One hopes that those Ghanaian politicians who constantly threaten violence, if their political opponents resort to 'intimidation' during the December 2012 presidential and parliamentary elections, will ponder the fate of the former Ivorian leader, President Gbagbo - who has now been taken to The Hague and charged with murder, rape, persecution and inhuman acts, by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Ghanaian politicians must not deceive themselves into thinking that they can incite others to commit acts of violence during national elections, in this day and age, and get away scot free.
Precisely because the international community sees Ghana's relatively peaceful elections, and incident-free transfers of power from ruling parties to opposition parties, as hopeful signs for a peaceful, democratic and stable future for the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, should there be any violence leading to widespread chaos in Ghana, during and after the December 2012 elections, global public opinion demanding speedy action to arrest and charge all those politicians (from across the spectrum!) responsible for orchestrating the violence, will be overwhelming.
One has no doubt at all that the generality of Ghanaians will insist that such politicians, irrespective of which party they belong to, should be arrested and sent to The Hague - to be charged and tried by the ICC.
The ordinary people of Ghana want violence-free elections in December 2012 - and for a peaceful atmosphere to prevail countrywide, in the immediate aftermath of the elections. They will certainly not feel sorry for any politicians who incite their followers to commit acts of violence during the elections - and eventually end up suffering the same fate as former President Laurent Gbagbo of the Ivory Coast.
Now that a former president of a sister nation is facing trial at the ICC for the many crimes committed by some of those under him, one hopes that politicians who constantly preach violence on the airwaves, and are often quoted in the columns of newspapers, will now see the wisdom in heeding the many voices across Ghana, calling for peaceful elections in December 2012.
One hopes that such politicians will also note that it won't be long, before some of Laurent Gbagbo's political opponents, whose subordinates also committed crimes during the Ivorian crisis, too, are brought to The Hague, to be charged and tried by the ICC.
The days of impunity for violent African politicians are well and truly over, indeed - and all Ghanaian politicians had better make sure that they learn useful lessons from Laurent Gbagbo's fate.
To end this piece, dear reader, I shall quote the ICC's prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo's warning words to political leaders around the globe, whiles commenting on Laurent Gbagbo's arrival in The Hague, to stand trial at the ICC: "Leaders must understand that violence is no longer an option to retain or gain power. The time of impunity for these crimes is over." A word to the wise...
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