Kudos Commander One

Fear of criticism is the kiss of death in the courtship of achievement. Thomas Carlyle. Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others. Cicero.

There is one character trait among Ghanaians that we like those who pander to our ego and hate those who criticise, no matter the foundation of the criticism. But what is important is for people to realise and understand that those who criticise us do not necessarily hate or dislike us. It is not every critic who aims at the downfall of another. Indeed, as a sage has noted succinctly, “we find comfort among those who agree with us, growth among those who doubt.”

So quite naturally when recently I received a call about my column for the day, I was expecting the caller to burst into attack. The call was from the Ashanti Regional Police Commander, Kofi Boakye. He was the second person to have called me that day. When I heard his voice I thought he was going to pick a quarrel with me for criticising the Ashanti Regional Police Command, and asking wryly whether there existed a Police Motor Traffic Department in Kumasi as a result of the abject neglect of motorists to their fate at busy intersections while there was diffused presence of police personnel all over the city purportedly enforcing road traffic regulations.

I was, however, humbled. Kofi Boakye addressed me as Senior, recognising the fact that I was called to the Bar before he enrolled at the Ghana School of Law. What followed heartened me and I heaved a great sigh of relief and commented within me that if all public office holders could act the way he did, this country would move forward. Yes Kofi Boakye thanked me profusely for my column and told me he had made photocopies of the column and distributed it to all MTTD units within the region to remind them of their responsibility to the public. He added that anytime I was in the region and observed anything about the Ghana Police Service, I should not hesitate in bringing that to his attention for the necessary redress. 

I am bringing this to the notice of the public because it is imperative that those of us in public office respond favourably to public complaints and act to address the concerns that would enable us to offer effective and efficient services. As a people, we do not know how to serve. We always assume that we have to lord it over others; that is why some in positions of authority could with impunity swear to teach others where power lies when we do not have that power. That same feeling might have influenced those soldiers, who felt they were monarchs of all they surveyed, to subject the boy they suspected to have stolen a mobile phone to bestial treatment and threaten to deal with the sister who complained about the brutish act.

Indeed that same day, I had reports from Kumasi that a large number of police personnel were deployed to control traffic flow at busy intersections and motorists had complimentary things to say about the police. My only prayer is that the Kumasi MTTD personnel will not make it a nine days’ wonder but a permanent feature as is the case in Accra.

My admiration for Kofi Boakye has ballooned. We had interactions when he was the Greater Accra Regional Police Commander, but since his transfer to Kumasi, we have not communicated with each other.  

Against the attitude of Kofi Boakye, there is this public officer who has taken offence because in some discussion that I had with a group of politicians, where I had presumed he was present to listen to my criticism, but realised after making the comment that he was not physically present, he got back to me and told me in the face that I could sit in the comfort of my office and baselessly criticise others because criticism was cheap. 

The Willy Brandt Commission, in its report, recommended that “the greatest comment that one could make about a friend is to be candid with him” and said in another way, that “In giving advice, seek to help not to please your friend.” Margaret Lee Runbeck has equally noted that “apology is a lovely perfume; it can transform the clumsiest moment into a gracious gift.”  More important, Walter Gropius insists that “criticism is like fertiliser; it makes us grow”.

We need individuals who will be open to criticism because knowledge does not reside in one person and that is why our elders maintained that two heads are always better than one. I am thus most thankful to Kofi Boakye, Commander One, for accepting my criticism in good faith and acting on it. That is how society grows.