MAINTENANCE OF LAW AND ORDER, THE NEED FOR THE SANITIZATION OF THE MEDIA LANDSCAPE

The sustenance and maintenance of law and order is very crucial in ensuring the sustainability of the democracy of every country or society. In maintaining law and order in any country, the media which is referred to as the fourth estate of the realm cannot be overlooked. The basic role of the media is to educate, inform, and entertain, these roles when traversed, can be very dangerous for any country. We don't need to look far beyond our continent to see what has happened to some of our neighbor countries in as far as what misinformation and media sensationalism can cause to a country are concerned.

Our media men and women must learn from the mistakes that were made by their colleagues elsewhere which ended up in plunging their countries into chaos which has hitherto divided their countries on either political tribal line.

There is no better time to work on the sanitization of our media landscape than now, especially in era where the product of the media is bought and consumed by majority of Ghanaians and an era where media stations are almost every part of this country. Many are those who have called on the Ghana Bar Association, the Ghana Journalism Association, the Ghana Media Commission and all those concern to be proactive in making and enforcing laws that will help sanitize our media landscape and I think that there is no better time than now to make sure the codes and ethics governing responsible journalism and media reportage are enforced so as to help build a responsible media system for our country's forward march.

Many a media station has actually helped in segregating our country in relation to almost every matter, ranging from sanitation to leadership. That cannot be described as responsible journalism. The kind of media we need in our forward march, must be the one that has respect for rule of law, the one that will give listeners the needed education that will help them channel their efforts into productive ventures that will help all of us progress as a country.

What has happened so far in the highest court of the land has shown clearly that our Judges are really up to the task and are doing all their possible best to help protect our enviable democracy for the ordinary Ghanaian. Many a vital lesson are being learnt by both the old and the young, and those who think that laws are meant to be broken, the Lords of the Supreme Court have proven them wrong and they must henceforth change their mentality. Without laws no country can even maintain its civility, and no country can develop. As we may have all heard before, we are a country on the move, and we must not take the relative peace we are enjoying for granted.

The 9 Justices of the Supreme Court has clearly shown the way, they have proven to us that it is sometimes good to crack the whip, which is what some of our institutions have lacked over the years, all they do is to talk, talk, talk, and talk the more. The Justices have given true meaning to the word, 'Farta Non Verba', Action, not words. As the President of the United States of America, Barack Husein Obama has clearly stated in his address to the parliament of Ghana in 2009, we need strong institutions like the Supreme Court in order to advance the course of our democracy. In order to advance our enviable democracy and continue to be the shining star of Africa, we need a strong Executive, Legislative and Judicial arms of Government. Aside that, we also need a responsible media system that will help in educating our people on policies and progresses that are being made. We also need people who are strong not in stature but in deeds and values to help in building the strong institutions that we talk about. The values we cherish and respect as well as the laws enshrined in our constitution, must be taken seriously.

While we must not allow the media, and free speech for that matter to be gagged, we must also not allow the media and a group of people plunge this country into a state of chaos. That is the more reason why I couldn't agree with the Justices of the Supreme Court more when they say that, they won't allow over mightiness, stubbornness and disrespect and lawlessness on the parts of a group of people destabilize our noble country but will go on to protect this country for the ordinary Ghanaian. And as I have always maintained, those who are to be protected by the law are not necessarily the few who make the most noise but the silence majority who are doing their possible best to give meaning to their individual dreams, to the dreams of their families, and the collective dream of making this country a better place.

We must all once again be made aware that our constitution has guaranteed freedom of speech, but freedom without limitation is not freedom, and what the constitution hasn't guaranteed is freedom after an irresponsible speech. The law is no respecter of persons, it is our collective responsibility to make sure the laws that we have made for ourselves are working as expected. Let no one hide behind politics or freedom of speech to destroy the democratic gains we have made so far.

Our societal values are waning gradually as a result of lawlessness in our various institutions and family units, which is the more reason why we must all applaud the work done by the 9 Justices so far and encourage them to do more. We must cease ourselves from over politicization of national issues because that is what mostly blinds us from seeing the truth. It is also worth appreciating that, gradually, the chickens are coming home to roost and those who have fallen foul to the law, we hope they will learn their lessons and those who are political and social commentators, must learn not to cross the border line as drawn by the Justices of the Supreme Court. While we admit that it is unfortunate some people are jailed in order to make people see how serious the orders of our courts should be taken, we must also appreciate the efforts of our judges on putting concrete checks in place to help maintain not just peace and order but protect our cherished democracy for ourselves and generations yet unborn and more especially after judgment is given on the ongoing 2012 Election Petition.

Kudos to our Gallant judges, and while we pray for the Almighty God to continuously bless our homeland Ghana and make it great and strong, it is worth mentioning that the supreme court has once again shown the way, it has once again reinforce the long call for sanitization of our media landscape, and as they say, it is better late than never and let those who have ears listen.

Prosper Dzitse,
President/CEO-Institute of Mentorship and Leadership Training