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When will the enforcement of laws be prioritised in Ghana?
It is said that Ghana as a country has one of the best laws in the world but enforcement has always been the problem.
I am yet to hear of one person who has been prosecuted for not wearing a face mask even though there is a law to that effect.
The lack of adherence to the COVID-19 protocol as one goes through the city and towns of the country is a clear indication of the inertia towards being law abiding.
In commercial buses, you find some people not wearing the face masks and when you ask them, they have excuse for it. A pregnant woman was advised to put on her face mask and she calmly stated that she has one but putting it on makes it difficult for her to breathe. She added that in crowded areas she puts it on.
The funny thing was that she was on a bus and if that environment was not a crowded area, I wonder what her sense of a crowded area is.
When I was a child, I heard statements like: “The French people do not joke with their laws.” “When you go to Ivory Coast or Togo, when the police blow their whistle for you to stop and you do not stop, you are arrested and fined on the spot.”
Being someone who was brought up in a Christian home, respect for rules was part of my training, I loved the French people as a result of what I heard about their being firm with rules and regulations. It has been observed that, countries that have developed, have a characteristic of observance of rules and regulations.
There is a general belief that laws are not enforced in Ghana and this has been indelibly inked into the psyche of the populace. It has led to the situation where there is a certain inherent inertia towards doing the right thing and simply obeying the laws of the land.
This places a burden on those few people who would like to see the right thing being done at all times. Such people are seen to be too strict and in a lot of instances are seen as being odd. It has the tendency of demotivating people who want to be law abiding and, therefore, there is an urgent need for a different approach to doing things, otherwise we are going nowhere as a nation.
One of the main causes has to do with a lack of understanding of the harmful impact of this unwillingness to be law abiding.
The Bible puts it in Galatians 6:7 as, “We reap what we sow”. Sir Isaac Newton puts it as, “Action and reaction are equal and opposite”. In computer circles it is known as, “garbage in, garbage out”. In other words, whatever you obtain is as a result of a certain action or decision you previously took. Most things do not happen by chance in this world. When you go to the streets of say London and they are clean, it is as aresult of conscious effort to keep it that way by the citizens. Rubbish does not sweep itself off the streets; people take steps to keep the streets free from trash.
Even if God is the President of this country and people deliberately drop polythene on our streets after drinking sachet water, the streets would be dirty until God by his awesome power works a miracle to sweep the trash off the streets. Unfortunately for us, God does not do what he has given us the ability to execute, and would not come down to make our cities and towns clean when he has given us the wisdom and strength to do it ourselves.
We then turn around and begin to blame those in authority when it rains and floods invade our homes and destroy our property, forgetting that we poured rubbish under cover of darkness into our gutters thereby preventing free flow of water into the sea. There is a price to pay for any wrong decision we make.
There was news reportage on the arrest of some Nigerians at Kasoa, and it was detected after the arrest that they had entered the country illegally.
They had no passport yet had been able to enter the country and I was deeply worried. The conclusion the average rational human being would arrive at is that, they bribed their way into the country and were assisted by immigration officers or local residents along our borders.
What is worrying is the fact that we are in a period of alertness due to intelligence that suggests that terrorists have targeted our country.
Nigeria has been fighting Boko Haram for quite a long time now, especially in the northern part of that country.
If these people who had gained access to our nation’s capital were terrorists, only God knows the havoc they would have caused.
Some people had not considered the threat their action poses to the peace and security of our country and have assisted these foreigners to gain entry into Ghana.
Law enforcement is not the work of only the law enforcement agencies. It is a collective responsibility; for instance for effective policing, the general public must provide them with credible Intel for them to be able to arrest criminals. Most arrests the police have successfully carried out have been the result of information provided to them by ordinary citizens.
The problem is the trust issues that sometimes arises when informants after providing information gets exposed by some unscrupulous police personnel.
This cause people to become afraid in providing credible information to the police and their work in enforcing the law then becomes difficult.
There is, therefore, the need to put in place an effective whistleblowing system that will provide safety for any whistleblower, so that people would feel confident that their lives would not be in danger should they volunteer information.
There must be a review of our criminal laws so that people would be motivated to do the right thing and be law abiding.
The focus should be on removing the discretionary powers of our judiciary as much as possible so that influence peddling would be eliminated to the barest minimum. When there is a perception that the rich and powerful can get away with crime, we would never strive as a people for a law abiding culture.
It is only when people realise that we are indeed equal before the law, rich or poor, educated or illiterate, big or small, that a law abiding culture would become prevalent and law enforcement would become easy and effective.
