The immediate past dean of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) has advised that for the lockdown to be relatively peaceful and without incidence, a sense of ownership of the anti-Covid-19 campaign must be instilled in the citizenry.

Speaking on Joy News’ Newsfile on Saturday, Ernest Kofi Abotsi said he had observed that despite the lockdown being initiated to protect citizens from contracting the virus, most people have interpreted the lockdown as a form of oppression and thus are rebelling.

He said the citizens’ resistance might be as a result of how the information has been communicated to them and the pose of the police service in the communities.

He stated, “There needs to be a sense of ownership in this. And people should be made to understand that it is our collective efforts that will be needed to arrest the spread of the virus.”

He explained that when people are made to believe that they have a duty of care to protect themselves, their families and communities, they would stay put.

Abotsi added that the police must also have a sense of duty in the execution of their duties.

He stated that if the police abuse their power during such moments, people will resist their services and the situation could escalate.

“If there is a sense of oppression there will be resistance,” he said.