Prof. Kwesi Yankah Praises IGP For His Humble Demeanor
Professor Kwesi Yankah has described Ghana’s Inspector General of Police(IGP) Dr George Akuffo Dampare as a very humble and respectful person who never overloads himself on Ghanaians.
The educationist recounting his first time meeting Dr. Dampare in 2018 said his politeness and humility made him surprised if he is indeed a Police with a high rank in the profession.
Prof. Yankah in one of his usual pieces of art on Facebook post wrote, “Our very first encounter was 2018, when I was also a big man, a minister they call it. He came to my office a couple of times as Commissioner of Police, representing his boss the IGP, for an official meeting. The meeting over, I asked myself whether the young man’s demeanor was ‘normal.’ Overly courteous, polite to a fault, soft-spoken, arms crossed behind, all smiles, self-effacing, virtually boyish. Far from the demeanor of a tough-talking, muscle-flexing officer. Was he play-acting? I started revising my notes, for there might be a few policemen manifesting ‘abnormality’ in Ghana,” he wrote on Facebook.
Professor Yankah said the non-discriminatory manner in which both the influential and regular Ghanaians are treated for offenses since Dr. Dampare became IGP is commendable.
“Within two years: visible signs of a new image loom around the Ghana police we knew. You see, whenever Ghana gets fed up with herself, the yearning for change cannot be mistaken. You could see smiles playing around our lips as we started seeing strange things happening: Big men pulled over by the police for overspeeding, arrested for wrongful parking, charged for jumping the red light; small and big men arraigned before court for motor traffic offenses, all on TV camera. No longer do you know who I am. Unprovoked police brutalities on demonstrators fading; dialogue by IGP himself with potential street protestors ahead of action; speedier arrest of armed fugitives; orderly by-elections, quicker response to stressful calls. Was this Ogyakrom?”
He continued to say, “My visit last week to Dampare was to congratulate him on a good job done so far, and trick him with the question, when is the 9-day wonder ending? I could see right from the reception desk a few ‘strange’ things. ‘Do any of you care for water?’ That was from a PR officer as I sat with others awaiting our turns to be called. I sat by Kwasi Agyeman, the dynamic boss of the Ghana Tourism Authority. The PR officer’s unusual question confounded us, and we all looked over our shoulders making sure the question he asked was not a tongue slip.
At the reception, the television show was DSTV Channel 362, the Ghana Police Channel inaugurated late last year, and commanding the attention of over one million viewers from Ghana, whose feedback was rolling on the screens”.
“The Big Boss, IGP himself, was soon to come over grinning from ear to ear. Dampare greeted us all and bowed to shake my hands taking me along to his office. There was an IGP of 2023 still wearing the demeanor of an uncrowned subordinate of 2018: same civility, politeness, mental reflexes, and all. A simple affable IGP, shedding the bloated ego of an overlord, for the sake of enhanced law and order in Ghana. The police are, after all, a friend”.
Find the full statement below
Professor Kwesi Yankah was nominated as the Minister in charge of Tertiary Education in 2017 by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.