Professor Oquaye Writes: No more coups (1)

I feel compelled to write this piece, being a student of the military in politics – a task I set myself to for decades.

Military intervention is not an alternative to civilian regime performance, no matter how abysmal.

The democratic determination of political preference after a political mandate has been given to a polical party is by one mechanism only – the ballot.

A nation is either democratic and abides by this practice or it is unfit to be counted among the comity of civilised nations.

You cannot serve God and mammon. You cannot have a Constitution adopted by the people and yet any time a section of the populace disagrees with policies being pursued, a coup or military take-over occurs.

The only legitimate yardstick for determining the tenure of governors is the ballot.

This is especially so where the principle of limitation of tenure is duly applied and prevails in a nation.

Limitation of Tenure means the government has fixed number of years to rule. Tragically, in certain African states, leaders refuse to leave when their time is up and seek refuge in tinkering with the Constitution.

This is unacceptable. The African Union and ECOWAS must stand firm against this betrayal.

Stop

Upon the above premise, persons who are currently against a policy of the ruling government must stop touting coups and exercise their right to criticise the government now and also vote against the ruling party as constitutionally provided for, in 2024.

This is what makes us live under a constitutional order.

At any given time, a number of our people may feel strongly against a policy being introduced by those elected to rule. They have the right to free speech; they have the right to demonstrate.

All of such measures are guaranteed under the 1992 Constitution. This right cannot include military overthrow!

This is why no person, no matter how learned or otherwise, should responsibly utter words to the effect that if his/her views are not taken, a coup may occur.

It further has to be said that those who have had the exposure to the principles of good governance, legality and constitutionalism should mind their words and should never make utterances which might mislead people in our underdeveloped society and economy; nor give a misplaced rationalisation to puerile military adventurers of any kind.

Learn

Those who tout coups and hope to gain the favours of coup makers in the future; those who think coups will benefit them, must learn from history.

Imoro Ayarna, the Convention People’s Party politician, and others who conspired with Colonel Acheampong to overthrow Busia’s government, hoping to have the government turned over to them, were flatly denied by Acheampong, who subsequently arrested and threw them into prison for attempting a counter-coup. Never follow coup makers.

Violent overthrows or revolutions always eat up their own children when they have finished ravaging their opponents.

By 1992, when Rawlings metamorphosed into a civilian leader, where were Akata Poree, Chris Atim, Ndebugre, Amartey Kwei, Major Quarshigah and a host of other leading members of the revolution?

They had all been eaten up by the revolution. Military intervention, especially under Rawlings, destroyed indigenous Ghanaian businesses.

Every successful entrepreneur was labelled a thief and the captains of industry were annihilated. Why won’t we suffer?

Mark Cofie Motors, then assembling Mazda cars in Ghana before June 4, Kowus Motors, Tata Brewery, then the largest Brewery in Africa South or the Sahara apart from South Africa, Pioneer Biscuit Co., B.A. Mensah and his Tobacco Company, Boakye Mattress who built the Police Hospital as a private hospital to be run by experts, GIHOC, GNTC, were destroyed.

Military intervention is chaotic and breeds counter-coups and allied acts of violence and abuse of human rights. Who wants that?

Today, under the Constitution you can protest against arrests, take up cases in the Human Rights Count, voice your protestations and demonstrate. No military regime has ever granted this freedom guaranteed under the 1992 Constitution.

Who wants to go back to the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council/Provisional National Defence Council days when naked women were held by soldiers and canes used to whip their naked private parts in public?

Who today will like to be condemned to death or imprisonment without appropriate trial as happened to several Ghanaians? Do we seek a revisitation of the days when judges could be kidnapped in the night and murdered – all in the name of a revolution?

Currently, all persons accused of committing a crime against the State are being tried by courts of competent jurisdiction.

This is the beauty of the constitutional and democratic order we are all enjoying today.