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“Some soldiers gradually becoming land guards, debt collectors,” Adib Saani Writes

A Security Analyst and Executive Director at the Jatikay Centre for Human Security and Peace Building,  Adib saani has said that some soldiers are gradually becoming land guards cum debt collectors.

Adding his voice to happenings at Dome Faase community in the last couple of days when residents beat up two soldiers they suspected were land guards and the retaliation from the security force.  Adib Saani expressed worry at the growing trend of members of the security regiment in Ghana were now being seen as land guards and in some cases debt collectors from “stubborn” debtors.

He also condemned mob justice as the way to go in settling disputes by communities calling for the needed action to be taken going forward.

Adib Saani further questioned the statement from the Deputy Defence Minister, Major Derrick Oduro’s (rtd) on the matter and said if that was the case then it wasn’t handled as it should have. He asked for the right things to be done to curb the unnecessary tensions that disturb the peace of the country.

These views were contained in a statement from Adib Saani on these happenings chanced by Diamond News.

Below is Adib Saani’s full statement:

First, I strongly condemn the actions of some residents of Dome Faase for assaulting two military men they suspected were land guards.

Ghana is not a banana Republic. Whether they were military personnel or not, land guards or otherwise, there is absolutely no justification for such backward mob mentality. It could have been worse.

It is however worth inquiring to ascertain the veracity of the Deputy Defense Minister Major Derrick Oduro’s (rtd) statement on the issue.

He opined that the officers were on an officially sanctioned duty.

If this statement is anything to go by, it must have been such a poorly organized intervention that lacked proper coordination synonymous with our military.

Consequently, I suspect a grand attempt to cover up because it doesn’t make sense deploying soldiers so ill-equipped and without Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) to such a volatile community that has been reeling under the threat of violence over lands claimed by two belligerent parties.

Haven’t we learnt hard lessons enough? Why does it have to be the military and not the police?

For years on end, I have observed with disdain how some military men are used by estate developers and other individuals for land guard activities.

Most depressingly, some soldiers are used by money lenders to collect debts from “stubborn” debtors.

I am also absolutely gobsmacked over the deployment of military men to the area to arrest those individuals who perpetrated the act. Is it the work of the military to arrest criminals?

Not surprisingly, reports of abuse of residents of Dome Faase by the military is beginning to trickle in.

Almost all the young men in that area have fled. Reports indicate that 76 year old Imam in the area who had nothing to do with the incident has also been arrested.

This is further fueled by the spirit of “comradeship” in the army; touch one, touch all. Remember I spoke about a backward mob mentality? Can you spot the difference? Absolutely not…

All of these feed into our inability to manage our lands effectively.  It is commonplace seeing a chief sell one parcel of land to five different buyers. Why does it have to take several years to secure a land title certificate? Why does it have to take the courts 20 years to litigate a land case?

It is therefore not an accident to find people who can afford, resort to land guards to protect their lands or unleash terror to grab lands.

The court system is not helping enough.

Land administration has gone beyond being a developmental issue; it is a human and physical security nightmare.

About 6 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are land related. The World Bank has financed the Land Administration Project on two different occasions, yet, no progress.

To be able to solve the issue of land guards and it’s related security implications to the country, we have to approach the issue strategically and from source….

A progressive land administration regime.

Adib Saani

Security Analyst/Executive Director, Jatikay Centre for Human Security and Peace Building

Story By: Edward A. Ken-zorre

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