Mr President, Please Do Something …About Ghana Immigration Service

The influx of foreigners into Ghana in recent years, and the increase in high profile crimes, many of which used to be alien to the Ghanaian sub-culture, should be of concern to every citizen of this great nation.

It should be of concern because whatever foreigners do in this country (and whatever happens to them here) has national security implications. When they commit crimes, our country is at risk, and when something happens to them, our relations with their home countries are affected.

It is in this light that we at THE NEW PUBLISHER are worried about the seeming inability, on the part of the managers security, to handle immigration issues.

It is on record that, back in the 1990s, the J.J. Rawlings administration had to battle with the proliferation of AK 47 assault rifles and other weapons, smuggled in through our western borders by refugees fleeing the conflicts in war-torn Liberia and Sierra Leone. It is also a fact that most of these weapons were either used for robberies or ended up in the conflict parts of the country.

Then in the 2000s, the Presidents Kuffuor/Mills/Mahama governments had sleepless nights combating the activities of Fulani herdsmen. Aside the destruction of farms and killing of innocent Ghanaians, there were several reports of armed robberies and rape cases by these foreigners.

The worst is what we are witnessing today from the hands of Chinese and Nigerian immigrants. While the Chinese are polluting our waters and degrading our environment, our records so far indicate that at least there is a Nigerian in nearly every major kidnap-related arrest reported in the local media.

What THE NEW PUBLISHER considers most worrying is the fact that majority of these foreigners are either undocumented, entered the country with fake documents, are working without paying taxes, or schooling at the expense of the Ghanaian taxpayer.

This disturbing scenario certainly brings to the fore the nagging question of whether the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), in its current form, has not outlived its usefulness. The organisation does not only appear to have lost track of how many foreigners actually enter the country each day; it also does not have a record of where they reside in this country.

In our candid view, the GIS has lost control of the situation in that dozens of ARMED Fulani herdsmen, and hundreds of their cattle, cross into the country (on foot) every week at the blind side of GIS, suggesting that they are either sleeping on the job, or are overwhelmed by the volume of influx into the country.

Whichever way it is, something will have to be done to SAVE this country from the current security mess it has found itself, and the looming danger she stands to face in the near future.

A complete overhaul is the only solution, and who is the best person to take this step than the President of the Republic of Ghana?

The ball is in your court, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.