The Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide, Malik Kweku Baako, has described as “empty symbolism” the search that was conducted on President Atta Mills at the Kotoka International Airport prior to his departure for London on Tuesday. “It is a classic case of empty symbolism; that is what it is. I don’t see it as a sign of leadership or anything.” He underplayed the president’s action when his thought was sought on Joy FM’s flagship programme, Newsfile, on Saturday. Mr. Baako also contended that officials who deal in drugs do not carry them on their body but are hidden in their luggage, questioning why the luggage of the president and his entourage were not searched in addition. “The cars that took him and his entourage to the tarmac, were they searched?” he asked, “the luggage which accompanied them which are checked in before you arrive at the VVIP, where they checked?” Mr. Baako expressed doubt about the impact of the President’s gesture and challenged him to back such search on diplomats by an “enforceable” policy direction. He explained that without any policy framework on it, security at the airport would use their own discretions in conducting such duty on officials, rendering the process discriminatory and unsustainable. “I don’t see it as a sustainable thing anyway. If it is the way forward then let it be a policy backed by law so that when immigration officers discriminate or if they refuse to implement it, they are dealt with. "Otherwise, immigration officer ‘A’ can ignore minister ‘B’ and you cannot take him on.” Nana Akomea, New Patriotic Party Member of Parliament for Okaikoi South, decided to be “charitable” in his point to buttress what was said by Kweku Baako. He said since the president has not been given the opportunity to demonstrate the potent of his action, he will view it as a “potentially empty symbolism; because we don’t know yet in the next couple of months what kind of meat, what kind of substance that the president will bring to bear on the matter of dealing with drugs.” He however noted that the issue of drugs has been in “full flight” for years in the country. Eric Ametor Kwame, Features Editor of Ghana Palaver, on the other hand, said the President’s action would rather encourage security at the airport to do their job, and to also demonstrate how the president is determined to combat the menace. He retorted Mr Baako’s assertion of empty symbolism, and maintained that these small steps go to solve bigger problems. Dr. Josiah Koba, Principal Lecturer, Ghana Institute of Management and Administration, entreated the public to give the president a breathing space to show the substance of his action. In disagreeing with the charge of empty symbolism, he noted, it is rather a “classic example of leadership” to show that he meant business. Story by Isaac Essel/Myjoyonline