Ghana’s fall in the 2025 Global Peace Index should shame our leaders. From being celebrated as West Africa’s most peaceful country only a few years ago, Ghana now ranks a disappointing 61st in the world and seventh in Africa. This is not a mere slip in statistics—it is evidence of failure at the highest levels of leadership.
Peace does not collapse overnight. It erodes slowly, through negligence, arrogance, and misplaced priorities. Rising violent crime, unchecked youth unemployment, and poisonous political rhetoric did not appear yesterday. They are the product of years of looking away while insecurity tightened its grip on our streets and communities. Today, Ghanaians are paying the price for this neglect.
The decline is steep and undeniable. In 2019, Ghana stood proudly at 44th globally, the most peaceful nation in West Africa. By 2021, we climbed to 38th—a triumph of democratic stability. Yet within just four years, we have plummeted to 61st, our sharpest fall in nearly a decade. Leaders who parade themselves as defenders of democracy cannot explain away this dangerous slide.
Government after government has grown complacent, treating peace as a permanent inheritance rather than a fragile achievement. Instead of strengthening law enforcement, we have allowed armed robbery, land guard violence, and political vigilantism to flourish. Instead of calming political tensions, our leaders stoke them for electoral gain. Instead of creating jobs for restless youth, we drown them in empty promises while unemployment fuels crime.
The truth is simple: Ghana’s leaders are squandering our peace. And the people know it. Ordinary citizens now live with fear—fear of crime at night, fear of elections turning violent, fear that the Ghana we once called an island of stability may become just another cautionary tale in West Africa.
We must demand better. We must hold this government, and those before it, accountable for failing to protect the nation’s most precious asset—our peace. A country without peace has no foundation for progress, no space for democracy, and no hope for prosperity.
If Ghana’s leaders will not act decisively to restore safety, justice, and unity, then they must be reminded that the people will not forget their betrayal. Peace is not theirs to waste—it belongs to every Ghanaian.
Peace has always been Ghana’s greatest asset. Let us not squander it.
