The residents of Dohanayili are on the warpath and authorities better do something before all hell breaks loose. Their target: the Northern Electricity Corporation.
Their anger which I will describe as grossly misplaced, is directed against the public utility company because it had the “audacity” to threaten legal action against some residents of the suburb who had illegally connected electricity to their homes.
A public spat of this nature — between a utility company and a group of private citizens —certainly should be a cause for concern. In the first place, it denotes yet again the continued lawlessness in the nation and the feeling of impunity that comes with it.
What is more, the confrontation serves no useful purpose; everybody loses. Government workers are prevented from discharging their duties for which they are paid from our taxes; electricity supply to area residents is disrupted, and life becomes a little more difficult and unbearable.
In the long run, everyone is inconvenienced, all because a few knuckleheads —disgruntled die-hards decided to take the law into their hands and assault and threaten the lives of workers providing a valuable service.
Broadly speaking the whole thing boils down to our adherence or otherwise to the rule of law. We Ghanaians pride ourselves as inhabiting the most law-abiding country in the West African region: however, a close scrutiny reveals an entirely different picture; we are just a collection of habitual lawbreakers.
A society develops and becomes strong and resilient if its citizens obey basic regulations. In the absence of authorities —a police officer — would you run a traffic light? This is a fundamental question and the litmus test for all of us.
Tapping electricity illegally is stealing, pure and simple. And stealing something that does not belong to you is a violation of the law. It therefore goes without saying that those residents of Dohanayili who decided, for reasons best known to them only, to bypass the Electricity Company and connect electricity to their homes, ran afoul of the law and should be duly punished.
There is no other way around it. If they are not fined heavily, others may take a cue from their bad behavior and do the same thing. Apparently, the hotheads in Dohanayili were emboldened by an eerie similar episode between the same Electricity company and some folks in my old stomping grounds, Lamashiegu.
Much as the blame for the friction should be put squarely on the shoulders of the young men of Dohanayili, it was imprudent of the Northern Electricity Corporation to interrupt service to the entire suburb.
Is this collective punishment for the errant behavior of a few? If it is, then the corporation should bow its head in shame. There are a lot more decent and reasonable people in Dohanayili.
Some understanding must be reached between the two groups and quickly. The whole thing is ugly; it should not have occurred at all.Cooler heads should have prevailed at the initial stages when tempers are flaring.
The Northern Electricity Corporation is providing a much needed valuable service to the residents of Tamale. We will surely need the corporation as our city continues on its path of development and progress.