A national consciousness awakening programme must be initiated to tune the national psyche towards adoption of right attitudes, and this would go a long way in changing attitudes in both young and old.
The surest way of ensuring the growth of our nation and rubbing shoulders with the developed nations is to develop a nation of law abiding citizens.
MY bosom friend Kofi Kokotako once told me that a person’s haircut portrays his character. I disagreed with him and said a person’s character portrays his haircut. All in all, we agreed between us that a presidential aspirant whose haircut is excessively punk cannot win even a unit committee election, much more a castle-bound one.
One thing I hated as a kid was getting my hair barbered because I never had the style I wanted. Usually, it was my father who was the tormentor-in-chief, and he chose the kind of design that would suit the shape and nature of my head and that of my elder brother Christian, whose name is more civilised than mine.
When we were through, we looked quite different from the other kids. I didn’t know where my Pop learnt that kind of style but I realised it was very colonial in form and outlook and I became sad when the girls giggled at my design.
Actually, it was something resembling a half-bow with a line cut through at about 38 degrees to the perpendicular. After the ordeal we looked half like the resident catechist and half like a fierce Regimental Sergeant-Major.
When I told my daddy that I had had enough of the ancient cut and wanted an Afro or at least a Tokyo Joe, he quickly explained that Tokyo Joe was for ruffians and that his style was tailor-made for aspiring doctors, lawyers, engineers and great states-men. He didn’t mention journalists though.
So I went and told the giggling girls that my hairdo was a magical one that was going to transform me into a doctor whether they liked it or not. I added that their brothers who had modern haircuts invariably were going to be labourers and tangas (town council). They laughed at me even the more.
They referred me to the conservancy labourer not far away who always wore my kind of cut and asked me why he wasn’t wearing a white gown with a stethoscope hanging from his neck, if that kind of haircut was indeed miracle-performing!
My Dad was quite scrupulous and dished us the haircut in its hardest form just before Palm Sunday. It helped boost our religious conviction and the Holy Spirit almost descended and settled on our wonderful heads.
At Sunday school one Palm Sunday, the lady teacher asked me to stand so that she could admire my hairdo. I was quite flattered and happy that I was the centre of attraction on a great occasion like Palm Sunday. So I quickly stood up and turned round like a model for all to see and envy my design.
It was when the teacher asked me whether my daddy was a policeman that I lost heart. At the mention of policeman, everybody started laughing and I concluded that the teacher wasn’t admiring my head after all. All she wanted to do was to predict my daddy’s occupation using my head as a determinant. I wasn’t pleased with the attempt.
Today whenever it is getting to Palm Sunday 1 remember the incident. And actually I have always enjoyed Palm Sunday because deep within me, I’m a very religious person and I believe that once God will judge us by the purity of our hearts and not the bottles of beer we quaff, I shall also be in heaven together with Korkorti.
Now if you observe properly, you’d realise it is those who are not believers who celebrate Easter to the fullest. They understand the real meaning of Palm Sunday because they equate it to the birthday of palm wine. They actually mourn the death of Christ and rejoice at his resurrection using palm in the form of wine.
Palm Sunday is best marked in the rural areas where palm wine is always available from dawn to dusk and vice versa. Normally, people start Palm Sunday at exactly 4.15 am when the freshly-tapped wine starts arriving. But you have to begin slowly otherwise you’d be in coma before the sun rises.
Easter is due again and this time as usual, the action is right in the countryside. Kwahu is going to shake, Tapa Abotoase will somersault and Peki would explode. All over the world, these three Sikaman towns are ranked as places where Easter is best celebrated with a hangover assured.
People from Britain, Germany and Holland come down either to Obo Kwahu or Avetile Peki to celebrate Easter. They never miss it. It is a yearly ritual. They save towards the occasion.
So during the celebrations, people from all over the country also converge on these places and the celebrants compare haircuts and note carefully those who have grown lean and those who are neither growing lean or growing fat.
In fact, people assess their fellow human beings to ascertain whether they are becoming prosperous or are chewing grass. News is also brought from all over the globe and those from Germany (Jaaamani) are the loudest. The way they talk, you would never know they are cleaning the whiteman’s toilet to make some dough. You’ll think they are Managing Directors of a multinational corporation in Dusseldof. Such is life.
It is during church service on Easter Sunday that the been-tos and the locals alike display whatever they have under their sleeves. The gentlemen are often resplendent in suits and black shining pairs of shoes, and the way they walk can be a clue as to where they are sojourning. With seamen for instance, it can be quite psychedelic. It is a real sight to behold especially if they hail from Kromanti, Moree or Abandze.
