Professor Oquaye Writes: No More Coups (2)

This nation belongs to us all; and we all want accountability.

Please let all responsible citizens continue to make positive suggestions and roll out reforms, policies and institutions which will ensure accountability.

The military regimes never achieved this. The Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), led by Rawlings opened AFRC Account No. 48.

No one to date, can account for where several millions of cedis and dollars went. Indeed, the account became a source of dispute between Rawlings, Boakye Gyan and others.

When the Limann government decided to probe this matter further, Rawlings and others said that such measures were attempts to “betray the gains of June 4.”

They, therefore, staged another coup on December 31, 1981.

Where is our money? Who went into government and came out owning several state lands in Cantonment and the Nsawam Cannery, etc?

Immunity

When soldiers capture power they only leave you free if you guarantee them immunity! While they are in office, the Auditor-General audits no account and when they leave office, they leave with immunity. Is this what we want?

I pray that Ghanaians read my books on military regimes again and refresh their memories.

How can human beings be so cruel as to remove the nails of prisoners with plyers or remove the skins from their back and order them to eat same for a meal – as happened to young Goka and Kyeremeh Gyan (Boakye Gyan’s brother)?

Captain Asiedu was kidnapped from his home, taken on a flight of death in a helicopter and dropped into the ocean – for speaking ill of Rawlings!

When will the people of Aburi find their Chief (Bismark), who was captured and vanished into oblivion?

Murders

Do we want a revisitation of the murder of General Acheampong, Kotei, Utuka, Felli, Amedume and others, who were tied to the stakes and shot, without proper trial?

In some cases, for the offence of getting a loan to buy a house.

For what reason, in the name of sanity given us by the good God, should we ever opt for such slavery because we disagree with a particular government policy?

The Convention People’s Party (CPP) or New Patriotic Party (NPP) or National Democratic Congress (NDC) or whatsoever party elected by Ghanaians for four years under the 1992 Constitution, we say never again to coups.

Let us remember that constitutional rule did not come on a silver platter at any time in Ghana. Have we forgotten the professional and students revolt under Acheampong?

Have we forgotten how the soldiers stole the verdict under Unigov? And that the same was repeated under Rawlings?

We need not repeat the wickedness in high places experienced by Ghanaians. This is necessarily so because military regimes seek to entrench themselves while some within the very military disagree with the pathway adopted by the leaders.

Since there are no arbiters no elections, the only avenue is counter-coup to remove the ruler you disagree with.

It goes on ad nauseam and bloodshed becomes the order of the day. Lt. Yeboah, Lt. Arthur and others et al, went to early graves beings victims of this inherent cancer of military intervention in politics.

Democracy

The joy of democracy is jawjaw and punishing parties at the polls where necessary and not violent overthrows.

Those to whom much has been given should not mislead their countrymen and throw this beautiful Ghana into darkness. Military regimes have never brought economic prosperity to a nation.

The military from all studies by political analysts have failed as agents of modernisation and economic prosperity.

Did you live through Acheampong’s hardship or experience the Rawlings chain? Inevitably, the initial euphoria of military rule soon dissolves on the altar of porous economic policies with hand-picked civilians in tow, who have not been tried, tested and voted for by the populace.

This happens inevitably because the military is not established nor trained institutionally to become the agents of economic transformation. In fact, no single profession is so trained.

1992

Ghana under the 1992 Constitution has adopted a clear pathway of civil-military relations – the subordination of the military to civilian authority.

This operates whether the government is NPP or NDC. Any attempt to do otherwise is treason. And to advocate such a dastardly act is treason.

Responsible citizens should not tread that pathway in any civilised discourse in Ghana. I am proud to be a Ghanaian, all problems apart.

And I believe with the jaw-jaw approach, devoid of violence, we can use our God-given talents to get out of any difficulty.

We should remember that in the building of nations, several ups and downs have occurred. But with unity of purpose and good applications in ironing out answers to issues and the social religious and allied pillars of cohesion we have, we will always overcome and progress. Ghana is a harmonious state.

In Ghana, the Chief Imam donates to the building of a Christian cathedral. In many homes, (including mine), you have a cocktail of many tribes living in peace as family and as Ghanaians – freely naturally and by choice.

Despite the sharp political differences between the NPP and NDC, there are excellent personal friendships and very often romance and marriages., which transcend political preferences.

And if you want to examine family bonds, ask the Jinapors, who both perform brilliantly on the two sides of our political divide.

Let us build on these strengths! Who are the non-appreciative characters who wish war in Ghana?

In this unique nation, we do not have tribal or religious conflicts which the Almighty has saved us from.

Indeed, this has been fixated in concrete by our boarding school systems over the years.

Ashantis and Ewes intermarry plentifully and joyfully more than meets the eye – ask J.J. Rawlings and Nana Konadu.

Religious differences are treated as mere options and Muslims share homes with Christians.

Tell me the country where the Vice-President (a Muslim) reads the Bible in a Church, and the Chief Imam contributes to the building of a Cathedral?

Let us build on what we have and dismiss the war-drums beaters! God bless our homeland Ghana and make our nation great and strong.