Supt (Rtd) Toobu writes: Battle against the invisible enemy (covid-19)

I bring you greetings once again from Wechiau, the Capital of Wa West District and pray that this write-up meets you in good health.

I do understand the pressures of your office in particular as you lead the country through a battle that has global ramifications without defined dimensions, but let’s endeavour to sustain this virtual relationship for the public good.

Mr President, you cannot fight your enemy using tools similar to that of your enemy’s after you were caught pants down.

The whole world has been stripped naked as many countries with well-developed military capabilities have thousands of their citizens dying in the helpless hands of their Commanders-in-chief.

If the almighty USA can lose over 50,000 citizens with no option of eliminating the enemy with their military might, it points the world to the need for a paradigm shift in Defence Strategies.

Your Excellency, the invisible enemy, has successfully used the principle of a surprise to throw the world into a state of panic and confusion.

It is continuously changing in nature and character as the Ghana version is said to differ slightly from that which was identified in Wuhan, China.

Mr President, this year 42 people died of CSM in the Upper West Region without appropriate State response because among other causes according to the experts, the new viral strain differs slightly from the status quo making old vaccines irrelevant.

What it means is that any vaccine developed by the West for COVID-19 will not be relevant for our version of COVID-19.

Those who are researching into the Wuhan virus should be told that the virus responds to environments in its mutation.

Do we have test kits manufactured to suit Ghana’s specificity? My instinct tells me we should be wary of the things we are importing to help us at this time of need.

I need not say more. The enemy brings sorrow upon us and Government seems to also be surprising the citizens as there is no transparency in strategy and implementation.

The nation has 30 million ‘soldiers’ all required to be in a battle mood if we are hopeful of defeating COVID-19 anytime soon but many have no idea what the national strategy is.

If the military might of USA, Israel, China, Russia, etc cannot save them from this pandemic, it means it’s a battle that needs ‘soldiers’ who are trained with a different curriculum from the status quo.

The whole nation must be engaged to fight this battle with clearly defined roles and timelines for various sectors.

Mr President, your periodic addresses to the nation began on a good note but you have gradually veered off the battleground into an area that got many confused as to whether you’ve gone back to October 2016 to pick up your campaign jacket.

In fact, Address No. 8 was a total departure from the battleground. May the Lord re-direct your steps to enable you to hold in high esteem the sanctity of the office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces. Mr President, may I suggest the following for your consideration:

• A 30-day whole-of-Ghana approach to defeat COVID-19.

• Total Lockdown for the first 24 hours to raise national consciousness and bring all the 30 million citizens a par with the reality of an impending disaster if not well managed.

• Treat the COVID-19 attack as war and get the military to play a lead role at the operational level with customised tactics to deal with the invisible enemy.

• Use two-thirds of all people on the government payroll (400,000) to staff the operation that will kick out COVID-19. The fact is, they can respectfully earn their salaries in this crisis situation by contributing effectively in this battle.

• The other one-third will serve as skeleton staff for the period of the operation. This will also promote physical distancing at workplaces due to reduced numbers.

• Constitute an Inter-Ministerial Committee with Trinity Leadership in Defence, Interior & Health. The Minister for Finance and other Ministers will be appropriately placed in the structure to deal with all cross-cutting issues. Let’s note that we cannot wage a war awaiting funding from sources we don’t control. It is important to also note that transparency will motivate patriotism.

• To create a national consensus against the virus, direct the Electoral Commission to be innovative in using the register that brought you to power. The independence of the Electoral Commission should contribute to national peace and security and not the contrary. A disunited Nation is a fertile ground for this invisible enemy to cause havoc.

• Do not miss the opportunity to unite the country against COVID-19 even if it means you losing the impending elections. Good leadership is not necessarily about winning elections.

• Let’s re-enforce the concept of creating Isolation Centres across the country in preparation for the worst-case scenario, hoping the situation doesn’t get out of hand.

• Pool available government vehicles at Regional Levels for use during this national operation.

• To reduce potential crowding, let’s introduce everyday markets and ban activities on established routine market days in our cities, towns and villages.

• Declare May 2020 as a month of Zero Tolerance for COVID-19 to promote respect for WHO protocols as well as your directives against the pandemic.

• To prevent re-infections from our porous borders, let’s work closely with ECOWAS for an enhanced regional approach. Mr President, a simple strategy of war is to deter the enemy from attacking, deny the enemy entry into the territory and finally launch a full assault to defeat the enemy. In this current case where we were caught pants down, the enemy is already in our territory with almost 1600 casualties so far.

All we need to do now is to disrupt the spread, degrade its potentially widespread effect which will put us on track to defeat the virus. You need every citizen. You cannot afford but remain apolitical. Accept, Excellency, the assurance of my highest consideration and esteem.