With the ladies, the spectacle is breathtaking. It is unbelievable! You can’t comprehend it using the human senses. You have to employ spiritual means. The kaba styles are of different kinds, styles, colour and combination of colours. Some of the styles are complemented with wings and when the lady wearing it is hurrying to “chapel” you’ll think she is actually airborne. She is practically a human vulture.
Then comes the picnic sessions which are normally well-attended by gate crashers, mental patients and political strategists who are also well-versed with what is going on between Kwame Pianim and kukrudu. So they brief their listeners and prophesy the outcome of court cases and election results. In exchange, they are well-fed, well-boozed and all.
But things do not happen only during the day time. At night, the devil usually takes over. Friendships are entered into, old girlfriends are re-baptised and there is love and romance.
By Easter Monday, marriages are broken, new marriages contracted, girlfriends are jilted and pregnancies are on the way awaiting abortion. Every year it happens, and this year it is going to happen again. The death and resurrection of the Lord will really be marked in both righteous and evil ways.
Perhaps, this is not how Judas intended it to be celebrated. Judas was the architect of the Holy Friday coup d’état against the Son of Man.
This article was first published on Saturday March 30, 1996
The Ghanaian community in Finland on Saturday, March 14, 2026, celebrated Ghana’s 69th independence anniversary in an impressive event in Helsinki, the capital city of Finland.
The event was organised by the Ghana Union Finland (GUF), an association of Ghanaian migrants in Finland. It was an occasion well attended by many people from the Ghanaian community in Finland, Finns and other nationalities.
The occasion was graced by the Special Guest, Her Excellency Abigail Naa Adzoko Kwashi, the Ambassador of Ghana to Norway with concurrent accreditation to Finland and Iceland. In her speech, the Ambassador encouraged Ghanaians living in Finland to pursue unity, actively participate in, and support the Ghana Union Finland to build a stronger body better positioned to advocate for its interests and goals.
Also present at the event was the Honorary Consul of Ghana in Finland, Mrs Kati Kivisaari, who has replaced the retired Ms Ulla Alanko. Mrs Kivisaari urged Ghanaians in Finland to remain good ambassadors of Ghana in their lives in Finland.
The event saw the inauguration of new executive members of the Ghana Union Finland. The team was inducted by Elder Samuel Anini, Patron of the Ghana Union Finland.
Earlier, a “royal entry” was performed by leaders of the Asanteman Finland and Mfantseman Kuw and other personalities in their colourful kente attire adorned with ornaments, amidst traditional music and adowa dance to usher in the Ambassador.
Unity and harmony
I see such events, especially the ones marking independence anniversaries, as ample display of unity and harmony in the Ghanaian migrant community as well as in the larger Ghana and Finland relations.
Some personalities present at the event were Nana Ekuoba Gyasi Gyimah and other leaders of Asanteman Finland, Mfantseman Kuw Finland, as well as representatives of other Ghanaian ethnic groups.
It was a very colourful occasion with dance and other performances such as poetry recitals. The audience was also treated to tasty Ghanaian dishes such as jollof rice, fried yam, and soft drinks.
For me personally, whenever I think about Ghana’s Independence Day anniversary every 6th of March, my mind also goes to Finland’s own day on 6th of December. The two dates always give me such a special, positive feeling. As soon as one of the dates ends, I begin a countdown to the other (next) date.
Last year on December 6, 2025, when Finland celebrated its 108th independence anniversary and I participated in two events marking the celebration in Helsinki, I started looking forward to Ghana’s 69th anniversary this year. Now that Ghana’s anniversary is over, I am looking forward to Finland’s 109th anniversary on December 6, 2026. That’s the beauty of it all for me.
Ensuring integration
What I see in all this, especially for Ghanaian migrants in Finland, is the chance for members of the Ghanaian diaspora in Finland to integrate into the Finnish society through such celebrations that are marked by social activities, affiliations and ideas of inclusion.
Inclusion is key to integration, and the two ideas undoubtedly build a sense of belonging. As I previously wrote, Finland sees the role of migrant associations as bridge-builders for the integration and inclusion of migrants through participation in the decision making process and by acting as a representative voice, which is highly appreciated in Finland.
As I keep pointing out, Finland encourages migrants’ participation in the planning of issues concerning the migrants themselves, using such a strategy as one of the efficient ways to improve their inclusion.
Thus, there is an enabling environment created within the Finnish cultural ecology that undoubtedly helps migrants to integrate into the host Finnish society. Thank you!
By Perpetual Crentsil
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