other objects, by sending out pulses of high-frequency electromagnetic waves that are reflected off the object back to the source. Simply stated in the lay man’s parlance, it is used to indicate that someone or something has or has not come to the attention of a person or group.

It is the concept of radar that is at work when you see the police pointing an instrument at a passing car to check over-speeding. It is the same technology that is used to track the weather and warn of impending threats emanating from the atmosphere. With time, it was adopted into the English language and the capital letters dropped so that the word does not appear as an acronym.

Just as the radar tracks the weather and hints us of looming storms; just as the radar can be used to track the location and distance of a fugitive, this column will use all the “sensors” available to it to try and alert the appropriate authorities about issues that have gone off or under the radar, either by accident or design. In other words, we will bring such issues on the radar to generate discussion and elicit solutions in the national interest.

I know it is not going to be easy. In every society, fighting for change is sometimes like swimming against the current; it is like being up against the rope during a fight. You would receive all kinds of bashing but as the lyrics of one of our patriotic songs declare: “As3m yi di ka” which translates to: “The truth must be told.” That is what this column intends to do.

I must sound it loud and clear from the outset that I unapologetically believe the Bible as the inspired Word of God. The Holy Writ, by means of submissions impossible to refute, has the intellectual capacity to reduce every argument against the truth to an absurdity. Consequently, from time to time, I will have recourse to the scriptures to buttress my point, if need be. Remember that this is an opinion column and the good thing about writing such articles is the freedom to air your views. But I promise you that with the help of God, objectivity will not be sacrificed on the altar of opinion. Well, because I hinted that I might allude to the Bible periodically, some people might have already branded me from the outset as dogmatic, opinionated, holier-than-thou, and what-have-you? Fact is, in taking a stand, you are entitled to be wrong, and there is nothing wrong with it.

Another thing. I am very conservative about certain things. I am not a fan of all these social media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and whatever remains, with all the noise about trending and all. You may call me “colo” or old school. I do not blame you.You are lucky you never met any “Tankaase” or Mr. Kariyefa, the epitome of discipline in our childhood era. Anyway, if you want to reach me and pass any comment, you may do so through my email address as follows: teepeejubilee@yahoo.co.uk

And remember, a stitch in time saves nine!

By Tony Prempeh