Paul Adom-Otchere recently mocked the IGP, Dr. George Akufo Dampare for shedding tears during the Atta Akyea Committee hearing on the leaked tapes, in which some of his trusted lieutenants were allegedly plotting his removal from office.
Paul first stressed his disgust at the IGP for saying that he was multi-tribal and so was the right one for the job. Quoting from the 1992 Constitution, he suggested that the police chief had violated the Supreme Law of the land and should either come out and explain why he said what he said or withdraw that statement.
I am not in the mind of Dr. Dampare, but I believe he was addressing a canker in our system and that is the way ethnocentrism, drives people to take certain decisions to be unjustifiably bias towards their ethnic group against the greater good of this country.
We still have a long way to go to eradicate tribalism.One way we can start is by accepting that God put us here on this side of the globe and we are not to tear each other apart but embrace one another as siblings, should.
This negative tendency of tribalism which comes natural to some is the issue of feeling one’s tribe is better than others. And this is how Dampare, using his situation, feels like addressing it, but Paul does understand it.
Being a member of four different ethnic groups, I find it impossible to accept that any ethnic group is more important than the others. So anytime I find myself in one of my families and other ethnic groups I belong to, are being unfairly attacked, I naturally jump to defend them. I am only hoping that inter-tribal marriages should boom and with it, those born out of such marriages would not blindly take sides with one tribe over the other.
As stated earlier, I am not in the mind of IGP Dr. George Akufo Dampare, but I can only suggest that his multi-ethnic make-up, inspires him to deal with everybody fairly. May be, Paul Adom-Otchere needs to look at the whole issue from this angle. Meanwhile he must lead the fight against tribalism in this country. It is very important.
And Dampare, wept. It has become an issue for Paul Adom-Otchere to suggest that the president should relieve the IGP of his post.
Why do people weep? People weep to express grief, sorrow, joy or any overpowering emotion by shedding tears. One may weep for joy, one may weep with rage, one may weep with pain. No matter who you are the tears will come when they feel like coming.
Research suggests that when you cry, your body releases endorphins and oxytocin. These natural chemical messengers help relieve emotional distress along with physical pain. In other words, crying is a self-soothing behaviour. And Paul Adom-Otchere suggested the only reasons one should cry. He added that crying can be acceptable at the scene of an accident.
But wait, this is where the police will be needed most. So, are these officers also to start wailing instead of helping to normalise the situation, so that the injured could be rushed to the hospital and the dead to the morgue?
According to Paul, if I am to interpret what he said, then the ambulance arrives and instead of the officers quickly going about their responsibility to save lives, they should join in the cacophony of wailing and mourning. His opinion too is good, but unacceptable.
The tears will come when they feel like and in some cases, they cannot be easily controlled. Crying or weeping is not a sign of weakness but another form of expression of emotion and this Paul must understand.
In the Sacred Scriptures, at least over twenty people wept and for various reasons. They include Moses (Exodus 14:15-16); Esau (Genesis 27:38); Hannah (1 Samuel 1:10); David (1 Samuel 30:4); Peter (Matthew 26:75) and Paul (Acts 10:19).
In John 11:35, Jesus wept. There is no evidence of Jesus wailing at the crucifixion, where there was torture and pain, He wept at the tomb of his friend, Lazarus, in Bethany. Paul Adom-Otchere could take Jesus on, for weeping here. Jesus had the power to raise the dead and so why should he weep like the mourners, when He was just about to perform a miracle?
Biblical scholars and theologians have suggested reasons why He wept at the tomb of Lazarus. One such explanation by Bethany Verret, suggested that “Jesus wept because He experienced and understood the same feelings as the people around Him.” But wait, is Bethany trying to say that the All-Knowing God does not understand the feelings of man?
I will suggest that maybe Jesus saw the soul of Lazarus in the wrong side of the spiritual realm and became sad, so he had to weep.
Paul Adom-Otchere can weep over certain things, but he should know that some people will not weep under those situations. The IGP wept and I will suggest that he had to because he suddenly realised that those, he so much loved and trusted could plot against him.
It is possible that they could have even killed him during an operation when he is alone with them. To suddenly come to term with such a betrayal, most people would naturally be moved to tears. Remember Jesus, also wept!
Hon. Daniel Dugan
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect The Chronicle’s stance.
